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 Hill [1/7/2025 1:31 PM, Rebecca Beitsch and Mychael Schnell, 16346K, Negative] reports that House Republicans focused their attention on the border with their first bill of the year, passing legislation named after the slain Georgia student Laken Riley that would require detention of migrants arrested for theft. The legislation cleared the chamber in a 264-159 vote, with 48 Democrats joining all Republicans in support. The Senate is expected to take up the legislation this week. Dubbed the Laken Riley Act, the legislation honors the woman killed by a Venezuelan migrant who was arrested for shoplifting ahead of the attack and paroled in the country. Riley’s birthday would have been Friday, which is the same day the Senate may take up the bill. Tuesday’s vote marked the second time in a year that the House cleared the legislation. Republicans and a small group of Democrats approved the bill in March, but it languished amid opposition in the Democratic-controlled Senate. With Republicans now holding majorities in both chambers, and President-elect Trump set to be sworn in to the White House later this month, GOP lawmakers are making another attempt at moving the measure. The bill requires detention of a broad swath of migrants, including those permitted to enter the U.S. to seek asylum, if they have been accused of theft, burglary or shoplifting. But it has sparked concern among immigration advocates because the bill requires detention of immigrants as soon as they are charged or arrested for those crimes — not when prosecutors have secured a conviction. ABC News [1/7/2025 12:39 PM, Lauren Peller and Allison Pecorin, 33392K, Negative] reports that reintroduced by Georgia Rep. Mike Collins, a Republican, the legislation pins Riley’s death on the Biden administration’s open-border policies and grants power to attorneys general to sue the federal government if they can show their states are being harmed over failure to implement national immigration policies. Newsweek [1/7/2025 2:00 PM, Dan Gooding, 56005K, Negative] reports that in November, a 26-year-old Venezuelan national, Jose Ibarra, was convicted of her murder. During his trial, his affiliation with the Tren de Aragua gang was revealed. Included in the bill are two main changes to immigration law. Firstly, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would have to detain non-U.S. nationals charged with theft, burglary, shoplifting, or larceny offenses, regardless of their immigration status. The second major part of the act grants state attorneys general the ability to sue the Secretary of Homeland Security if those migrants are not detained, which the bill’s sponsors argue will ensure the first measure is enforced. NBC News [1/7/2025 1:51 PM, Scott Wong, Kyle Stewart, and Julie Tsirkin, 50804K, Negative] reports that the 264-159 vote to pass the Laken Riley Act puts pressure on Senate Democrats to support the legislation when Republicans, who now control the upper chamber, bring it to the floor for an initial vote on Friday, what would have been Riley’s 23rd birthday. All 52 Senate Republicans are co-sponsoring the bill, as is Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. That means Republicans need seven more Senate Democrats to reach the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. "We welcome with open arms, any Democrat who wants to help us solve these problems because the American people demand and deserve it. It’s overdue," Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters before the vote. Trump’s congressional allies highlighted that [Jose Ibarra] had been cited for shoplifting by a local Georgia police department but Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, did not issue a detainer for Ibarra and he was not taken into custody. The bill, authored by Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., would change federal law to require ICE, operating under the Homeland Security Department, to issue detainers and take custody of people in the country illegally who commit theft-related crimes, including shoplifting.

Reported similarly:
Roll Call [1/7/2025 5:03 PM, Chris Johnson, 440K, Negative]
CNN [1/7/2025 4:22 PM, Clare Foran and Haley Talbot, 987K, Neutral]
Washington Examiner [1/7/2025 1:32 PM, Rachel Schilke, 2365K, Negative]
Washington Examiner [1/7/2025 4:32 PM, Ramsey Touchberry, 2365K, Neutral]
Washington Examiner [1/7/2025 12:29 PM, Rachel Schilke, 2365K, Negative]

Bloomberg [1/7/2025 11:08 AM, Jeff Stone, 1450K, Negative] reports that the FBI and Department of Homeland Security have scaled back efforts over the past two years to disrupt violent extremists’ online activities, according to current and former US officials and internet radicalization specialists who fear the trend will accelerate under the incoming Trump administration. FBI and DHS officials are requesting fewer content takedowns and sharing less threat-related information with social media companies, according to a US official, two former US officials and three researchers who work with the agencies, all of whom requested anonymity to preserve government relationships. In particular, the agencies have largely stopped flagging networks of white supremacist accounts that try to recruit or radicalize new followers, according to the researchers. Law enforcement officials had worked closely with platforms after a mob of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, fueled by election-related conspiracy theories popularized online. The FBI, for example, alerted social media and gaming platforms about online communities where users had been observed floating plans for violent attacks, according to several researchers who worked with the bureau.

Bloomberg [1/7/2025 6:15 PM, Alicia Caldwell and Julie Fine, Neutral] reports President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to oversee what he has promised to be the country’s largest ever deportation effort says he will need tens of billions of dollars to carry out the mission, but it will ultimately reduce taxpayers’ burden. Homan, a career immigration official who started working for the government as a Border Patrol agent during the Reagan administration, referenced an estimate of $86 billion for the cost for deportation, though the specifics of what that covered weren’t immediately clear. But he said that figure pales in comparison to the ongoing tally of bills to house, feed and move migrants inside the US. The costs for everything from rounding up individuals to housing them to administering court cases and arranging transportation on chartered flights will be steep, and come up against political hurdles amid potential partisan gridlock. The Department of Homeland Security’s proposed budget for this fiscal year is $107.9 billion. Meanwhile, Congress took its first steps on Tuesday toward implementing Trump’s broader crackdown, passing a bill that would target undocumented migrants charged with nonviolent crimes for deportation. The measure, named after Laken Riley, passed the House with bipartisan support and is expected to clear the Senate.

Washington Examiner [1/7/2025 12:55 PM, Jenny Goldsberry, 2365K, Neutral] reports that Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) lamented that President Joe Biden has misplaced federal resources "worried about climate change" instead of focusing on terroristic threats facing the United States. In the final days of Biden’s term, the U.S. has experienced two terrorist attacks. One in New Orleans, where federal authorities said Shamsud-Din Jabbar subverted a police barricade during the New Year’s Day celebration, drove through the crowds, and then shot several more people, killing fifteen people. In another case, Matthew Livelsberger parked a Tesla Cybertruck outside of the glass doors to the Las Vegas Trump Hotel and, 15 seconds later, detonated the vehicle. On Monday, Biden announced a last-minute ban for new drilling on certain coastlines in the U.S., including along parts of the Gulf of Mexico. "ISIS is coming back. Al-Qaeda is coming back. You have these prison camps for tens of thousands of ISIS fighters and families in eastern Syria, and nothing’s been done about them. They’re ticking time bombs," Waltz said on Fox News’s Hannity on Monday. "These resources are finite, and if you have them worried about climate change, then you don’t have them worried about the real threats to America." Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) is set to be appointed to replace Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas once Trump takes office on Jan. 20. Mayorkas wished her success and a "smooth transition." Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is set to be nominated as Trump’s secretary of state, and Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth is slated to be his defense secretary.

FOX News [1/7/2025 6:00 AM, Joshua Q. Nelson, 49889K, Negative] reports a blue state governor who pledged to fight Trump administration deportation efforts expressed outrage Monday after a migrant was allegedly caught with nearly $1 million worth of drugs and an AR-15 rifle at a hotel that is being temporarily used as a shelter. "It’s outrageous that this individual took advantage of our shelter system to engage in criminal activity," Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement. Healey was responding to news of Leonardo Andujar Sanchez, a native of the Dominican Republic, facing firearm and drug trafficking charges while using the state’s shelter system. The suspect, 28, was found at a Quality Inn in Revere, Massachusetts, which currently serves as a shelter. Sanchez was allegedly caught possessing ammunition, large-capacity magazines, fentanyl, and cocaine with "an estimated street value of at least $750,000," Boston 25 News reported. Sanchez is reportedly being held without bail due to a Chelsea District Court judge deeming the suspect dangerous. Another local outlet reported Sanchez entered the U.S. illegally last year and acquired an ID from the New York shelter system. The Massachusetts governor ordered shelter inspections after the incident. "I’ve ordered an inspection of all shelter units, beginning with the Revere site, and a full review of our intake processes to determine any additional steps that we can take to prevent criminal activity in shelters," Healey said. "This further underscores our broken federal immigration system and the urgent need for Congress and the White House to act on a border security bill to prevent criminals from entering our communities.” "The people of Massachusetts should not continue to have to deal with the impacts of federal inaction," she added. In 2023, Healey said of her state, migrants are "drawn here because we are and proudly have been a beacon to those in need.” Shortly after the election, Healey vowed to obstruct President-elect Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement plan. Healey said on MSNBC in November that her state police would "absolutely not" be cooperating with the expected mass deportation effort by the incoming Trump administration and warned that she will use "every tool in the toolbox" to "protect our citizens.” "I do think it is important that we all recognize that there is going to be a lot of pressure on states and state officials. I can assure you we’re going to work hard to deliver," she said at the time. "So I think the key here is that, you know, every tool in the tool box has got to be used to protect our citizens, to protect our residents and protect our states and to hold the line on democracy and the rule of law as a basic principle.” Healey’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Tom Homan, President-elect Trump’s "border czar," has warned state and local officials about obstructing the incoming administration’s efforts to apprehend illegal immigrants. "The president has been clear, out of the gate, we are going to focus on public safety threats and national security threats first," Homan said during an interview on Fox News. "If they don’t want to help us, then get the hell out of the way, we’re going to do it.” Massachusetts is one of a number of states that has been overwhelmed by the migrant surge coming from the southern border. In order to manage the growing number of migrants, Healey had to place restrictions on shelter programs to prioritize state residents. Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

Reuters [1/7/2025 11:03 AM, Jonathan Allen, 48128K, Negative] reports that the man accused of killing a woman sleeping on a New York City subway car by setting her on fire after what prosecutors say was a night of heavy drinking pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and arson at a court hearing on Tuesday. A grand jury has indicted Sebastian Zapeta, 33, of one count of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree arson in the first degree for the killing of Debrina Kawam, 57. Zapeta is a Guatemalan citizen, federal officials have said, who has been living in a homeless shelter in Brooklyn and working as a roofer in the neighboring borough of Queens, according to the New York Police Department. He was arraigned in the Kings Supreme Court in Brooklyn in brief hearing before Judge Danny Chun on Tuesday morning, appearing in orange jail clothes with his hands cuffed behind his back and his public defender and a Spanish interpreter at his side. His next court hearing is set for March 12,. If convicted on any of the charges, Zapeta faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has said that Zapeta had entered the country unlawfully, and would eventually seek to deport him.

Reported similarly:
Newsweek [1/7/2025 12:48 PM, Shannon McDonagh, 56005K, Negative]

Yahoo! News [1/7/2025 9:01 PM, Dan Santella, 57114K, Positive] reports South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is scheduled to be on Capitol Hill Jan. 15 in Washington for a nomination hearing before the Senate’s Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs. The Republican governor is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. The Jan. 15 date immediately follows the annual State of the State speech on Jan. 14 in South Dakota’s capital of Pierre that’s traditionally delivered by the state’s governor; there is no public indication anyone other than Noem will give the address. If and when Noem becomes Homeland Security secretary, she will necessarily have to leave her position as South Dakota governor; it’s not possible to hold both roles. Noem said in November that she immediately accepted Trump’s appointment, and in the event of her resignation, current Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden would become South Dakota governor. The U.S. Constitution stipulates that the president “shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States.” The balance of power in the 119th Congress will include a 53-47 advantage for Republicans. Current Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was confirmed on Feb. 2, 2021 in a 56-43 vote.

CNN [1/7/2025 4:47 PM, Annie Grayer, Neutral] reports GOP Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia posed with House Speaker Mike Johnson for a photograph to mark the start of the next Congress and left with a guarantee that his investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol will be formalized as a new committee. The move solidifies the Republican Party’s effort to rewrite the narrative surrounding January 6 as a permanent fixture of its investigative agenda. It’s part of a broader effort from Republicans to continue several GOP-led investigations from the previous Congress now that the party will control both chambers of Capitol Hill and the White House. The details of the new committee are still being worked out, Loudermilk told CNN, but one of the options would be to formulate it in a way that gives Johnson more control over who is appointed to the panel, known as a select committee, and the direction of its work.

CBS Detroit [1/7/2025 2:01 PM, Joseph Buczek, 52225K, Negative] reports a 60-year-old Chinese national charged in connection with an international human trafficking ring that operated out of massage parlors in Macomb and Wayne counties will head to trial. Huazi Piao was charged last month with one count of conducting a criminal enterprise, one count of conspiracy to commit a criminal enterprise, one count of accepting earnings from prostitution, one count of money laundering, and two counts of keeping a house of prostitution. Piao was charged as part of an investigation into the trafficking ring that began in two parts during the summer of 2024 when St. Clair Shores police investigated a massage parlor and Michigan State Police assisted the Maumee Police Department in Ohio and uncovered illicit parlors in Southeast Michigan. Nessel said between seven and nine women of Chinese and Korean origin were rescued from the alleged trafficking ring.

Texas Tribune [1/7/2025 8:10 PM, Ayden Runnels, 1609K, Negative] reports Gov. Greg Abbott outlined several directives to Texas’ Department of Public Safety on Tuesday that would boost efforts to combat "radical jihadist terrorism" in the wake of the New Orleans attack on New Year’s Day. The statement from Abbott outlined 11 specific efforts for DPS to undertake, including bolstering pre-existing partnerships with federal agencies and expanding programs DPS provides in the state. The new measures come almost a week after a deadly attack in New Orleans in which a Houston man drove to the city in a rental truck and mowed down several people on Bourbon Street, killing 14 and injuring more than 30 others. The suspect, Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who was killed by law enforcement, pledged allegiance to terrorist group ISIS in videos he posted online before the attack. Most of the directives outlined by the governor are aimed at increasing or expanding anti-terror resources already in place. Included in those efforts will be increased anti-terrorism task force operations with the FBI, which has field offices in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and El Paso. The statement also said DPS will increase the number of intelligence analysts assigned to assist local jurisdictions with terroristic threats. "Law enforcement at all levels must aggressively collaborate to eliminate radicalization that can lead to terrorist attacks," Abbott said. One directive states DPS will work with federal officials to identify potential threats among "special interest migrants" and claimed hundreds of people who entered the country illegally were on the federal government’s terrorist watch list. In 2017-2023, 293 non-U.S. citizens on the Terrorist Screening Dataset were detained across the southwest border, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 169 of which were in 2023. The data available on CBP’s website does not clarify how many of those were within Texas’ portion of the border.

AP [1/7/2025 1:34 PM, Sophia Tareen, 14282K, Negative] reports that two sons of notorious Mexican drug kingpin "El Chapo" facing sweeping drug-trafficking charges in the U.S. are in plea negotiations with the federal government, attorneys acknowledged Tuesday in a Chicago courtroom. Neither Ovidio Guzmán López, 34, nor Joaquin Guzmán López, 38, appeared at the brief hearing. Word of a possible deal for Ovidio Guzman Lopez, who has pleaded not guilty, was first disclosed during an October court date. It came months after his brother, Joaquin Guzmán López, was arrested in an astonishing capture by U.S. authorities in Texas with Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, a longtime leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel. Attorneys on Tuesday also publicly confirmed plea negotiations recently began for Joaquin Guzmán López, who has also pleaded not guilty. "We need a bit more time," Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Erskine said in court. "We’re trying to explore whether there might be a global resolution." He did not elaborate in court and declined to talk to reporters afterward. Ovidio Guzmán López is due in court Feb. 27. Joaquin Guzmán López’s next court date is March 19.

Reported similarly:
Newsweek [1/7/2025 5:31 PM, Natalie Venegas, 56005K, Negative]

CBS Austin [1/7/2025 1:47 PM, Ray Lewis, 581K, Negative] reports that Aurora, Colorado Mayor Mike Coffman, whose city became associated with issues involving illegal immigration this past election season, wrote in an op-ed Monday that Denver Mayor Mike Johnston placed migrants from the state’s capital in his city. Coffman said he learned through a City Journal report that Johnston was using two nonprofits to house the migrants. "After reading the article, I confronted Johnston about whether this was true. He affirmed that Denver had contracts with nonprofits that ‘have’ placed migrants from Denver to Aurora but he refused to confirm a number, where they were housed, or what resources they were given," Coffman explained. "He defensively said that information wasn’t available." The City Journal report discusses how the two nonprofits were working with landlords to place migrants in units and to subsidize their rent. Contracts between the organizations and Denver included the words "in Denver or in the surrounding communities," according to Coffman, who claimed they were inserted "quietly." It gives Johnston cover, should it become public, by allowing him to say that it wasn’t his decision to put them in Aurora; it was the nonprofits who made the decision," the op-ed reads. A provision in the contracts requires the nonprofits to disclose how many migrants were placed in Aurora, as well as where in the city they were housed, Coffman noted.

Reported similarly:
FOX News [1/7/2025 4:47 PM, Michael Dorgan, 49889K, Neutral]

Newsweek [1/7/2025 5:42 AM, Billal Rahman, 56005K, Neutral] reports Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation has sent ripples through the political landscape, raising questions about the future of immigration policy, particularly at the Canada-U.S. border. Trudeau’s departure comes amid shifting public sentiment on immigration, economic challenges and growing pressure from the incoming Trump administration. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to slap a 25 percent tariff on all goods from Canada, as well as Mexico, if the country does not clamp down on immigration and the trade of illicit narcotics. Experts have told Newsweek that Trudeau’s resignation means "very little" for immigration policy and will not drastically alter the trajectory of Canadian politics and border policy. However, the move could lead to change following an election if the Conservatives return to power. Valerie Lacarte, a senior policy analyst for the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at Migration Policy Institute, suggests that Trudeau’s resignation partly reflects a shift in public perception of immigration’s benefits. Dr. Graeme Young, a lecturer in social and public policy at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, predicts the move could signal a conservative resurgence in Canadian politics. In December, Canada’s government unveiled a $1.3 billion plan to enhance border safety and immigration systems amid looming threats from Trump that he would impose a 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data reveals that agents recorded over 198,000 migrant encounters at the northern border during the 2024 fiscal year, a figure more than seven times higher than the encounters reported in 2021. Trudeau pointed to "internal battles" in his resignation speech. "This country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election," he said. A growing number of Liberal Parliament members have called on Trudeau to resign as party leader as his popularity plummets. Polls have suggested he likely would have been in a difficult position to win reelection if he stayed in power. Canada’s Conservative Party is currently leading in the polls, finishing the year with a huge 21-point lead, enough to deliver them a majority government of over 200 seats, according to CBC News. No matter who is in charge, experts predict the next government will be tougher on immigration in a bid to appease Trump’s demands. Lacarte told Newsweek: "PM Trudeau’s resignation is in part due to the shift of Canadians’ views on the benefits of immigration. Recent polls have shown that a significant share of Canadians have become skeptical of the contribution of immigrants. In response, the Trudeau administration cut down its initial admission goals for both permanent immigration and temporary immigrant workers. This late move likely wasn’t enough to shift perceptions. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Border Report [1/7/2025 8:01 PM, Julian Resendiz, 153K, Negative] reports a suspect held in the stoning death of a Mexican immigration agent last week south of Juarez has been identified as a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. A Mexican judge on Monday ordered two Venezuelan men identified only as David J.V. and Carlos Arichuna S.M. held for trial for inflicting injuries leading to the death of a public servant. The two allegedly pelted Luis Alberto Olivas Garcia with rocks after the National Migration Institute agent caught up to them for circumventing a federal highway checkpoint leading to Juarez. Court testimony this week alleged the Venezuelans pushed Olivas down a hill, and that David J.V. grabbed a rock and struck him in the head until dead as he lay down. On Tuesday, a Mexican police official said at least one of the alleged murderers likely is a Tren de Aragua member. "One of them has the tattoos that we have identified as probably linked to Tren de Aragua. We have shared this information with other agencies and are waiting for the next binational meeting to have it checked in (American) databases," Chihuahua Public Safety Director Gilberto Loya said in a tape-recorded interview shared by his office with Border Report. Loya for the past two months has been alerting the public to the presence of the violent Venezuelan prison gang in a northern Mexico state that borders Texas and New Mexico. Members of Tren de Aragua who crossed into the United States through El Paso under the premise of seeking asylum were later arrested after committing high profile crimes, such as the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.

New York Times [1/7/2025 6:23 PM, Emiliano Rodríguez Mega, 161405K, Negative] reports that crossings into the United States from Mexico have dropped sharply since last year. But countries south of the U.S. border are waiting nervously to see if President-elect Donald J. Trump orders mass deportations. The possibility that millions of undocumented immigrants could be expelled — what would be the largest deportation program in American history — has sent shock waves through Latin America and sowed confusion among migrants and asylum seekers. “We see dark times coming for the migrant community,” said Irineo Mujica, the Mexico director of People Without Borders, a transnational advocacy group. “Anyone who falls prey to the Trump administration is now going to be devoured, chewed up and spat out.” Unlawful crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border have been declining since June, when President Biden issued an executive order to essentially block undocumented migrants from receiving asylum at the border. That month, U.S. Border Patrol officials recorded 130,415 apprehensions of migrants — a sharp drop from the more than 170,710 recorded the previous month. The numbers in November were even lower: U.S. officials recorded 94,190 people. That is a stark shift from a year ago. Illegal crossings for November 2023 rose above 242,300, a record at the time.

Wall Street Journal [1/7/2025 5:04 PM, Jeremy Neufeld, Neutral] reports a civil war has erupted among Donald Trump’s supporters over the H-1B program, America’s primary visa for skilled workers. Does putting “America First” mean ending the program, as Steve Bannon believes, or supporting it, as Elon Musk and Mr. Trump argue? The debate stems from a fundamental flaw in the H-1B program: A randomized lottery is used to select which applications are reviewed. In effect this means the lottery determines who gets a visa. Awarding visas by chance means that while the program can bring in world-class talent, including Mr. Musk, it also brings in thousands of middling workers. They compete with citizens for jobs and contribute less meaningfully to productivity and innovation. As constructed, then, the lottery doesn’t serve American interests and needs to be replaced. The H-1B program is supposed to be reserved for workers in occupations requiring specialized knowledge, but that can include anything from biochemists earning hundreds of thousands to acupuncturists making less than the median household. This means that the country’s flagship skilled immigration program is seriously underdelivering, wasting scarce slots on low-paying jobs. Many are going to basic information-technology workers. The problem isn’t the pool of talent; it’s how we choose from it. There are nearly four times as many H-1B applications every year as available slots. This disparity is worsened by companies that flood the system with applications for candidates meeting the bare minimum requirements for an H-1B. Companies that need top talent get crowded out. In 2022, 35% of all new H-1Bs went to companies dependent on them. Mr. Trump seems to understand this. In a recent Truth Social post, he emphasized the importance of skilled immigrants and the utility of the H-1B program. In 2020 his U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services appointees tried to replace the lottery with a system to rank applicants by how much companies promise to pay them compared with other workers in the same job and region. This reform failed to go into effect. While this would have been an improvement, it still would have prevented many companies employing early-career workers in high-paying occupations from getting the highly qualified talent the country needs.

Houston Chronicle [1/7/2025 7:00 AM, Staff, 2315K, Neutral] reports that, regarding Jalil Dawood’s op-ed "I’m a refugee who voted for Trump. Here’s what he’s missing about the U.S. refugee program." (Jan. 3): I for one appreciate Mr. Dawood’s reflection on his love of America and the opportunity it gave him some 40 years ago. But it’s time for America to get its own house in order before taking on even more refugees from around the world, no matter their plight. For starters, the rampant illegal immigration of the last four years needs to be rectified. At the same time, we have plenty of American citizens who are homeless, addicted to drugs or suffering from mental illness who need help. Mr. Dawood talks of fleeing violence, which begs the question: Where do the American citizens living on the south side of Chicago or East St. Louis or Baltimore go to escape gang violence? It’s not a "gun safety issue," it’s a violent criminal issue. What about our failing schools, many of which are located in these same inner cities and others across our country? In Dallas ISD, fewer than half of elementary and middle school students are at grade level in math and reading. We are failing our own children across this not-so-great land these days. So yes, let’s pause taking those in from around the world until we can get our own house in order. Reagan’s "shining city on a hill" has grown quite dim in the four decades since Mr. Dawood first arrived here. Regarding the editorial "Too ‘emotional’ over Milby student’s train death? Not possible" (Jan. 5): When a young life is lost in such a tragic and preventable way, it is not only appropriate, but necessary to respond with urgency and emotion. To suggest otherwise — especially by dismissively telling a U.S. representative to "calm down" — reveals a lack of understanding of the gravity of the situation. This isn’t about being "too emotional." It’s about demanding accountability and change to prevent such tragedies from happening again. Emotion drives action, and in moments of profound loss, it’s often the only way to cut through indifference, bureaucracy and political correctness.

Houston Chronicle [1/7/2025 11:30 AM, Editorial Board, 2315K, Neutral] reports that no, you’re not imagining it. Texas just froze over. And America’s most infamous "big, beautiful wall" peddler has just changed his tune. "We need competent people, we need smart people coming into our country," President-elect Donald Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago on New Year’s Eve. "We need a lot of people coming in.” It may very well be that, like many of us, Trump has been doing some soul-searching. It’s 2025, after all. And maybe, just maybe, our president-elect has decided to turn over a new leaf. We can dream. Turns out, it takes a mini MAGA civil war for Trump’s most right-wing supporters to see his flimsy politics for what it is: an ideology of convenience. He’s nativist insofar as it rustles up votes. But a globalist when it helps his — and his advisors’ — bottom line. That was the recent claim of Laura Loomer, a far-right activist and MAGA loyalist whose virulent, conspiratorial remarks got her pushed out of Trump’s inner circle in the lead-up to the election. She particularly took aim at the H-1B visa program, which allows U.S. companies to temporarily hire highly educated, specialized foreign professionals — technically, for a role no American was able to fill. Apart from exceptions granted to some nonprofits and universities, there are only 65,000 H-1B visas available each year, with 20,000 more for applicants with a master’s degree or higher. When demand outstrips supply — as it has for the past two decades — an annual lottery kicks in.

San Diego Union Tribune [1/7/2025 9:00 AM, Laura Hernandez, 2212K, Neutral] reports that after donating millions to Donald Trump’s reelection campaign, private prison executives are eager to aid his plans of mass deportation. Why? So they can get richer. At Geo Group and CoreCivic, the nation’s two largest private prison operators, rallying stock prices, celebratory earnings calls with investors and massive investments all point to massive growth. Trump’s goals signal a windfall for the corporations contracted by the federal government to detain and electronically monitor immigrants for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency responsible for detaining immigrants waiting for their immigration case to resolve. While most Americans do not support for-profit prisons, these private companies are poised to expand their already powerful influence over society. To make sense of how we got here, it’s important to understand how the industry helped fuel an expansive, interconnected web of mass incarceration. While the very first federal contracts awarded to Geo Group and CoreCivic were for detaining immigrants, it was harsh criminalizing laws passed in the ‘90s that systematically tied together the criminal and immigration systems. These laws, along with the industry’s powerful lobby, further entangled private prisons with federal immigration policy. Today, the U.S. operates the world’s largest mass immigration detention system, with some 90% of all people detained in privately run facilities.

The Texas Tribune [1/7/2025 5:48 PM, Uriel J. García, Negative] reports the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on Tuesday targeting undocumented immigrants for deportation if they’re charged with nonviolent crimes such as shoplifting. The Laken Riley Act passed on a 264-159 vote, with 48 Democrats joining Republicans — including Texas Democratic Reps. Henry Cuellar of Laredo and Vicente Gonzalez of McAllen. The proposed law now goes to the Senate on Friday, where Republicans hold the majority. Republicans control 53 seats and need seven Senate Democrats to vote in favor for the bill to pass. Currently, any immigrant — including legal U.S. permanent residents — who commits serious or violent crimes — such as aggravated felonies, drug possession or drunk driving — can be arrested and eventually deported. However, the current proposal looks to widen the deportation pipeline by requiring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain undocumented immigrants accused of less serious crimes such as burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting. The proposal also allows state attorneys general to sue the federal government if federal authorities release an immigrant who entered the U.S. illegally and later goes on to commit other crimes.

AP [1/7/2025 6:40 PM, Carolyn Thompson, 47097K, Neutral] reports schools around the country are reviewing what to do if immigration agents come knocking as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office after campaigning on a pledge to deport millions of people. In several large cities, school systems are speaking up for the rights of immigrant students to attend school, regardless of whether they are in the country legally, and saying they would not assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. In California, officials this week offered guidance to schools on state law limiting local participation in immigration enforcement. "I know there is a lot of fear and anxiety around the incoming administration’s anticipated changes to immigration policy," California Attorney General Bonta said, "and I want to make sure students, their parents, and their teachers and school administrators are prepared.” The 54-page California guide outlines state and federal protections for students and procedures for responding to law enforcement requests ranging from documents to interviews with students. Many communities debated how much and whether schools should cooperate with immigration authorities during Trump’s first administration, when school systems including Chicago’s took stands against immigration enforcement. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agents have long abided guidance that deters arresting parents or students at schools and other sensitive locations that provide access to things like medical care and food and shelter. But Trump’s re-election and campaign rhetoric on immigration policy have sparked discussions over whether those policies will stand. An estimated 733,000 school-aged children are in the U.S. illegally, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Educators are acting at least in part to address the concerns of immigrant families and assure them their children are welcome and safe at school. "We understand that fear and uncertainty, especially concerning the potential deportation of family members, can significantly impact our students’ well-being, their attendance, and their ability to learn," Des Moines, Iowa Public Schools, where one of four students are English language learners, said in a statement last month.

FOX News [1/8/2025 4:00 AM, Audrey Conklin, 49889K, Negative] reports an illegal immigrant from Mexico suspected of killing his Utah girlfriend was deported in December and then returned to Utah just days before her body was recovered in Tooele. Talia Benward, 31, of Kearns, was last seen around 3:15 p.m. at a Maverik store in West Jordan on New Year’s Day. Authorities found her body in a remote area of Tooele, about a 45-minute drive from West Jordan. The Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake said Sunday that Benward’s boyfriend, Nestor Rocha-Aguayo, a 24-year-old from Sinaloa, Mexico, had been apprehended in connection with Benward’s disappearance and murder. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Aguayo-Rocha is a Mexican national who was twice removed from the United States. He entered the country illegally near Calexico, California, on Sept. 1, 2016. He was convicted on local charges years later, and an officer with Enforcement and Removal Operations placed a detainer with the Salt Lake County Metro Jail in Utah on Jan. 22, 2024. ERO officials took him into custody on April 2, and an immigration judge granted him voluntary departure. He returned to Mexico on April 30. Rocha-Aguayo then illegally reentered the United States at an unknown date and location. ERO officers in November encountered him at the Salt Lake County Metro Jail, where he was being held on local charges. ERO officials again took Rocha-Aguayo into custody, and he returned to Mexico on Dec. 24. "He reentered the U.S. a third time without admission by an immigration official," the ICE spokesperson told Fox News Digital. Surveillance video footage apparently shows Benward pulling into the Maverik gas station in a "borrowed" vehicle on New Year’s Day, and Rocha-Aguayo getting into the passenger seat, at which point the "two began pointing at each other, they rolled up their windows and it appeared as if they were arguing," according to court documents obtained by FOX 13 Salt Lake City. They were together for several hours before they drove together to Tooele, where Benward’s phone stopped tracking her location while Rocha-Aguayo continued back toward Salt Lake City, according to FOX 13. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Yahoo! News [1/7/2025 5:51 PM, Staff, 57114K, Negative] Video: HERE reports Gov. Spencer Cox signed a letter making several requests for the upcoming Trump administration — one of which calls for the immediate removal of the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director in Salt Lake City. The letter was penned by Cox and several Utah sheriffs and was addressed to Gov. Kristi Noem, the nominated secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Tom Homan, the border czar. The joint letter made three requests: more funding for jail beds and transportation, the suspension of "unreasonable detention standards," and the immediate removal of Michael Bernacke from the ICE Salt Lake City Field Office. The letter comes after Cox declared his support for President-elect Donald Trump’s deportation calls on several occasions, pledging to work with the new administration to deport immigrants who have committed crimes in Utah. During a conference in December, Cox expressed frustration with the local ICE field office, claiming mass deportation is highly unlikely as ICE is too "broken" to even deport 100 serious criminals from this state. The letter specifically mentions the time Bernacke’s office allegedly sent an accidental memo saying Utah was a sanctuary state, which caused a "public spectacle distracting from the very real problems of housing detainees.” In a previous statement, Cox said ICE had sent immigrants to Utah without the immigrants requesting to come to this state. ICE responded to an ABC4 request for comment at the time saying it does not move migrants. "We have been deeply frustrated over an extended period of time with Mr. Bernacke’s lack of leadership and resistance to solutions," the letter reads. "In short Mr. Bernacke no longer has any credibility or good faith with the Cox Administration or the larger Utah law enforcement community.” The letter also requests the suspension or altering of "unreasonable detention standards that are complicating our counties’ ability to hold ICE detainees.”

Newsweek [1/7/2025 10:46 AM, Billal Rahman, 56005K, Neutral] reports that California schools are gearing up to defend immigrant rights and enforce further protections for undocumented students attending elementary schools through university campuses. Newsweek has contacted the incoming Trump administration for comment. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to deport millions of undocumented immigrants as part of the "largest deportation program in U.S. history." Trump and his incoming administration are believed to be prepared to carry out immigration raids, including inside schools and churches, as part of their mass deportation strategy. State leaders say this threat is already causing concern within immigrant communities. The suspension reflects a climate of uncertainty and fear affecting communities across the state amid the looming threat of deportations. On Monday, officials detailed steps to assist school leaders, inform parents and offer mental health support to families dealing with anxiety. This initiative to provide reassurance and resources in public schools—where every child is entitled to an education, regardless of immigration status—is aimed at addressing concerns ahead of Trump’s inauguration on January 20. California’s response was led on Monday by Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and state Attorney General Rob Bonta, coinciding with the first day of the spring semester. California officials announced mandatory training sessions for school employees, outlining restrictions on providing assistance or documentation to federal immigration authorities.

CBS News [1/7/2025 4:39 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 52225K, Negative] reports the U.S. government will issue refunds to tens of thousands of unauthorized immigrants married to American citizens who applied for a Biden administration program that was struck down in federal court, according to internal government documents obtained by CBS News. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, plans to refund the $580 application fee that roughly 94,000 people paid in hopes of benefiting from the Biden administration policy, dubbed Keeping Families Together. The refunds amount to about $55 million, the documents show.

Yahoo! News [1/7/2025 8:23 AM, Margot Moinester and Kaitlyn Stanhope, 57114K, Neutral] reports that when states give driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants, it affects nondrivers, too — even the littlest ones. Babies born to immigrants from Mexico and Central America are bigger and healthier in states that make that change, our research shows. The longer a law is in effect before a baby is conceived, the stronger the effect. We are a sociologist and an epidemiologist who examined the birth records of more than 4 million babies born to Mexican and Central American immigrants who lived in states that adopted expanded driver’s license policies between 2008 and 2021. We found that incidences of low birth weight – infants weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces at birth – fell 7% in those states, and the average weight of newborns rose by 5.2 grams. To validate our results, we replicated the analysis for U.S.-born, non-Hispanic white pregnant people living in the same states. We didn’t expect to see any effect from the law for this group — and indeed, we found none. This research shows how state policies tied to immigration can affect immigrant families’ health and well-being, even when those policies have nothing to do with health. Nineteen states have passed laws letting undocumented people get driver’s licenses, most recently Minnesota in 2023.

Los Angeles Times [1/7/2025 6:00 AM, Terry Castleman, 17996K, Neutral] reports California is rebounding from an unprecedented population drop during the pandemic and an increase in legal immigration over the past couple of years is partly responsible. California’s population is more than a quarter foreign-born, the highest figure in the nation, according to Census data. Net immigration from foreign countries into the state rebounded from nearly zero at the height of the pandemic to its current levels in just two years, helping to dampen the impact of the California Exodus, in which an increasing number of residents relocated to other states The state’s population rose slightly in 2024 after three years of precipitous decline, according to data from the state Department of Finance. The California influx of legal immigrants include people who came to the U.S. on a temporary work visa, as refugees, asylum seekers or to become permanent residents. The biggest impact from the influx of immigrants has been to the Central Valley and rural parts of Southern California, such as the Imperial Valley, with big agricultural industries. Net immigration was highest in Imperial County, where in 2023 8 net immigrants arrived for every 1,000 residents living in the county. California farming interests were big supporters of President Trump, and they hope his promised crackdown on immigration will not cause problems for them attracting and hiring the farm workers they need. Santa Clara, Alameda, San Francisco and Sacramento counties were all high on the list, each gaining more than 4 net immigrants per 1,000 residents, a Times analysis of Census data showed. The analysis did not include undocumented immigrants. The Bay Area is home to many tech companies that rely on the H-1B visa program that permits foreign-born computer scientists, engineers and other highly skilled workers to migrate to the United States. Last month, there was a war within the Trump base over H-1B, with some far-right activists saying the program hurts American workers. But Trump allies like billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk shot back, saying the skilled workers helps the American economy. More than 9,600 employers in California sought clearance for at least one H-1B worker in fiscal 2024, The Times reported last month, Los Angeles and Orange counties were not far behind, each with more than 3 net immigrants arriving per 1,000 residents. “It’s important to realize that the pandemic had an effect, but also the Trump administration sort of throttled legal migration,” Manuel Pastor, director of the USC Equity Research Institute, said referring to the immigration restrictions Trump imposed after taking office in 2016.

FOX News [1/7/2025 4:45 PM, Peter Pinedo, 49889K, Neutral] reports during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump renewed his criticisms of the Biden administration for selling off border wall materials at "five cents on the dollar," saying: "These people either hate our country or they’re stupid." He also slammed the private company managing the border wall sales for attempting to sell the materials back to his incoming administration at a significant upcharge. The Biden administration has been auctioning off border wall parts since at least 2023, with parts listed for sale on auction marketplaces, after it abruptly shut down most border wall construction in 2021. An official at the Department of Defense told Fox News Digital in December that the materials being sold through online auctions were already sold off by the federal government earlier in 2024, with a large percentage of the materials being sold to a government surplus retailer called Gov Planet. Following a lawsuit by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton the Biden administration agreed to a court order to stop further wall material sales.

UPI [1/7/2025 8:51 PM, Mike Heuer, 1890K, Neutral] reports Customs and Border Protection officers have seized several shipments of counterfeit Tiffany & Company jewelry in the Champlain Port of Entry in Champlain, N.Y. CBP officers intercepted multiple shipments from December through Monday and seized them for intellectual property rights violations, the CBP announced on Tuesday. "CBP continues to play a crucial role in protecting the consumer and businesses from the importation of fraudulent merchandise," said Champlain Port Director Steve Bronson. "I’m proud of the outstanding job our officers and import specialists do in targeting these shipments and identifying these violations," Bronson added. The items include necklaces that appear to be high-end jewelry but contain counterfeit Tiffany & Company labeling designed to increase their value, according to the CBP. If the items were genuine, they would have carried manufacturer’s suggested retail prices totaling $29,989, according to the CBP. Whenever an item contains a trademark or copy right that infringes upon those registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the CBP seizes them for intellectual property rights violations.

Yahoo! News [1/7/2025 9:41 AM, Jeff Abbott, 57114K, Neutral] reports that the number of migrants encountered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in the El Paso Sector is at the lowest monthly levels in the last five years. Agent encounters with migrants between ports of entry have fallen 54% in fiscal year 2025, which began in October 2024, according to the CBP data. This reflects a trend across the southern border, with encounters down over 80% across the southern border through December 2024, CBP told USA Today. Migrant encounters along the border have been steadily decreasing throughout 2024. However, the beginning of fiscal year 2025 shows a sharp decrease. This decrease in the number of migrants arriving at the border has resulted in the decision to shutter shelters in El Paso run by both non-governmental organizations and by El Paso County meant to support those arriving at the border. Gov. Greg Abbott celebrated the decrease in the arrival of migrants at the Texas border, calling it a success of his Operation Lone Star. "Texas has demonstrated an unwavering resolve in securing our southern border and protecting Texans since 2021," Abbott said in a statement Dec. 23. Immigration experts, however, say federal policies affecting those seeking asylum and Mexico’s assistance in keeping migrants from reaching the border are the true driving forces behind the decline in encounters.

Border Report [1/7/2025 6:41 PM, Julian Resendiz, 153K, Negative] Video: HERE reports El Paso’s congresswoman says she supports efforts to have the Texas Department of Public Safety troopers suspend high-speed chases of vehicles suspected of being involved in migrant smuggling. El Paso County on Monday discussed drafting such a resolution based on staff research documenting numerous crashes in urban areas – some of them fatal and initiated for routine traffic violations. "It’s important for everyone to understand how dangerous high-speed chases are in urban areas. That’s why most law enforcement agencies prohibit (such chases)," U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, said on Tuesday. "Unfortunately, the Texas Department of Public Safety is using high-speed chases on a regular basis. That puts everyday El Pasoans at a very high risk.” Escobar said residents have contacted her office to complaint about unreimbursed property damage allegedly caused during a DPS chase and some who allege their civil rights were violated or that they were arrested without due cause by the state police. "I support the County Commissioners Court in their efforts to bring this issue to light and to ask the State of Texas to do what every other major law enforcement agency has done and use other methods to achieve the same goals they want to achieve," Escobar said during a news briefing with reporters.

Border Report [1/7/2025 8:49 PM, Sandra Sanchez, 153K, Neutral] reports Texas state Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa knows what it is like to be deported. When he was a young boy living in South Texas with his undocumented mother, they were deported across the Rio Grande and lived in the Mexican border town of Reynosa for one year. "I was deported when I was 5 years old, even though I was a U.S. citizen, because my mother was here as an immigrant illegally. Didn’t have the proper documentation, so she and I got deported into Mexico. We came back one year later," Hinojosa told Border Report on Tuesday at his office in Edinburg, Texas. Hinojosa previewed the upcoming 89th Texas Legislature and gave his thoughts on the incoming Trump administration and its plans for mass deportations at the border. "I do not support separating families, and I do not support separated children from their parents. It’s a very difficult issue," Hinojosa said. "They have to focus on that and be very discretionary, but have some rigid rules as to not deporting people who have family here, who have children here, and who have been here for years. That would be very unfair to many of these families who really don’t know Mexico and don’t know other countries. Some of them have been here for years — 15 years, 10 years, 20 years — I don’t think they should be deported at all.” Hinojosa called the year living in Mexico an "interesting experience" and one that shaped his life views. It was the early 1950s and Hinojosa says he and his mother lived in what he called a "shack" that was "behind a cantina where you could hear the music till two, three o’clock, four o’clock in the morning.” And as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office in a couple weeks, Hinojosa says he does not believe that families will be targeted for deportations and he hopes that only undocumented criminals and those who pose a threat to the United States will be sent south of the border, as Trump has so far indicated.

Yahoo! News [1/7/2025 11:47 AM, Dave Burge, 57114K, Negative] reports that one person is facing human smuggling charges after 11 migrants were found padlocked in the back of a U-Haul box truck shortly before midnight on New Year’s Eve, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection said on Tuesday, Jan. 7. The migrants were found in the rented truck at about 11:45 p.m. on Dec. 31 in Hurley, New Mexico, the spokesman said. Eleven were in the back of the truck and another migrant was up front as a passenger. All 12 are being processed under Title 8. The driver, who had a Mexican driver’s license, was arrested and is facing human smuggling charges, the spokesman said. The Police Department in Hurley, which is about 15 miles southeast of Silver City, had contacted Border Patrol for assistance. El Paso Sector Border Patrol Chief Anthony "Scott" Good posted about the migrants being found on social media but provided few other details. KTSM reached out to CBP for further details, which they provided. Good said in his post that the incident was "a stark reminder of the lengths smugglers will take to evade detection and endanger lives."

Yahoo! News [1/7/2025 7:44 PM, Jose Franco, 57114K, Neutral] Video: HERE reports federal immigration agents will be conducting operations in Bakersfield this week, according to local officials. The Bakersfield Police Department told 17 News on Tuesday that the department was alerted by the Department of Homeland Security that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol would be conducting operations within city limits and the Kern County area. The department did not describe the type of operations agents are conducting. In recent days, reports of a surge in raids of undocumented residents have circulated on social media. Multiple photos, videos and posts circulated on social media Tuesday showing federal agents in the Bakersfield area. The posts showed agents speaking with people pulled over in vehicles. There have been reports of agents going door-to-door and pulling vehicles over on highways. A witness to one stop said immigration agents took multiple people into custody at a gas station off Merle Haggard Drive and Highway 65 in Bakersfield. "What we’re hearing is that CBP is pulling cars over and profiling folks. They’re reported being seen at most transient sites for farmworkers," Rosa Lopez of the ACLU in Southern California said.

Bloomberg [1/7/2025 11:18 AM, Allyson Versprille and Mary Schlangenstein, 1450K, Negative] reports that local law enforcement officials in Fort Lauderdale are investigating the deaths of two individuals found in the landing gear compartment of a JetBlue Airways Corp. plane after it arrived at the Florida airport on Monday. A representative for the Broward Sheriff’s Office, whose jurisdiction includes Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, said deputies responded to a call regarding the two individuals late Monday evening and that paramedics pronounced both dead on scene. "BSO’s Homicide and Crime Scene units responded to investigate the circumstances of the incident, and the investigation is ongoing," the office said in a statement. "The Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office will perform autopsies to determine the causes of death of both individuals." JetBlue Flight 1801 traveled to Florida from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The carrier said the plane was undergoing a routine post-flight maintenance check when the individuals were discovered. The aircraft, an 18-year-old Airbus A320, had also flown from Kingston in Jamaica to JFK and to Salt Lake City earlier on Jan. 6, according to flight-tracking website FlightRadar24. "At this time, the identities of the individuals and the circumstances surrounding how they accessed the aircraft remain under investigation," a representative for the airline said. The Washington Post [1/7/2025 4:39 PM, Angie Orellana Hernandez, 40736K, Negative] reports Monday’s incident was the second time in two weeks a deceased individual was found in a wheel well. On Dec. 25, a body was found in a United Airlines plane that had flown to Kahului, Hawaii, from Chicago. In that report, researchers from the FAA’s Civil Aerospace Medical Institute used media archives to document 89 people across 79 flights who attempted to fly in the wheel well or other exterior compartments. Only 18 reportedly survived. The FAA does not formally track stowaway cases. The FAA did not provide details on Monday’s incident, referring to local law enforcement and JetBlue. The Broward County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Tuesday that deputies from the Office Airport District responded to a call at 11:30 p.m. local time. Paramedics pronounced both individuals dead at the scene. The incident is under investigation, the statement said. The Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office will perform autopsies to determine the causes of death. The National Transportation Safety Board is not investigating the incident because it did not appear to involve flight crew or operation of the airplane, the agency said in a statement Tuesday.

Reported similarly:
CBS Austin [1/7/2025 12:06 PM, Anissa Reyes, 581K, Negative]
CNN [1/7/2025 6:23 AM, Staff, 987K, Neutral]

The Hill [1/7/2025 5:52 PM, Filip Timotija, 16346K, Negative] reports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General Joseph Cuffari confirmed that his office initiated an audit of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in mid-December over worries that the agency’s employees avoided homes with President-elect Trump campaign yard signs in multiple states when assisting communities devastated by recent hurricanes, according to a letter shared with The Hill. The audit was initiated on Dec. 17, and he notified House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa) on Monday, according to the letter. Its objective is "to determine how well FEMA followed its policies and procedures when addressing safety concerns and determining community trends that impact disaster survivor assistance in response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton." Graves and Perry called for an investigation on Dec. 3 "into the multiple allegations of the deliberate avoidance of homes with Trump campaign or political signs" during FEMA’s response to hurricanes Helene and Milton. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell testified in November about the incident and previously said that not offering aid to individuals due to differing political beliefs was "completely at odds with FEMA’s mission." Criswell also said she believes the incident was not part of a wider practice by the agency’s employees.

Reuters [1/7/2025 8:42 AM, Staff, 48128K, Negative] reports that more than 200,000 homes and businesses in the central and eastern U.S. were still without power on Tuesday, data from PowerOutage.us showed, after a winter storm brought snow, ice and freezing temperatures. That is down from a total of more than 409,000 customers affected by the winter storms that battered the central and eastern half of the country on Jan. 5-6. The U.S. is bracing for further disruption as blizzard conditions persist across parts of the country. Governors in several states, including Kansas, Kentucky, Arkansas, West Virginia and Virginia, declared states of emergency on Monday. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) on Sunday announced a weather watch from Jan. 6-10, saying anticipated cold weather across its region could boost demand for electricity and reduce reserves. However, ERCOT said grid operations were forecast to remain normal during the weather watch. PJM Interconnection, the nation’s biggest power grid operator, issued a cold weather advisory for its Western Region, which includes parts of Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania, for Jan. 8-10.

The AP [1/7/2025 6:34 PM, Hannah Fingerhut and Ben Finley, Negative] reports the plunging polar vortex brought subfreezing temperatures Tuesday to some of the southernmost points of the U.S., threatening to dump snow on parts of Texas and Oklahoma in the coming days and contributing to a power outage in Virginia’s capital that made the water unsafe to drink. The arctic blast that descended on much of the U.S. east of the Rockies over the weekend has caused hundreds of car accidents, thousands of flight cancellations and delays, and led communities to set up warming shelters, including one at a roller rink. As points north and east dug their way out of snow and ice Tuesday, communities in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas were preparing for their own helping. A low-pressure system was expected to form as soon as Wednesday near South Texas, which could bring several inches of snow to the Dallas area and lower Mississippi Valley, the weather service said. The Washington Post [1/7/2025 12:52 PM, Matthew Cappucci, 40736K, Negative] reports that the massive winter storm that pummeled a 1,500-mile swath from Kansas to Delaware finally exited the Eastern Seaboard. It brought copious snow and ice, dangerous blizzard conditions and even a few tornadoes in the Deep South. More than 150,000 customers remained without power as of midday Tuesday. In its wake, frigid air was surging south across the Plains, with temperatures some 20 degrees or more below average in spots. That’s helping the snow and ice to stick around, with little melting likely in the near future. Across Kansas and Missouri, temperatures were barely going to make it to the mid-20s on Tuesday, and Wednesday will be similarly brumal. By Thursday, highs will rebound to near freezing. The cold air is bleeding south across the southern Plains, helping to set the stage for a new winter storm that could hit Texas and the mid-South late in the week. The storm will be remembered for its massive footprint; at one point, some 70 million Americans were included under winter storm warnings. Every state from Kansas to Delaware logged at least one report of 10 inches or more of snow. ABC News [1/7/2025 6:41 AM, Max Golembo, 33392K, Neutral] reports that the major winter storm that brought heavy snow and ice from Kansas to New Jersey is gone. Washington, D.C., had 7.1 inches of snow, making it the biggest snowstorm since 2019. And Cincinnati, Ohio, received about 10.6 inches of snow, marking the biggest snowstorm since 2016. The chilly weather will continue for most of the East through Friday. The cold air in place, will set up perfect conditions for a new winter storm. A winter storm watch has already been issued for four states: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Lousiana, where snow and sleet could create treacherous road conditions. Ice and snow are expected to begin in Texas and Oklahoma early Thursday morning and will continue all day. Dallas, Texas; Shreveport, Louisiana; and Little Rock, Arkansas, are just a few cities that will see this winter storm Thursday morning into Friday morning. By Friday, the snow will move into Tennessee, hitting both Memphis and Nashville, with ice possible for northern Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Even Atlanta, Georgia, could see ice and snow on Friday afternoon and evening. Snow is also expected to fall in the recently hard hit Ohio Valley on Friday from Louisville to Cincinnati. By Friday night into Saturday the snow will move into mid-Atlantic and I-95 corridor again. At this point, it is still too early to say how much snow I-95 corridor will get, but a few inches possible, especially from Washington to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Reported similarly:
NPR [1/7/2025 6:28 PM, Staff, 35747K, Negative] Audio: HERE

Bloomberg [1/7/2025 9:23 AM, Brian K. Sullivan, 1450K, Negative] reports that a winter storm is poised to pummel Texas and the US South later this week, putting the region at risk of blackouts and travel mayhem. About 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) of snow and ice will fall across southern Oklahoma and Texas, including Dallas, coating trees, roads and power lines from San Antonio to northern Louisiana, said Peter Mullinax, a forecaster at the US Weather Prediction Center. The system "is going to be a disruptive one with significant accumulations of snow and ice," Mullinax said. It will start to build Wednesday night, getting stronger on Thursday before sweeping east across the South on Friday. The storm is likely to trigger widespread power outages, snarl transportation in a region where snow plows and salt trucks are rare, and ground or delay airline traffic. While temperatures won’t approach the extreme lows seen during the February 2021 storm that killed more than 200 people and left millions without power for days, any recurrence of cold raises concern about the stability of the state’s fragile power grid. Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state’s grid operator, warned of possible tight power conditions Jan. 8 through Jan. 10 due to the storm. The highest probability of freezing rain is from the Hill Country into Northeast Texas, Ercot’s meteorologists said in a website posting Monday.

Yahoo! News [1/7/2025 9:33 PM, Ronnie Marley, 57114K, Neutral] reports Texas Governor Greg Abbott has announced that he has directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to increase the readiness level of the Texas State Operations Center to Level II (Escalated Response). "With below-freezing temperatures beginning to impact large portions of the state, Texas is increasing the readiness level of the State Operations Center to ensure resources are swiftly deployed to communities," said Governor Abbott. "As the State of Texas mobilizes the emergency response resources Texans need to stay safe and warm, I urge everyone to remain weather-aware, regularly monitor road conditions before traveling, and heed guidance from state and local officials. I thank all the first responders and emergency management personnel for their efforts to help Texas communities brace for winter weather." According to the National Weather Service, a large area of the state is expected to face ongoing freezing and below-freezing temperatures throughout the rest of the week. Accumulating snow, sleet, ice and freezing rain is possible for northern, western, and central regions of the state.

The Wall Street Journal [1/8/2025 2:17 AM, Jennifer Calfas, Victoria Albert and Jim Carlton, Neutral] reports rapidly expanding wildfires forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate their Los Angeles homes on Tuesday and forecasters warned that a potentially life-threatening windstorm could accelerate them overnight. Approximately 30,000 people were under evacuation orders, Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said at a press conference Tuesday night. The LAFD ordered residents in affluent Pacific Palisades to leave the area immediately as firefighters sought to slow the spread of a nearly 3,000-acre blaze. New evacuation orders were issued elsewhere, including one for part of highly populated Santa Monica. “Immediate threat to life. This is a lawful order to LEAVE NOW,” the city posted on X. Another was for sections of Altadena and Pasadena along the San Gabriel Mountains, where a fast-moving fire broke out Tuesday night. Late Tuesday night, yet another fast-growing brush fire prompted mandatory evacuations in the San Fernando Valley. Gov. Gavin Newsom said many structures have been destroyed. A LAFD spokesman said a 25-year-old female firefighter suffered a serious head injury, while “multiple” burn victims were reported and undergoing treatment. Officials warned that the most dangerous winds could come overnight, intensifying the fire. “We’re not out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination,” Newsom said at the news briefing. He has declared a state of emergency and urged residents to heed evacuation orders. The National Weather Service predicted powerful winds for much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties through Wednesday, with gusts of 50 to 80 miles an hour and up to 100 miles an hour in the area’s mountains and foothills. High winds and the surrounding topography made it difficult to fight the blaze. Traffic backed up for more than half a mile as people attempted to escape, according to one resident. Some apparently abandoned their cars and fled on foot. Fire was spreading from burning homes to other residences, an area fire chief said. The AP [1/8/2025 4:14 AM, Jaimie Ding, Christopher Weber and Julie Watson, 30936K, Neutral] reports California firefighters battled wind-whipped wildfires that tore across the Los Angeles area, destroying homes, clogging roadways as tens of thousands fled and straining resources as officials prepared for the situation to worsen early Wednesday. The flames from a fire that broke out Tuesday evening near a nature preserve in the inland foothills northeast of LA spread so rapidly that staff at a senior living center had to push dozens of residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds down the street to a parking lot. The residents waited there in their bedclothes as embers fell around them until ambulances, buses and even construction vans arrived to take them to safety. Another blaze that started hours earlier ripped through the city’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood, a hillside area along the coast dotted with celebrity residences and memorialized by the Beach Boys in their 1960s hit “Surfin’ USA.” In the frantic haste to get to safety, roadways became impassable when scores of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot, some toting suitcases. The traffic jam on Palisades Drive prevented emergency vehicles from getting through and bulldozer was brought in to push the abandoned cars to the side and create a path. Video along the Pacific Coast Highway showed widespread destruction of homes and businesses along the famed roadway. Pacific Palisades resident Kelsey Trainor said the only road in and out of her neighborhood was blocked. Ash fell all around them while fires burned on both sides of the road. A third wildfire started around 10:30 p.m. and quickly prompted evacuations in Sylmar, a San Fernando Valley community that is the northernmost neighborhood in Los Angeles. The causes of all three fires were under investigation. Flames were being pushed by Santa Ana winds topping 60 mph (97 kph) in some places. The winds were expected to increase overnight, producing isolated gusts that could top 100 mph (160 kph) in mountains and foothills — including in areas that haven’t seen substantial rain in months. NPR [1/8/2025 2:47 AM, Liz Baker, Emily Alfin Johnson, Russell Lewis, 21K, Negative] reports Santa Monica officials Tuesday evening ordered evacuations for parts of the city due to the threat of the Palisades Fire. In addition to the people living in the small slice of the evacuation zone in the northern part of the city, an "evacuation warning" for a larger area is now in place. Residents have been told to be ready to evacuate. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said her emergency declaration would "amplify our response to this devastating fire and clear a path for a rapid recovery." Meanwhile, the L.A. Unified School District said four of its schools will be closed tomorrow: Canyon Charter Elementary, Marquez Charter Elementary, Palisades Charter Elementary and Paul Revere Charter Middle. Earlier Tuesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency as the Palisades Fire burned through Los Angeles County. A third blaze, a brush fire reported late Tuesday night in the Sylmar neighborhood north of Los Angeles, led the L.A. Fire Department to issue evacuation orders for that area. The mandatory evacuation orders were "in place for North of the 210 Freeway from Roxford to the Interstate 5 / 14 Freeway split," according to the LAFD spokesperson Margaret Stewart. More than 30,000 people in Los Angeles County have been ordered to evacuate as the Palisades Fire, one of several wildfires that broke out on Tuesday morning, blazed through the Pacific Palisades community. Fueled by intense Santa Ana winds, the fire has spread over more than 2,900 acres and threatened 13,000 structures; Newsom said during an afternoon press conference that he’s already seen many of them them destroyed. The fire remained uncontained Tuesday night. Newsweek [1/8/2025 4:26 AM, Giulia Carbonaro, 56005K, Negative] reports that every year, wildfires cause devastating losses to the state. By the end of 2024, a total of 8,024 wildfires had burned 1,050,012 acres of land across the state and killed one person, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. As of Tuesday night, the fire was estimated to have burnt 2,900 acres and forced at least 30,000 to leave their homes, according to officials. The city of Los Angeles has declared a state of emergency as of Tuesday night. Another fire, Eaton, started on Tuesday evening near Pasadena in Eaton Canyon, burning an estimated 1,000 by that same night, according to the Angeles National Forest. Several streets in Pasadena and Altadena were evacuated on Tuesday night. Officials are investigating the cause of the fires. Bloomberg [1/8/2025 3:20 AM, Mark Chediak, John Gittelsohn, and Mary Hui, 1450K, Negative] reports that the National Weather Service issued red flag warnings that extend from central California’s coast to the US-Mexico border. Beverly Hills, Hollywood Hills, Malibu and the densely-populated San Fernando Valley are facing a "particularly dangerous situation" — the most severe fire alert level.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [1/8/2025 12:27 AM, Jesus Jiménez, 161405K, Neutral]
AP [1/8/2025 4:14 AM, Jaimie Ding, Christopher Weber and Julie Watson, 2212K, Neutral]
Newsweek [1/8/2025 3:18 AM, Martha McHardy, 56005K, Neutral]
CBS News [1/8/2025 4:23 AM, Marissa Wenzke, Matthew Rodriguez, Dean Fioresi, 52225K, Negative]

AP [1/7/2025 6:54 PM, Bill Barrow, Jonathan J. Cooper and Farnoush Amiri, Neutral] reports nearly 44 years after Jimmy Carter left the nation’s capital in humbling defeat, the 39th president returned to Washington for three days of state funeral rites starting Tuesday. Carter’s remains, which had been lying in repose at the Carter Presidential Center since Saturday, left the Atlanta campus Tuesday morning, accompanied by his children and extended family. Special Air Mission 39 departed Dobbins Air Reserve Base north of Atlanta and arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. A motorcade carried the casket into Washington for a final journey to the Capitol, where members of Congress will pay their respects.

Michigan Live [1/7/2025 1:30 PM, Cole Waterman, 7583K, Negative] reports that a Michigan woman who sold her vehicle on New Year’s Day for several thousand dollars soon learned she’d been duped — the money the buyer gave her was bogus. The man accused of scamming the woman with the counterfeit cash, himself in the U.S. illegally, is facing two felonies. About 10:15 p.m. on Jan. 1, a Harrison woman met with Clare County Sheriff’s deputies to report a theft. She told them she’d listed her 2015 GMC Terrain for sale on Facebook Marketplace, eliciting a response from a man. The seller and prospective buyer agreed to meet at the woman’s home. The man met with the woman and gave her $3,600 in $100 bills, then drove away with the vehicle, deputies said. Shortly thereafter, the woman went to a gas station to make a purchase and a clerk used a counterfeit-detecting pen on some of the bills, determining they were fraudulent, deputies said. Telleria-Sanchez on Jan. 3 was arraigned in Clare County District Court on single counts of larceny by false pretenses between $1,000 and $20,000 and uttering and publishing counterfeit notes. The charges are 15- and five-year felonies, respectively. The arraigning judge set Telleria-Sanchez’ bond at $50,000 cash-surety or 10%, though U.S. Immigration and Customers Enforcement has placed a detainer on him.

Reported similarly:
Yahoo! News [1/7/2025 10:51 AM, Katie Rosendale, 57114K, Negative]

Salem Statesman Journal [1/7/2025 6:13 PM, Zach Urness, Positive] reports the body of a 72-year-old North Bend man who had been missing since mid-December was found Sunday morning, according to the Coos County Sheriff’s Office. Joseph C. Neill had been missing since Dec. 15 when he went to take pictures of Oregon’s "king tides at the beach and never returned home," police reported. Police said his personal items had been located on the railroad bridge which spans the Coos Bay at Jordan Point and a major search for him took place, which included the U.S. Coast Guard and local search and rescue teams. On Sunday, Clausen Oysters farm off North Bay Road reported a possible deceased person found in Haynes Inlet during the outgoing tide. Neill’s body was recovered and identified in the southern beach area of Haynes Inlet, east of the bridge over U.S. Highway 101.

MeriTalk [1/7/2025 12:44 PM, Weslan Hansen, 31K, Neutral] reports that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) today released cybersecurity performance goals that the agency said will help to protect the information technology and product design sectors from cyber threats. The new IT Sector Specific Goals (SSGs) are aligned with CISA’s existing Secure by Design principles – which emphasize building software with security as a core priority – and will help to "identify and address vulnerabilities prior to product release, improve incident response, and significantly improve software security," the agency said. The goals are organized by two different categories – software development process goals and product design goals. CISA’s first set of recommendations for software development includes logging and monitoring access, enforcing phishing resistant multi-factor authentication (MFA) and software security requirements, securing credentials, conducting network monitoring with real-time alerts, managing supply chain risks, providing a software bill of materials, inspecting and addressing source code vulnerabilities, and publishing a vulnerability disclosure policy. The product design set advises expanding MFA use, minimizing default passwords and vulnerabilities, ensuring timely patches, being transparent about end-of-life products, enabling cyber incident evidence collection, and including weakness and platform enumerations in vulnerability records.

FOX News [1/7/2025 5:03 PM, Morgan Phillips, 49889K, Neutral] reports the White House’s outgoing cyber czar, Harry Coker, called for three key things to meet the growing threat of digital attacks: more funding, deregulation and opening up cyber jobs to those without college degrees. At the same time, the Biden appointee railed against "duplicative federal regulation" and said he’d heard from those working to protect the nation’s online infrastructure that they spend "a staggering 30 to 50%" of their time working to comply with regulation, rather than ensuring protection from hacks. Amid this onslaught of attacks, Coker said the cyber industry is suffering a recruitment issue.

MeriTalk [1/7/2025 12:42 PM, Grace Dille, 31K, Neutral] reports that the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on Jan. 3 that it has imposed sanctions on a Beijing-based cybersecurity company known as Integrity Technology Group, Inc. (Integrity Tech) for its role in a spate of malicious cyber activities. The agency said Integrity Tech is linked to the state-sponsored hacking group Flax Typhoon, which often targets organizations within U.S. critical infrastructure sectors. "The Treasury Department will not hesitate to hold malicious cyber actors and their enablers accountable for their actions," said Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley Smith. "The United States will use all available tools to disrupt these threats as we continue working collaboratively to harden public and private sector cyber defenses." Flax Typhoon has been active since at least 2021, but the FBI announced in September 2024 that it had successfully taken the hacking group offline. According to FBI Director Christopher Wray, the hacking group represents itself as Integrity Tech but "their chairman has publicly admitted that for years his company has collected intelligence and performed reconnaissance for Chinese government security agencies."

The AP [1/7/2025 7:04 PM, Eric Tucker and Ellen Knickmeyer, Negative] reports the Biden administration on Tuesday asked a federal appeals court to block a plea agreement for accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants that would spare them the risk of the death penalty. The Justice Department argued in a brief filed with a federal appeals court in the District of Columbia that the government would be irreparably harmed if the guilty pleas were accepted. It said the government would be denied a chance for a public trial and the opportunity to "seek capital punishment against three men charged with a heinous act of mass murder that caused the death of thousands of people and shocked the nation and the world." Mohammed was due to enter his guilty plea on Friday and his two co-defendants next week. The New York Times [1/7/2025 8:51 PM, Carol Rosenberg, 161405K, Negative] reports that the filing argued that, contrary to the findings of two lower military courts, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III had the authority to retroactively withdraw the government from plea agreements that were submitted at the military court last summer. On July 31, Mr. Mohammed and two co-defendants signed an agreement with the Pentagon official in charge of the court to plead guilty to war crimes charges in exchange for sentences of life in prison rather than face a death penalty trial. Prosecutors had negotiated the deal for more than two years, but Mr. Austin undid the agreements two days later. Then on Nov. 7, the military judge, Col. Matthew N. McCall, ruled that the secretary acted too late and that the deal was valid. Tuesday’s move seeking to overturn Colonel McCall’s ruling was the latest to whipsaw the families of the nearly 3,000 victims of the attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon, who are divided over how the 12-year-old case should be resolved. “All it does is drag this situation out for the families,” said Stephan Gerhardt, whose brother Ralph was killed in the attack on the World Trade Center. “What is their end goal here?” Newsweek [1/7/2025 6:16 PM, Matthew Impelli, 56005K, Neutral] reports that a military judge at Guantanamo Bay, along with a military appeals panel, denied Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s attempt to block the plea agreement, ruling that he lacked the authority to overturn it after the senior Pentagon official overseeing Guantanamo approved it in July. Mohammed was set to formally plead guilty on Friday with his two co-defendants scheduled to follow next week. The Justice Department argued in its brief that a short delay would not harm the defendants, noting the prosecution has been underway since 2012. The plea agreements, if finalized, would likely result in lengthy prison sentences, potentially keeping the men incarcerated for life.

Reported similarly:
CBS News [1/7/2025 6:17 PM, Eleanor Watson, Robert Legare, 52225K, Neutral

The Hill [1/7/2025 2:08 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 16346K, Negative] reports that Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill (R) said security measures would be in place through Mardi Gras celebrations in March after a deadly New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans. "I think that you’re going to see a lot more resources moved into place during Mardi Gras," Murrill said during a Tuesday press conference. "You’re going to see barriers in place that we probably didn’t have." The increased police presence comes after Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, plowed a rented vehicle into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street with an ISIS flag in the back of his truck early on New Year’s Day. He killed 14 people and injured dozens of others. The event earned condemnation from the state’s lawmakers as the city prepares for two large events this winter: the Super Bowl on Feb. 9 and Mardi Gras on March 4. On Tuesday, Murrill shared that her office is investigating the security plan in place during the Jan. 1 attack on Bourbon Street and expects a report to be available for the state Legislature ahead of its April session. She advised Louisianians to expect more "permanent" security ahead of the upcoming events, which are expected to draw thousands to New Orleans.

CBS News [1/7/2025 6:13 PM, Richard Esposito, 52225K, Negative] reports a photo showing what a law enforcement official said is one of two improvised explosive devices that investigators believe were placed in the French Quarter by the man responsible for the deadly New Orleans truck attack on New Year’s Day was obtained by CBS News Tuesday. The photo, which was provided by a senior law enforcement source with knowledge of the situation, shows rolls of nails and what appears to be a radio receiver inside a cooler. Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, told reporters last week that two active IEDs were found in coolers near intersections in the French Quarter. Neither detonated. The FBI released surveillance video Sunday it said showed the attacker, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar of Texas, placing the devices. Officials said Jabbar had a detonator device inside the truck. They also said the detonator likely would not have worked.

CBS Austin [1/7/2025 2:17 PM, Madelin Morales, 581K, Neutral] reports that Governor Greg Abbot announced the Texas Department of Public safety will be increasing Texas Anti-Terrorism Task Force resources after the terror attack in New Orleans that killed at least 14 people. The task force resources are planned to help combat "radical jihadist terrorism," after the attacker Shamsud-Din Jabbar from Houston was inspired by ISIS, according to a press release from the Governor’s press office. "Terrorism has no place in Texas," said Governor Abbott. "Law enforcement at all levels must aggressively collaborate to eliminate radicalization that can lead to terrorist attacks.” Governor Abbott issued the following initiatives to the Texas Department of Public Safety: DPS will work with FBI Field Offices to increase Anti-terrorism Joint Terrorism Task Force operations statewide. DPS will increase the number of intelligence analysts assigned to investigate terrorism and mass attack threats and to provide analytical assistance to local jurisdictions. DPS will work with federal agencies to identify, locate, and assess potential threats from "Special Interest Migrants.” DPS will work with the US Department of Homeland Security and local jurisdictions to expand the Bomb-Making Materials Awareness Program (BMAP), enhancing information sharing between the private sector and law enforcement regarding suspicious purchases of materials that may be used to construct improvised explosive devices.

ABC News [1/7/2025 11:45 AM, Kiara Alfonseca and Alex Stone, 33392K, Negative] reports that in a new court filing, federal prosecutors allege the suspect who took a hostage and got into a shootout with Yellowstone National Park rangers in July ranted that he "refuse[s] to fraternize with race-traitors that support non-whites or Jews.” The Wyoming U.S. Attorney made the filing on Monday in an attempt to gain ownership over the suspect’s guns and vehicles, which are in the possession of the federal government but not owned by them. In the filing, federal prosecutors call the suspect’s actions an act of terrorism. Samson Fussner, the suspect who died in the shootout, allegedly made inflammatory comments about immigrants, African Americans and Jews while holding a woman hostage in her dorm room and in texts ahead of the shootout, according to federal prosecutors. The filing claims Fussner had engaged in the "planning of and preparation to carry out a terrorist attack against the United States, its citizens and their property," ultimately culminating in the events of the shootout and hostage kidnapping. Fussner, who came from Milton, Florida, complained in texts to his brother about the local diversity, saying he lived in a "hellscape" and would "go postal" if he stayed in Yellowstone longer. He allegedly also texted his brother that he was obsessed with the woman he later kidnapped for a couple of hours, calling her "German stock." During the kidnapping, he told the woman he did not like "how America was bringing in non-Americans" and wanted to "make a statement because politics in America are messed up," the complaint read.

Newsweek [1/7/2025 6:35 PM, Natalie Venegas, 56005K, Neutral] reports Matthew Livelsberger, a Green Beret and the main suspect in the Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas, used generative AI including ChatGPT, to help plan the attack, according to Las Vegas police on Tuesday. Firework mortars and camp fuel canisters were found inside the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel last week on New Year’s Day. The blast resulted in a single casualty, the suspect inside the vehicle, and sparked national attention and a thorough investigation into potential terrorism. On Thursday, authorities identified the victim as Livelsberger, 37, who reportedly shot himself in the head moments before the explosion. Seven others, meanwhile, were injured in the incident. Authorities found several charred items inside the truck including a handgun at Livelsberger’s feet, another firearm, a passport, a military ID, credit cards, an iPhone and a smartwatch. While Livelsberger’s motives for detonating the explosives outside the hotel remain a point of contention, police are now revealing more details about the attack in a news conference. According to Las Vegas police, while a laptop, cellphone and watch are still under review nearly a week after the attack, investigators discovered that Livelsberger used ChatGPT to search for explosive targets, the speed at which certain rounds of ammunition would travel and whether fireworks were legal in Arizona. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sheriff Kevin McMahill described the event as a "concerning moment" noting it marked the first known instance of ChatGPT being used to aid in constructing a dangerous device on U.S. soil.

Reported similarly:
Washington Examiner [1/7/2025 8:36 PM, Ross O’Keefe, 2365K, Negative]

New York Times [1/8/2025 3:35 AM, David E. Sanger and Michael D. Shear, 740K, Negative] reports President-elect Donald J. Trump refused on Tuesday to rule out the use of military or economic coercion to force Panama to give up control of the canal that America built more than a century ago and to push Denmark to sell Greenland to the United States. In a rambling, hourlong news conference, Mr. Trump repeatedly returned to the theme of American sacrifice in building the canal and accused China, falsely, of operating it today. When pressed on the question of whether he might order the military to force Panama to give it up — in violation of treaties and other agreements reached during the Carter administration — or to do the same with Greenland, he said: “No, I can’t assure you on either of those two.” “We need them for economic security — the Panama Canal was built for our military,” he said. Asked again if he would rule out the use of military force, he said: “I’m not going to commit to that. You might have to do something.” Mr. Trump’s statements propelled his repeated calls for expanding American territory to a new level, one that is bound to roil three American allies — Panama; Denmark, which handles Greenland’s foreign and security affairs; and Canada, which he has mocked as America’s “51st State.” On Tuesday he made clear, though, that he was not joking, suggesting that if Canada remained a sovereign state the financial cost to its trading relationship with the United States could be crushing. Perhaps Mr. Trump was posturing, for negotiating advantage. Yet not since the days of William McKinley, who engaged in the Spanish-American War in the late 19th century and ended up with U.S. control of the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico, has an American president-elect so blatantly threatened the use of force to expand the country’s territorial boundaries. It was a reminder that Mr. Trump’s definition of “America First” is anything but isolationist. He comes to American foreign policy with the mind of a real estate developer, with a penchant for grabbing territory. He insisted he would not be deterred by the treaty signed with Panama, which was ratified by the Senate in 1978 by 68 to 32, just beyond the two-thirds vote required by the constitution. He asserted that the return of control of the Canal to Panama was a bad idea — arguing that he was reluctant to say so while the nation was burying former President Jimmy Carter, who negotiated the deal. He then returned, repeatedly, to criticizing Mr. Carter’s judgment.

Reported similarly:
AP [1/7/2025 1:16 PM, Staff, 47097K, Neutral]

CBS Austin [1/7/2025 2:01 PM, Jackson Walker, 581K, Positive] reports that President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday vowed to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America" in honor of the U.S. Trump made the comment during a wide-ranging press conference at Mar-a-Lago, which followed Congress’ certification of his win in the presidential election. He floated the new name as a "beautiful" improvement to the body of water. “We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring," he said. "That covers a lot of territory—the Gulf of America, what a beautiful name." The promise followed Trump teasing Monday a merging of Canada with the U.S., something he said would make Canada "totally secure" from foreign attack. He floated the idea in the wake of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing his plans to resign. "The United States can no longer suffer the massive Trade Deficits and Subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat," the president-elect said via Truth Social. "Justin Trudeau knew this, and resigned.” Trump has also called for U.S. expansion into Greenland and the Panama Canal. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., supported Trump’s Greenland push last month, calling it a matter of national security during an interview with Fox News.

CBS News [1/7/2025 6:29 AM, Staff, 52225K, Negative] reports security forces clashed with gunmen on Monday in one of Mexico’s most violent states, leaving 10 suspected criminals dead and three police officers injured, authorities said. The early morning shootout happened during a joint patrol by police and the military in the municipality of Yuriria in Guanajuato, a central industrial region that is also home to warring drug cartels. The Guanajuato state security department initially reported that eight gunmen had been killed, but later said two more bodies had been found with gunshot wounds. "With this discovery, it is confirmed that there are 10 members (of a criminal group) neutralized," it said. Security personnel employed a "legitimate and proportional use of force" during the clash, in which three police officers suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to a statement. A dozen firearms were seized along with several stolen vehicles and ballistic vests, it added. Drug-related violence has seen more than 450,000 people killed in Mexico since the government deployed the army to combat trafficking in 2006, according to official figures. And gang-related violence has shown no sign of abating since Claudia Sheinbaum took office on October 1, becoming Mexico’s first woman president. She has ruled out declaring war on the cartels and instead proposed to continue her predecessor’s strategy of using social policy to tackle crime at its roots, while also making better use of intelligence. Guanajuato, an industrial and farming hub, has for years had the highest number of homicides of any of Mexico’s 32 states. The Jalisco cartel and the local Santa Rosa de Lima gang have been locked in a years-long turf battle in the state. Just last month, eight people were killed and two others wounded after gunmen pulled up to a roadside stand in Guanajuato and opened fire on customers and bystanders. On October 4, the bodies of 12 slain police officers — all bearing signs of torture and left with messages by cartels — were found in different areas of Salamanca, a town in Guanajuato. The state prosecutor’s office also said the perpetrators left messages in which a cartel claimed responsibility. Messages are often left on victims’ bodies by cartels seeking to threaten their rivals or punish behavior they claim violates their rules. The bodies were found less than 24 hours after gunmen attacked a residential center for people suffering from addictions in the same municipality, killing four. In June, a baby and a toddler were among six members of the same family murdered in Guanajuato. In April, a mayoral candidate was shot dead in the street in Guanajuato just as she began campaigning. The U.S. State Department urges Americans to reconsider traveling to Guanajuato. "Of particular concern is the high number of murders in the southern region of the state associated with cartel-related violence," the department says in a travel advisory.

Newsweek [1/7/2025 6:57 AM, Lilith Foster-Collins, 56005K, Negative] reports the U.S. transferred 11 Yemeni men from Guantánamo Bay to Oman this week, the Pentagon has announced, after holding them for two decades without charge. The Biden administration has been pushing to clear Guantánamo of remaining detainees before Biden leaves office. Rights groups and some lawmakers have campaigned for years for successive U.S. administrations to close Guantánamo or, failing that, release all those detainees never charged with a crime. The latest transfer brings the number of men detained at Guantánamo to 15, the fewest since 2002. Guantánamo was turned into a detention site in 2002 by President George W. Bush’s administration. The site held mostly Muslim men taken into custody around the world in what the U.S. called its "war on terror" where the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and military and covert operations elsewhere followed the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida attacks. As a result of antiterror-related U.S. operations overseas, Guantánamo held about 800 detainees at its peak. In December, the Pentagon transferred three Guantánamo Bay detainees, one from Kenya and two from Malaysia, back to their home countries. The latest release has been complicated by the fact that many of those still imprisoned at Guantánamo were from Yemen, which is a country at war, with its capital held by the Iranian-backed Houthi militant group. The sultanate of Oman, on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, did not acknowledge taking in the prisoners early Tuesday. Officials in the country did not respond to questions from The Associated Press. The key Western ally has taken in some 30 prisoners since Guantánamo has been used as a prison. The latest transfer included Shaqawi al Hajj, who had undergone repeated hunger strikes and hospitalizations at Guantánamo to protest his 21 years in prison. Before being imprisoned at Guantánamo, Hajj was detained and tortured for two years by the CIA, according to the U.S.-based Center for Constitutional Rights. The Washington Examiner [1/7/2025 11:15 AM, Mike Brest, 2365K, Negative] reports that there are 15 remaining prisoners at Guantanamo Bay after the Defense Department transferred 11 Yemeni detainees to the government of Oman earlier this week. The 11 detainees are: Uthman Abd al Rahim Muhammad Uthman, Moath Hamza Ahmed al Alwi, Khalid Ahmed Qassim, Suhayl Abdul Anam al Sharabi, Hani Saleh Rashid Abdullah, Tawfiq Nasir Awad Al Bihani, Omar Mohammed Ali al Rammah, Sanad Ali Yislam Al Kazimi, Hassan Muhammad Ali Bib Attash, Sharqawi Abdu Ali Al Hajj, and Abd Al Salam Al Hilah. None of them had been charged with crimes during their two decades of detention.

AP [1/7/2025 8:16 PM, Staff, 2717K, Neutral] reports two U.S. citizens have been arrested in Venezuela, part of a group of seven who President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday branded as "mercenaries," in the latest roundup ahead of the embattled leader’s expected inauguration to a new term later this week. Maduro said the detained U.S. citizens were "very high level," but did not provide further details or evidence of the arrests. "Just today we’ve captured seven foreign mercenaries, including two important mercenaries from the United States," said Maduro, who is set to take office for a third term on Friday following last July’s contested election that the opposition says it won in a landslide. Maduro said the group of detainees includes two Colombians who he said were captured in unspecified parts of Venezuela, as well as three others who came from the war in Ukraine. He did provide further detail. Neither the U.S. Department of State nor Colombia’s foreign ministry immediately responded to requests for comment. Venezuelan rights groups have warned of a revolving door of prisoners, with fresh detentions coming in even as older prisoners are released, including arrests of foreign nationals. In late 2023, Venezuela’s government released dozens of prisoners including 10 Americans after months of negotiations between Caracas and Washington, while the U.S. released a close ally of Maduro, Colombian businessman Alex Saab. In remarks delivered from the Miraflores presidential palace, Maduro on Tuesday claimed that his government’s security forces have captured what he called 125 foreign mercenaries from 25 different countries who he said had entered the South American nation "to practice terrorism against the Venezuelan people."

Yahoo! News [1/8/2025 3:31 AM, Boldizsar Gyori, 57114K, Neutral] reports Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro announced the detention of three Ukrainians days before his inauguration, calling them "mercenaries" and accusing them of plotting "terrorist" actions, Spanish news agency EFE reported on Jan. 8. Venezuelan authorities also detained two U.S. and two Colombian citizens, raising the same accusations against them. "Today alone, we have captured…, seven foreign mercenaries, including two important U.S. mercenaries," Maduro said at an event in Caracas. The group was planning a terrorist attack against "the peace of Venezuela," the president alleged. Maduro did not provide evidence to support his claims. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has not yet commented on Caracas’ claims, and a spokesperson did not respond to the Kyiv Independent’s request at the time of publication. Maduro is preparing for his inauguration on Jan. 10 to become the president of Venezuela for the next six years after two consecutive terms, claiming election victory in July 2024 amid widespread reports of fraud. The opposition’s presidential nominee, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, also plans to take the presidential oath. The U.S. and several other nations have recognized Urrutia as the legitimate president-elect. The Venezuelan government claims to have detained overall 125 "mercenaries" in November and December, all part of an alleged scheme to attack Maduro’s Vice President and Hydrocarbons Minister Delcy Rodriguez. Maduro has a close relationship with Moscow, bolstered by their shared animosity toward the West. Venezuela’s president has denounced Western sanctions imposed against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and called Caracas and Moscow "loyal allies." Last summer, two Russian naval ships docked in Venezuela’s La Guaira port after exercises in the North Atlantic, supposedly to "show the flag" in the region.

New York Times [1/7/2025 3:27 PM, Declan Walsh, 161405K, Negative] reports that the United States on Tuesday accused a Sudanese paramilitary group and its proxies of committing genocide, singling them out in a conflict of unchecked brutality and drawing fresh attention to the scale of atrocities being perpetrated in Africa’s largest war. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group fighting against Sudan’s military had committed acts of genocide, including a fearsome wave of ethnically targeted violence in the western region of Darfur. The Treasury Department backed the determination of genocide with a raft of sanctions targeting the R.S.F.’s leader, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, as well as seven companies in the United Arab Emirates, the group’s main foreign sponsor, that have traded in weapons and gold on his behalf. “The R.S.F. and allied militias have systematically murdered men and boys — even infants — on an ethnic basis, and deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence,” Mr. Blinken said in a statement. “Those same militias have targeted fleeing civilians, murdering innocent people escaping conflict, and prevented remaining civilians from accessing lifesaving supplies.”

Newsweek [1/7/2025 6:30 AM, Isabel van Brugen, 56005K, Negative] reports several North Korean troops fighting for Russia were killed in a gun and drone battle in Kursk, shortly after Ukraine launched a fresh incursion in the border region. Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces announced on Tuesday that 13 North Korean soldiers were killed in Kursk. Newsweek has reached out to the Kremlin for comment via email. Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces’ photos of the aftermath of the battle in Kursk, where Kyiv launched a surprise offensive over the border in August 2024, serve as further evidence that Pyongyang has deployed an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 servicemen to southern Russia to fight Ukrainian forces. The soldiers, some of whom are thought to belong to Pyongyang’s special forces, were sent by Kremlin ally Kim Jong Un, arrived in the country in October 2024, and were assessed to have entered combat in early December. In a post on social media on Tuesday, Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces said soldiers from its 8th Separate Special Operations Regiment killed eight North Korean troops using drones, and five in a gunbattle. After the battle, the Ukrainian soldiers went through their personal items and documents, and found a drone detector, an assault rifle with a collimator sight, and a Chinese-Russian Azart radio station. On Saturday, slightly before reports of a renewed offensive in Kursk by Ukraine emerged, Zelensky said in a video address that over the course of a few days, "near just one village, Makhnovka, in Kursk region, the Russian army lost up to a battalion of North Korean infantry soldiers and Russian paratroops. This is significant.” A battalion can include as many as 1,000 soldiers. Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in December that North Korean troops had been killed in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Zelensky on X, formerly Twitter, said late on Monday: "Today marks exactly five months since the start of our actions in the Kursk region, and we continue to maintain a buffer zone on Russian territory, actively destroying their military potential there. During the Kursk operation, the enemy has already lost over 38,000 soldiers in this single direction alone, with approximately 15,000 of them irrecoverable losses. "The Russians have deployed their strongest units to Kursk, including soldiers from North Korea. Importantly, all this manpower cannot now be redirected to other fronts—neither to the Donetsk region, nor against Sumy, the Kharkiv region, or Zaporizhzhia. "I thank all our warriors who are bringing the war back home—to Russia—and giving Ukraine more security and strength.”

FOX News [1/7/2025 1:38 PM, Greg Norman, 49889K, Neutral] reports that Iran’s nuclear program is nearing the "point of no return," French President Emmanuel Macron is now warning. Iran is the top "strategic and security challenge" for France and Europe this year, Macron said this week during an annual foreign policy conference with French ambassadors, according to Reuters. "The acceleration of the nuclear program leads us nearly to the point of no return," the French leader was quoted as saying. "In the coming months we will have to ask ourselves whether to use... the mechanism to restore sanctions," Macron added. The comments come after International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi told Reuters in December that Iran is enriching uranium close to the 90% level required for weapons grade. French, German and British diplomats are now set to meet their Iranian counterparts on Jan. 13 in an effort to defuse tensions, according to Reuters. Iran has argued that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Axios recently reported that in a top meeting with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan roughly a month ago, President Biden was presented with a series of strike options should Iran make a move to develop a nuclear weapon.

The New York Times [1/7/2025 6:25 PM, Julian E. Barnes and Carol Rosenberg, 161405K, Negative] reports U.S. officials made a new offer to the Taliban over the weekend to try to secure the release of Americans held in Afghanistan, according to people familiar with the matter. American officials declined to discuss the negotiations or the offer. But people briefed on the conversations said the White House had been working on a deal to get the Americans back in exchange for Muhammad Rahim, an Afghan who has been held at Guantánamo Bay since 2008. The U.S. government has said Mr. Rahim was a senior aide in Al Qaeda, but others have cast doubt on his role in the organization, suggesting that he was a courier and a translator and would not pose a threat to the United States if he were released. The Taliban have acknowledged holding two Americans. One of them, George Glezmann, a former airline mechanic, was touring Afghanistan when he was taken prisoner in December 2022. The other, Ryan Corbett, who had long lived in Afghanistan with his family before the fall of the U.S.-backed government, was on a business trip when he was seized in August 2022. The Taliban have refused to say whether they are holding a third American whose return is also sought by the U.S. government. That person, Mahmood Habibi, a naturalized American, was taken captive soon after the U.S. strike in Afghanistan in 2022 that killed Ayman al-Zawahri, the leader of Al Qaeda. Mr. Habibi’s family has said that he was arrested with 30 other people who all worked for the same American firm, Asia Consultancy Group, on suspicion that the company was involved in the U.S. drone strike that killed the Qaeda leader. U.S. officials would not discuss whether Mr. Habibi had a role in the strike, nor is his condition known. But his father, Ahmadullah, and brother, Ahmad, have denied that he was involved. Mr. Habibi was out of the country at the time of the attack and arrived in Afghanistan days later, they said. They have also said, based on “several independent sources in Afghanistan,” that he was alive and last known to be in custody of the government’s General Directorate of Intelligence. Reuters [1/7/2025 8:17 AM, Susan Heavey and Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru, 48128K, Negative] reports that the talks have been in motion since July, according to the WSJ, which cited sources who attended a classified House Foreign Affairs Committee briefing last month with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. The report comes after Biden’s administration on Monday sent 11 Guantanamo detainees to Oman, slashing the prisoner population at the detention center in Cuba by nearly half as part of its effort to close the facility as the president prepares to leave office Jan. 20.

Wall Street Journal [1/7/2025 6:44 AM, James T. Areddy, Neutral] reports the Pentagon on Monday added a number of well-known Chinese businesses to a list of companies it identifies as military in nature, including some of the country’s largest internet, battery, science and shipping firms. The additions to the Defense Department’s list of “Chinese military companies” reflects its assessment that China fuses commercial and military technology. Beijing aims “to strengthen all [China’s] instruments of national power by melding aspects of its economic, military, and social governance,” as the Pentagon put it in a threat assessment published last month. The report cited efforts to harness advanced artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology and integrated circuits for military means. Among the new names on the list of more than 50 business groups plus subsidiaries are Cosco Shipping, Sinotrans & CSC Holdings, and China International Marine Containers; airplane producer Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China, or Comac; battery behemoth Contemporary Amperex Technology, or CATL; telecommunications modular maker Quectel Wireless Solutions; facial-recognition business SenseTime Group; and WeChat owner Tencent Holdings. In a sign of investors’ attention to the list, Hong Kong-listed stock in Tencent fell more than 7% Tuesday, while shares in other companies added to the list, such as the battery maker CATL, also dropped. A spokesman for Tencent said its inclusion “is clearly a mistake. We are not a military company or supplier. Unlike sanctions or export controls, this listing has no impact on our business. We will nonetheless work with the Department of Defense to address any misunderstanding.”

Reported similarly:
Bloomberg [1/7/2025 6:18 AM, Staff, 1450K, Neutral]

Reuters [1/7/2025 7:20 AM, Liz Lee, 48128K, Negative] reports China called the United States "extremely irresponsible" for "groundlessly suspecting" there are information security risks in China’s drone systems, its commerce ministry said on Tuesday. China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes the U.S. investigating its drone systems and said it will closely monitor the situation. China also urged the U.S. to respect facts and immediately stop what it called "erroneous practices". The U.S. Commerce Department said on Thursday it was considering new rules that would impose restrictions on Chinese drones to restrict or ban them in the United States, citing national security concerns.

Newsweek [1/7/2025 7:37 AM, John Feng, 56005K, Neutral] reports images published by North Korean state media on Tuesday claimed the successful launch of a new hypersonic missile meant to bolster the nation’s "nuclear war deterrent"—but officials in the South have cast doubt on the weapon’s capabilities. A video released by state broadcaster KRT and photographs published by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) showed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un overseeing the previous day’s test at an undisclosed location. It was Pyongyang’s first missile event of the year. North Korea’s strongman leader Kim has for years sought more sophisticated weaponry and platforms for his military, which largely comprises Soviet-supplied hardware. At the top of his wish list are hypersonic missiles, solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear-powered submarine and surveillance satellites. Hypersonic warheads can be maneuvered mid-flight and are therefore a challenge to intercept with existing air defense systems. The arms industries of the U.S., Russia and China have invested heavily in the capability. Kim described his military’s new ballistic missile as "a weapon system to which no one can respond," according to the KCNA report. The system "can deal a serious military strike to a rival by effectively breaking any of its dense defensive barriers.” Monday’s test was staged by North Korea’s missile administration, KCNA said. The state news outlet said the hypersonic warhead flew at Mach 12—12 times the speed of sound—and struck a target 930 miles away. Pyongyang is developing the capability in order to "raise the durability and effectiveness of the strategic deterrent," the report said. Kim, who watched the launch event alongside his young daughter, was quoted as saying: "A few countries in the world might possess such a weapon system.” North Korea’s first missile test since November appeared to be intentionally tied to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to treaty allies South Korea and Japan. Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have shared real-time data on North Korean missiles for a year. The South Korean and Japanese militaries both tracked the missile’s trajectory into the Sea of Japan, or East Sea. They said the weapon traveled 690 miles, contradicting Pyongyang’s account.

NBC News [1/7/2025 12:18 PM, Steve Kopack, 50804K, Neutral] reports that the chief executive of U.S. Steel appealed directly to President-elect Donald Trump to take a second look at a Japanese company’s $15 billion deal to buy the American steelmaker. President Joe Biden on Friday blocked the deal between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns after a key business-review panel failed to reach a consensus on whether the acquisition posed any risks. Both companies sued the administration over the decision. Trump has also opposed Nippon’s purchase of the once-iconic Pittsburgh-based firm and again questioned the proposed sale on Monday. But David Burritt, the U.S. Steel CEO, told CNBC on Tuesday that he believes he can appeal to Trump’s business sensibilities. "We have a new president that will take a fresh look at this. We understand what his current views are, but he’s a smart guy," Burritt said. He added that he hopes Trump will "see how this helps make U.S. Steel great again. And frankly, Nippon is going to pay for it," he said, echoing Trump’s frequent assertions during the 2016 campaign that Mexico would pay for a wall along the U.S. southern border, which never came to pass. A spokesperson for Trump referred to his earlier comments on the matter. A White House spokesperson reiterated a statement provided to NBC News on Monday night: "President Biden will never hesitate to protect the security of this nation, its infrastructure, and the resilience of its supply chains."

CNBC [1/7/2025 11:30 AM, Spencer Kimball, 36472K, Neutral] reports that U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt on Tuesday appealed to President-elect Donald Trump to reverse President Joe Biden’s decision to block the company’s sale to Japan’s Nippon Steel. "The president can step in now and undo the wrongful, shameful, corrupt actions of Biden," Burritt said Tuesday on CNBC’s "Squawk on the Street." Biden formally blocked the more than $14 billion deal on Friday, citing national security concerns after a monthslong review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. U.S. Steel and Nippon filed a lawsuit Monday asking a federal court to reverse Biden’s decision, alleging that the president acted unconstitutionally. Trump has also opposed U.S. Steel’s sale to Nippon. Burritt believes he can convince the president-elect that the deal is in the best interest of the company and U.S. workers. "What we want is for due process to work," Burritt said. "Obviously, we have a new president that will take a fresh look at this. We understand what his current views are, but he’s smart guy. He has the opportunity to have fresh eyes and do what’s right, and I believe strongly he will," he added.

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