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

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

The AP [3/26/2025 11:06 PM, Rebecca Santana and Alex Brandon, 2K] reports U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday visited the high-security El Salvador prison where Venezuelans who the Trump administration alleges are gang members have been held since their removal from the United States. The tour included two crowded cell blocks, the armory and an isolation unit. Noem’s trip to the prison — where inmates are packed into cells and never allowed outside — comes as the Trump administration seeks to show it is deporting people it describes as the “worst of the worst.” The Trump administration is arguing in federal court that it was justified in sending the Venezuelans to El Salvador, while activists say officials have sent them to a prison rife with human rights abuses. Noem toured an area holding some of the Venezuelans accused of being gang members. In the sweltering building, the men in white T-shirts and shorts stared silently from their cell, then were heard shouting an indiscernible chant when she left. In a cell block holding Salvadoran prisoners, about a dozen were lined up by guards near the front of their cell and told to remove their T-shirts and face masks. The men were heavily tattooed, some bearing the letters MS, for the Mara Salvatrucha gang, on their chests. After listening to Salvadoran officials, Noem turned her back to the cell and recorded a video message. If an immigrant commits a crime, “this is one of the consequences you could face,” Noem said. “First of all, do not come to our country illegally. You will be removed and you will be prosecuted. But know that this facility is one of the tools in our toolkit that we will use if you commit crimes against the American people.” Noem also met with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, a populist who has gained right-wing admiration in the U.S. due to his crackdown on the country’s gangs, despite the democratic and due process implications that have come with it. “I want to thank El Salvador and its president for their collaboration with the United States of America,” Noem said in her statement. The Washington Examiner [3/26/2025 7:57 PM, Anna Giaritelli, 2296K] reports “I toured the CECOT, El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center,” Noem said in a statement posted to X on Wednesday evening. “President Trump and I have a clear message to criminal illegal aliens: LEAVE NOW. If you do not leave, we will hunt you down, arrest you, and you could end up in this El Salvadorian prison.” Noem, who spoke on video, stood in front of a locked cell with countless shirtless male inmates packed inside the barred room. The men were covered in tattoos and had had their heads shaved upon being admitted into the facility. The facility that Noem visited Wednesday afternoon can hold up to 40,000 people. It was specifically built by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to detain the most violent criminals after Bukele was elected in 2019 and delivered a swift round-up of the country’s MS-13 gang members. It is now where some Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang members are being housed following recent deportation flights from the U.S. that have since been paused by court order. President Donald Trump is facing legal challenges after invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Tren de Aragua gang members without the typical immigrant court proceedings. Noem departed Washington for El Salvador Wednesday morning on a three-day trip to Central America, South America, and Mexico. Following the prison tour, Noem is slated to meet with Bukele. EFE [3/26/2025 8:11 PM, Staff, 1342K] reports that accompanied by a heavy security detail, as seen in photos shared by the presidency, Noem began her tour in the intake area, where inmates pass through a scanner. She then went to the warehouse and armory area and later to Cell 8, where some of the alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang, originally from Venezuela, are being held. Noem also saw the Salvadoran gang leaders held at Cecot. After the visit to the prison, the US officials will meet privately with President Bukele to discuss, among other things, the increase in deportations and detentions of migrants in the country. Noem’s is the second visit by a senior official of the Donald Trump administration to meet with Bukele, the first being Secretary of State Marco Rubio in February, when Bukele initially offered Salvadoran prisons to hold convicted criminals, but did not discuss their use for irregular migrants. Axios [3/27/2025 1:18 AM, Rebecca Falconer, 13163K] reports Noem’s visit suggests the administration won’t back down on its policy to accelerate mass deportations, with little to no due process, of Venezuelan immigrants suspected of being gang members under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. A federal appeals court in D.C. on Wednesday denied the Trump administration’s request to lift a temporary restraining order blocking the deportation of immigrants using this Act. ACLU and Democracy forward are suing the administration over the action and accuse it of illegally invoking the Act for immigration enforcement, violating its limits and "improperly attempting to bypass the procedures and protections in immigration law."

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ABC News [3/26/2025 5:20 AM, Luke Barr, 34586K] Video: HERE
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USA Today [3/26/2025 11:24 AM, Eduardo Cuevas, 75858K]

ABC News [3/26/2025 3:12 PM, Laura Romero and Peter Charalambous] reports in February 2023, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele posted to social media a tightly edited video with dramatic music showing thousands of men, with their heads pushed down, being transferred to the country’s newest prison: the Terrorism Confinement Center. The video showed CECOT receiving over 200 Venezuelan migrants who are alleged to be members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The migrants were sent to El Salvador by U.S. authorities under the Alien Enemies Act, as part of a $6 million deal the Trump administration arranged in their effort to crack down on illegal immigration. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was scheduled to visit the prison on Wednesday along with the Salvadorian minister of justice. In a subsequent sworn declaration, ICE Acting Field Office Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations Robert Cerna argued that "the lack of specific information about each individual actually highlights the risk they pose" and "demonstrates that they are terrorists with regard to whom we lack a complete profile." The declaration was included in the Trump administration’s recent motion to vacate Judge James Boasberg’s temporary restraining order blocking deportations pursuant to the Alien Enemies Act.

The Wall Street Journal [3/26/2025 8:44 PM, Jan Wolfe, Michelle Hackman and Victoria Albert] reports an appeals court upheld an order that blocked the Trump administration from using a wartime law to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members, on the same day Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited the prison in El Salvador where the migrants are being detained. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s 2-1 decision on Wednesday denied the Justice Department’s bid to lift the block while it fights the lawsuit, which challenged President Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to carry out the deportations. The law has been rarely used and is meant to be invoked at times when the nation is at war. Judge Karen L. Henderson, who was appointed by President George H.W. Bush, said U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s March 15 emergency order temporarily blocking the deportations was entered “for a quintessentially valid purpose: to protect [the court’s] remedial authority long enough to consider the parties’ arguments.” She said that the administration hadn’t, at this early stage, shown it was likely to prevail in the lawsuit. The administration had previously signaled it was prepared to ask the Supreme Court to hear the case if necessary. The decision was a setback for President Trump in his clash with the judiciary over the limits of his authority. Boasberg has said that the deportees, who were quickly shuttled onto flights just after the president invoked the act, should have been given a chance to argue that they weren’t actually members of Tren de Aragua, a violent Venezuelan gang. The scores of people who were deported under the law were taken to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, a mega-prison opened in 2023 under President Nayib Bukele. It is known as the world’s largest prison and home to the country’s most violent gang members. Noem visited a cell block holding some suspected members of Tren de Aragua on Wednesday. The area was made of concrete with a vaulted ceiling, and was uncomfortably warm. Prisoners were held behind bars on racks of metal beds with four beds to each bunk, going up about two stories. They wore white uniforms of T-shirts and thin cotton shorts. All had shaved heads. Newsweek [3/26/2025 5:48 PM, Mandy Taheri, 52220K] reports President Donald Trump invoked the law for the first time since World War II, using a presidential proclamation to label the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang as an invading force and deport hundreds of migrants. The Justice Department had appealed the decision after U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered a halt to the deportations and instructed that planeloads of Venezuelan migrants already removed be returned to the United States—a directive that was not carried out. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the case on behalf of five Venezuelan nationals detained in Texas. The lawsuit has emerged as a flashpoint in the growing clash between the federal judiciary and the Trump White House over immigration enforcement and executive power.

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Washington Examiner [3/26/2025 10:46 AM, Jenny Goldsberry, 2296K] reports that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) confirmed that the House Judiciary Committee will investigate recent orders from judges that impede President Donald Trump’s deportation plans. Over a week has passed since Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a ruling prohibiting deportation flights while he oversees a case involving five immigrants with active deportation orders. The Trump administration went through with the deportations as the planes were already airborne when Boasberg’s ruling came out. El Salvador received over 200 of the immigrants deported from the U.S. "We plan to have hearings starting next Tuesday on this broad subject where we look at some of these, what I would simply call, ridiculous orders," Jordan said Wednesday on Fox News’s Fox and Friends. "I mean, judge Boasberg, he basically said – he didn’t basically say – he did say, ‘Turn the plane around, bring bad guys who were here illegally, who did terrible things, turn the plane around and bring bad guys back to the country.’ That makes no sense when you think about the commander in chief and his constitutional authority. The authority he has under the statute, the Alien Enemies Act, made no sense."

The Hill [3/26/2025 9:07 AM, Zach Schonfeld, 52868K] reports that a federal appeals court Tuesday temporarily reinstated President Trump’s suspension of new refugee admissions nationwide. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel agreed to partially lift a judge’s block until it fully resolves the Trump administration’s appeal, but the panel ruled that Department of Homeland Security officials still must permit people into the country that were conditionally accepted into the refugee program before Trump’s suspension. The three-judge panel is comprised of U.S. Circuit Judge Barry Silverman, an appointee of former President Clinton; U.S. Circuit Judge Bridget Bade, a Trump appointee; and U.S. Circuit Judge Ana de Alba, an appointee of former President Biden. The trio’s brief ruling pointed to the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision upholding Trump’s travel ban during his first White House term, when the high court noted federal immigration law "exudes deference" to the president in imposing entry restrictions. "The existing briefing schedule remains in effect. The clerk will place this appeal on the next available calendar," the court’s two-page order reads. The appeal came after U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead, a Biden appointee, blocked the president’s executive order late last month, saying Trump’s actions amounted to an "effective nullification of congressional will" in setting up the nation’s refugee admissions program.

New York Times [3/26/2025 5:53 PM, Abbie VanSickle and Mattathias Schwartz, 145325K] reports a task force of federal judges will consider how to respond to “current risks” for the judiciary, following a spate of threats against judges who have ruled against the Trump administration. According to an internal two-page memo distributed to federal judges on Wednesday and obtained by The New York Times, the new Judicial Security and Independence Task Force will hold its first meeting within the next 10 days. The announcement comes days after Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. issued a rare statement rebuking calls for impeaching judges. President Trump and his allies have repeatedly called for the removal of judges who have issued rulings halting or slowing the adoption of his agenda. The formation of the task force is another sign that the judicial branch is taking seriously an increasingly hostile and politicized climate. In recent weeks, there have been hoax reports of bombs placed in mailboxes. Pizzas have also been anonymously sent to judges’ homes and the homes of their family members, which security experts have said is intended to send a menacing message that the public knows where they live. On social media, allies of President Trump have shared posts that purport to contain the personal information of judges’ families. Elon Musk and prominent Republican lawmakers have singled out specific judges and called on Congress to impeach them. In a statement, a White House spokesman condemned “attacks on public officials, including judges.” Such attacks “have no place in our society and President Trump knows all too well the impact of callous attacks, having faced two assassination attempts,” said Harrison Fields, the spokesman. Threats against public officials have been rising for years. According to the memo, the intent of the task force will be “to identify and help” the judicial branch “respond to current risks, and to anticipate new ones.” “Through its efforts, it is hoped that the security of individual judges will be enhanced and that judicial independence will be assured,” the memo said. The memo names 10 judges and one circuit executive who will be serving on the task force, with two more court clerks to be announced. Judge James K. Bredar of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland will serve as the new group’s chair.

NBC News [3/26/2025 10:39 AM, Marlene Lenthang, 44742K] reports that academic groups of professors and scholars have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, claiming the arrests of noncitizen students and faculty who participate in pro-Palestinian protests are unconstitutional. The American Association of University Professors — which has chapters at colleges across the country — and the Middle East Studies Association filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, alleging Trump’s new immigration enforcement policies violate the First Amendment, which enshrines free speech and assembly, and the Fifth Amendment, which ensures due process. The suit was filed against Donald Trump, the Department of State, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Kristi Noem, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Todd Lyons, and the government in the District of Massachusetts. In January, Donald Trump signed executive orders that ensure noncitizens in the U.S. do not bear hostility towards the country, do not advocate for foreign terrorists, and combat antisemitism. The complaint, however, says that the orders have stretched its purview into an "ideological deportation policy." The Trump administration has incorrectly labeled any speech supporting Palestinian human rights and critical of Israel’s military actions as "pro-Hamas," the complaint says.

FOX News [3/26/2025 12:10 PM, Rachel Wolf, 46189K] reports that immigration authorities have been ordered by a federal judge to cease their efforts to arrest a Columbia University student who engaged in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. U.S. District Judge Naomi Buchwald issued the restraining order on Tuesday, just one day after the student filed her lawsuit. Yunseo Chung, who has lived in the U.S. since she was 7 years old, is suing President Donald Trump and several members of his administration after federal authorities tried to arrest and deport her. In the lawsuit, Chung’s attorneys say that the government’s pursuit of the Columbia student is an "unjustifiable assault on First Amendment." The lawsuit states that Chung was a participant in the anti-Israel protests, not a leader, and was "one of a large group of college students" expressing "shared concerns" over the war in Gaza. Chung, according to the lawsuit, "visited" the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, a number of tents organized in the center of campus, but does not state whether she stayed there. The lawsuit also makes it clear that she did not make public statements or engage in high-profile activities while at the protests. The lawsuit states that on March 8, an ICE official signed an administrative arrest warrant for Chung and federal law enforcement went to Chung’s parents’ house the next day seeking to arrest her. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official allegedly told Chung’s attorneys on March 10 that her green card had been "revoked," according to the lawsuit. The government has the authority to rescind permanent resident status if they believe a person has violated U.S. immigration law.

Newsweek [3/26/2025 9:34 AM, Billal Rahman, 52220K] reports that a 21-year-old Columbia University student has said a federal judge’s block on immigration officials’ attempt to deport her "feels like a million pounds off of my chest." Yunseo Chung, a legal permanent U.S. resident, sued President Donald Trump and top administration officials on Monday over the bid to arrest, detain and ultimately deport her in connection to her participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations earlier this month. A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration halt those attempts. "After the constant dread in the back of my mind over the past few weeks, this decision feels like a million pounds off of my chest," Chung told Newsweek in a statement provided via her attorneys. "I feel like I could fly. I’m so, so grateful to my legal team and my community of professors, students, and staff at Columbia that have given me strength at every turn.” The Justice Department declined to comment when approached by Newsweek. Trump has pledged to crack down on pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses. DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that Chung "has engaged in concerning conduct, including when she was arrested by NYPD during a pro-Hamas protest at Barnard College," Columbia’s sister school in Manhattan. "She is being sought for removal proceedings under the immigration laws," McLaughlin said. "Chung will have an opportunity to present her case before an immigration judge."

Axios [3/27/2025 4:55 AM, Marc Caputo, 13163K] reports the Trump administration is discussing plans to try to block certain colleges from having any foreign students if it decides too many are "pro-Hamas," senior Justice and State Department officials tell Axios. The effort — which could include grand jury subpoenas —marks another escalation of Trump’s aggressive crackdown on immigration and antisemitism that civil libertarians say stifles campus speech and has led to several lawsuits. The idea of prohibiting colleges from enrolling any student visa-holders grew out of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s "Catch and Revoke" program, which now is focusing on students who protested against the war in Gaza. A senior State Department official called the demonstrators it’s targeting "Hamasniks" — people the government claims have shown support for the terror group. More than 300 foreign students have had their student visas revoked in the three weeks "Catch and Revoke" has been in operation, the official said. There are 1.5 million student visa-holders nationwide. "Everyone is fair game," the official said. At the heart of the plan is the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which certifies schools to accept student visa-holders. Institutions have been decertified in the past if the government determines they have too many student-visa holders who are using the education system as a ruse to live and work in the U.S., officials say. Now, the Trump administration is threatening to apply that decertification framework to the post-Oct. 7 demonstrations on college campuses. "Every institution that has foreign students ... will go through some sort of review," the official said. "You can have so many bad apples in one place that it leads to decertification of the school ... I don’t think we’re at that point yet. But it is not an empty threat." Columbia University and UCLA — both of which had controversial, disruptive pro-Palestinian protests last year — are among the schools mentioned the most often by administration officials. Columbia officials couldn’t be reached for comment. "UCLA is committed to eradicating hate," a spokesperson for that university said, pointing to UCLA’s new Initiative to Combat Antisemitism. What they’re saying: Critics accuse the administration of trampling free speech and due process rights, and of unfairly conflating support for Palestinian rights with backing Hamas, the terror group that rules Gaza. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a nonpartisan free-speech group, said the concept of decertifying entire universities based on who is "pro-Hamas" is "a worrying escalation." "Deemed ‘pro-Hamas’ by whom? This kind of explicitly viewpoint-driven decision-making is ripe for abuse and risks arbitrary enforcement," FIRE legal director Will Creeley told Axios in a statement.

Boise State Public Radio [3/26/2025 12:25 PM, Joe Hernandez, 78K] reports that the Trump administration says it won’t share any more information in response to a judge’s request about three recent deportation flights carrying Venezuelan migrants because it’s a state secret. The Justice Department said in a court filing Monday that it was exercising what’s commonly called the "state secrets privilege" in the case because sharing the information would harm diplomatic relations and national security. It’s part of a lawsuit the administration is facing after President Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport people it accuses of being members of a violent Venezuelan prison gang to El Salvador earlier this month. The privilege allows the U.S. government to withhold sensitive information — such as intelligence sources and methods and foreign affairs details — from becoming public as part of a court case. The government can even intervene in a case that it’s not a party to and exercise the privilege, if it believes damaging information could come out during the course of the proceedings. "Privilege is designed or intended to navigate those areas where the tectonic plates of the executive privilege and the judicial responsibility sort of collide," said George Croner, a non-resident senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

AP [3/26/2025 5:49 PM, Ali Swenson and Gary Fields] reports with the stroke of his pen, President Donald Trump restructured the way Americans can register to vote and when they can cast their ballots. After the president signed his executive order Tuesday calling for broad election changes, such as proof of citizenship for voter registration and an Election Day return deadline for mailed ballots, election officials, state attorneys general and legal experts said it would face legal challenges for encroaching on state powers outlined in the U.S. Constitution. The Trump administration says it has the authority to require the changes to secure U.S. elections from voter fraud, which the president falsely claims is widespread and responsible for his 2020 election loss. A decision about the order’s legality will ultimately rest with the courts. As he signed the order, Trump teased that there would be more action to combat voter fraud "in the coming weeks." Asked about the order on a podcast Wednesday, Trump doubled down on his threat to withhold federal money for states that don’t comply and reiterated his frequent election falsehoods.

CBS News [3/26/2025 7:48 AM, Staff, 51661K] reports the Trump administration continues to insist it didn’t defy a federal judge’s order when it failed to turn around planes carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg is weighing whether the government defied his order blocking the deportations of alleged gang members who hadn’t been afforded due process. It’s a case that’s become a flashpoint in the rising tension between the administration and federal courts. In a 14-page document filed late Tuesday night, the Justice Department spelled out before Boasberg why it didn’t turn around the two flights carrying alleged Tren de Aragua gang members despite his verbal order to do so. "These removals both complied with the law and safeguarded Americans against members of a foreign terrorist organization. The Government will continue to defend the removals before this Court and, if necessary, on appeal challenging this Court’s two injunctions issued on March 15," the filing reads. It’s signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi and other senior DOJ officials. The government attempts to thread the needle regarding Boasberg’s directive, arguing that it didn’t "remove" any of the migrants after he entered his order and that it "complied with the Court’s injunction with respect to the two flights at issue" because it didn’t formally remove anyone after 7:25 p.m. Saturday, though acknowledging it "did not order any removal flights to return to the United States." Boasberg asked Drew Ensign, the attorney for the Justice Department, if he understood the verbal orders to turn the plane around and if Ensign understood if the order was immediate. Ensign said he did. But in its appellate court filing, the DOJ continued to argue that Boasberg’s order was unclear and insufficient to be binding, asserting it "failed to satisfy the requirements for issuing a binding injunction "because Boasberg and the court didn’t state "the reasons why it issued" the injunction. "It is well-settled (in law) that an oral directive is not enforceable as an injunction," the filing alleges. The DOJ later in the filing argues that once the flights were out of U.S. airspace, they were "military matters" and President Trump has the power to order military flights wherever he wants. On Monday, the administration invoked a state secrets privilege and refused to give Boasberg any additional information about the deportations. Boasberg, the chief judge of the federal district court in Washington, has asked for details about when the planes landed and who was on board, information the administration asserts would harm "diplomatic and national security concerns." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NBC News [3/26/2025 11:07 AM, Matt Dixon, 44742K] reports that the Trump administration’s decision last week to revoke temporary legal status for thousands of Cuban immigrants is putting Cuban American Republicans, most of whom vocally support the president, in the difficult political position of either backing an end to a popular program in their community — or disagreeing with Trump. President Joe Biden started the so-called humanitarian parole process for Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan migrants. It created a framework used by more than 500,000 people from those countries to stay in the U.S. for up to two years if they had a financial sponsor. Of the four migrant population groups covered, the biggest by far are Cubans. Miami-Dade County is home to the largest populations of each migrant group in the country, including more than 1 million Cuban Americans. That group over the past few decades has amassed significant political clout within the Republican Party. Guillermo Grenier, a Florida International University professor who helps lead the school’s Cuba Poll, the longest-running research project tracking the opinions of Cuban Americans in South Florida, said that when migrants come from Cuba they are not always familiar with the politics in the United States, but enter a Cuban American community that is overwhelmingly Republican-leaning. In her notice in the Federal Register, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote that the administration was ending the program because it had no "significant benefit.” "These programs do not serve a significant public benefit, are not necessary to reduce levels of illegal immigration, did not sufficiently mitigate the domestic effects of illegal immigration, are not serving their intended purpose, and are inconsistent with the Administration’s foreign policy goals," she wrote.

FOX News [3/26/2025 1:17 PM, Cameron Arcand, 46189K] reports that House Democratic lawmakers reacted to the detention of anti-Israel activist and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil amid outrage that he could potentially be deported. "Free Mahmoud Khalil!" Rep. Deila Ramirez, D-Ill., said at a news conference on Capitol Hill on Tuesday alongside Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who has also been a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s decision to detain him. "The idea that this government believes that they can target people because they dare to dissent, and they don’t agree with what the president is doing for this specific. While we may not all we may not agree with everything he may or may have not said as a student at Columbia, I think you should be asking yourself, perhaps you don’t agree with me. I don’t agree with you. Or should you be criminalized for daring to speak up for what you believe is injustice?" Ramierz said following the news conference. Other lawmakers told Fox News Digital that there is a need for due process regardless of Khalil’s stances. "We’ve done some letters and stuff," Rep. Ami Bera said. "I think we’ve gotta give everyone due process rights, you know, especially folks that are legally here as the Columbia students. Obviously let’s uphold the law," he added.

FOX News [3/26/2025 10:00 AM, Elizabeth Elkind, 52868K] reports that tensions are flaring in the House GOP as Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, continues to push Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to open the gates for a select committee to crack down on Mexican drug cartels. Crenshaw has hit the airwaves in recent days to push Johnson to hold a vote on his resolution to create such a panel, and a source close to the Texas congressman accused the House speaker of slow-walking the effort due to budgetary reasons. "Back in early February, the speaker gave Crenshaw a roadmap to introduce his resolution creating a Select Committee to Defeat the Mexican Drug Cartels – and to bring it to a vote on the House floor, just like the Select Committee on China," the source familiar with Crenshaw’s thinking told Fox News Digital. "Dan has done all of the heavy lifting: securing support from House chairs, coordinating with the White House to ensure alignment, and even speaking directly with President Trump, who made it clear he wants to take down the cartels." The source said Johnson "claims there isn’t enough room in the budget" for the committee, however. "That’s not a valid excuse for Congress to sit on its hands instead of aligning with President Trump’s mandate to secure the border and stop the flow of fentanyl," they said.

AP [3/26/2025 12:01 PM, Seung Min Kim, Amanda Seitz, and Mike Stobbe, 10355K] reports that President Donald Trump will nominate Susan Monarez, the acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a longtime federal staffer, to the permanent position, a White House official confirmed Monday. Trump abruptly withdrew the nomination of his first pick, David Weldon, earlier this month. Monarez has been serving as the CDC’s acting director since January and came from another federal agency, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. Monarez, 50, holds a doctorate in microbiology and immunology from the University of Wisconsin, and her postdoctoral training was in microbiology and immunology at Stanford University. A CDC spokesperson referred a question about Monarez to the White House. In a social media post, Trump said that Monarez will work closely with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "As an incredible mother and dedicated public servant, Dr. Monarez understands the importance of protecting our children, our communities, and our future," Trump said in the post on Monday afternoon. "Americans have lost confidence in the CDC due to political bias and disastrous mismanagement."

Washington Post [3/26/2025 5:18 PM, Jacob Bogage, 31735K] reports that the federal government could hit its borrowing limit as soon as May if tax revenue falls short of expectations, or as late as September if debt stays on its current course, Congress’s nonpartisan bookkeeper reported Wednesday — potentially requiring Republicans to dramatically accelerate their timeline on legislation that would prevent a catastrophic default. Lawmakers are attempting to pass a massive package to extend expiring tax cuts and authorize new spending on immigration enforcement and national security — what President Donald Trump has taken to calling his “big, beautiful bill” — before Memorial Day. That legislation is also slated to include a $4 trillion increase to the debt limit, which caps how much the federal government can borrow to pay for spending it has already approved. The government technically eclipsed the debt ceiling in January, but the Treasury Department has been taking what are known as “extraordinary measures” to delay certain payments to stretch out the government’s available cash. As things stand now, and with big inflows of funds expected about April 15 and June 15, when tax payments are due, the government’s “X date,” or the day when the extraordinary measures won’t be enough to prevent more borrowing, could come in August or September, the Congressional Budget Office reported.

FOX News [3/26/2025 5:46 AM, Landon Mion, 46189K] reports Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, is threatening to withhold state funding from local governments if they do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement officials. The proposal comes as the governor seeks to eliminate the Commonwealth’s "sanctuary cities," which are areas that choose to protect migrants without legal status rather than cooperate with federal officials to enforce immigration law. Youngkin first floated the idea of withholding funding in December. The governor has now proposed it as an amendment to the state budget passed by the General Assembly, according to Fox 5 DC. The proposal would ensure that state funding does not go to counties or cities with "sanctuary city" policies such as ignoring detainer requests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the outlet reported. The governor has been particularly critical of Democrat-run counties in northern Virginia, including Fairfax. He said there must be full cooperation on immigration enforcement to continue receiving funding. "This is not a decision for people to make locally," he said, according to Fox 5 DC. "This is for the betterment of all our safety. We are not a sanctuary state and therefore we’re not supporting localities that are declared sanctuary cities.” Chair of the Board of Supervisors for Fairfax County, Jeff Mckay, told Fox 5 DC that Youngkin’s plan would effectively "defund the police," as he claims that Fairfax County is not a "sanctuary city" and asserts that officials follow all legal detainers. "Ultimately, what he’s saying is, if you don’t agree with his non-lawyer definition of ‘sanctuary city,’ it could affect your law enforcement agency, and he’s doing this because he’s alleging significant crime is occurring," McKay said. Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott, a Democrat, has accused the governor of "capitulating" to the Trump administration, which has sought to carry out the president’s plan to mass deport migrants. The General Assembly, which has a Democrat majority, will take up the governor’s proposal next week.

Yahoo! News [3/26/2025 7:28 AM, Candice Cole, 52868K] reports that on Tuesday, the House of Representatives Oversight Committee held a hearing on new legislation that would nullify D.C.’s sanctuary city status and force the District to comply with federal immigration law. The District of Columbia Federal Immigration Compliance Act was introduced by republican Congressman Clay Higgins. The act mandates that D.C. agencies and local law enforcement fully cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security and ICE agents when it comes to handing over information about undocumented immigrants. During Tuesday’s hearing, Higgins argued that current D.C. law was written to purposely flout federal immigration law. "The laws were written with severity leaning towards sanctuary city policies and our nation’s capital should not reflect a refusal, in fact, a mandated deny. denial of compliance with federal immigration law," said Rep. Higgins. Meanwhile, D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton is adamantly against the measure as it undermines D.C.’s local autonomy. Rep. Holmes Norton said, "I strongly oppose this undemocratic anti-immigrant bill, which would nullify duly enacted laws, policies and practices of the District of Columbia."

Washington Examiner [3/26/2025 10:43 AM, Emily Hallas, 2296K] reports that the Florida state legislature is considering a bill to lift restrictions on teenagers’ ability to work. SB 918, introduced by Republican state Sen. Jay Collins, would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work without penalty. Fourteen and 15-year-olds would be permitted to work if they were homeschooled or graduated from high school. The legislation would additionally allow teenagers 14 years and older to work earlier than 6:30 a.m. or later than 11 p.m., enabling them to work overnight shifts. Collins’s bill advanced in the state legislature on Tuesday, clearing the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee in a 5-4 vote, despite unease voiced by critics, including some of his Republican colleagues. "This bill not only allows employers to schedule all 16- and 17-year-olds for unlimited hours, overnight, and without breaks — but also targets kids as young as 14. For most, that means they’re in their first year of high school," said Alexis Tsoukalas, senior analyst at Florida Policy Institute. "We don’t let kids this young get a driver’s license and we’re worried about their social media consumption, so why are we OK treating them like they’re adults just because they’re home or virtual-schooled?" Collins dismissed those concerns, touting the legislation as "a parental rights issue."

Border Report [3/26/2025 7:38 PM, Dave Burge, 117K] Video: HERE reports the federal government and the U.S. Army have "greenlighted" an immigration facility that would be established and built at Fort Bliss, the U.S. secretary for the Army said during a visit to the installation on Wednesday, March 26. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said an "immigration facility" at Fort Bliss has been greenlighted and the process of getting it built would begin any day. Driscoll spent the past two days talking to soldiers, leaders and visiting units at Fort Bliss and seeing first-hand the border operations with which the Army is involved. It was part of a trip he took on the one-month anniversary of him becoming Army secretary. On Feb. 21, New York Times reported that Fort Bliss would be the site of a major "deportation hub" that could house up to 10,000 migrants. Driscoll was asked if that was coming to fruition when he said that an immigration facility at Fort Bliss was moving forward. Driscoll did not give any specifics on what the immigration facility would entail but said it would help to support local and federal partners who are involved with border operations.

FOX News [3/26/2025 3:13 PM, Peter Pinedo, 46189K] reports Colorado District Attorney George Brauchler is speaking out against activist judges and sanctuary policies in his state that he says enabled abolish ICE activist and illegal immigrant Jeanette Vizguerra to evade capture for over a decade, "making a mockery of the rule of law." Colorado law prohibits local and state law enforcement from working with federal immigration authorities to remove illegals. He said the policies have stunted local and state law enforcement’s ability to keep dangerous illegal criminals off the streets.

Yahoo! News [3/26/2025 8:14 PM, Gloria Rebecca Gomez, 52868K] reports a political climate dominated by concern over border security has put Gov. Katie Hobbs and Arizona Republicans on the same side, with both pushing to increase funding for law enforcement agencies that tackle border related offenses as progressive organizations and Democratic lawmakers are fiercely opposing the move. In her executive budget proposal, Hobbs earmarked $23.2 million for the Local Border Support grant program, a 36% boost over last year’s $17 million allocation. Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers are advancing their own measure to increase the fund to $50 million. The GOP bid to nearly triple the fund’s size has drawn criticism from immigrant rights advocates and Democratic lawmakers, who fear it could bankroll President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign in Arizona. Opponents say the allocation’s underlying language is too broad and leaves the door open for Arizona law enforcement officials to carry out the federal government’s anti-immigrant agenda. The proposal that sets aside the $50 million is House Bill 2606, which directs the Arizona Department of Public Safety to divvy up the money for police departments and sheriffs offices to fund officer positions that "deter and apprehend" people suspected of "drug trafficking, human smuggling, illegal immigration and other border related crimes." Some of the funds are also intended to help cities and towns pay for prosecuting and detaining people under those same charges. Jodi Liggett, a lobbyist for progressive group Living United for Change in Arizona, urged lawmakers on the Senate Appropriations Committee who were considering the bill on Tuesday not to make it easier for the current federal administration to recruit local law enforcement agencies. "(The bill) will use state resources to perpetuate the deeply flawed immigration enforcement system of the U.S., one that has been rife with human atrocities and blatant legal violations," she said.

Spokane Public Radio [3/26/2025 3:30 PM, Monica Carrillo-Casas, 7K] reports an attorney representing a man accused of assault, who was arrested by immigration authorities in Spokane Valley on his way to a court hearing, says the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office likely violated state law by assisting federal immigration officers. Kyle Madsen, a senior attorney at the Spokane County Public Defender’s Office, filed a motion to dismiss the assault case, citing government misconduct after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents broke the windows of a vehicle and forcibly removed brothers Jeison and Cesar Ruiz-Rodriguez as they were on their way to a hearing. Madsen, representing Jeison, said ICE’s arrest raises concerns that the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office may have violated the Keep Washington Working Act and the Washington Open Courts Act. Jeison remains at Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office officials say they did not violate the Keep Washington Working Act.

Bloomberg [3/26/2025 3:36 PM, Maxwell Adler, 16228K] reports Los Angeles strengthened its protections for undocumented immigrants even as President Donald Trump threatens to withhold federal funding from so-called sanctuary cities. The City Council on Wednesday approved measures to provide money and resources to help safeguard immigrants from raids conducted by federal authorities. One key initiative enables Los Angeles to monitor and track Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities. In addition, the city will launch a "Know Your Rights" campaign to educate residents about their legal protections.

Los Angeles Times [3/26/2025 8:44 PM, Summer Lin, 13342K] reports for five weeks, Yolanda Marodi was on the run from authorities. The 53-year-old was the prime suspect in the killing of her wife, Rebecca Marodi, 49, a fire captain who was found stabbed to death last month in the couple’s home in Ramona, Calif., officials said. Her fugitive status ended this weekend when Yolanda Marodi was arrested in Mexico. She entered a plea of not guilty to first-degree murder Wednesday during her arraignment at San Diego’s East County Superior Courthouse. She appeared via video from a San Diego hospital; her public defender requested a bail review hearing for April 28. San Diego County Superior Court Judge Peter Lynch said at the arraignment that Rebecca Marodi had been stabbed at least 34 times. Yolanda Marodi was at the hospital receiving treatment for an unspecified medical issue and will be moved to a jail after her release. She was arrested Saturday at a hotel in the Ferrocarril neighborhood of Mexicali, according to the Baja California Citizen Security Secretariat. She was transported to the U.S. border by Mexican state security agents and released to the U.S. Marshals Service, according to a news release from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office. After her killing, Rebecca Marodi’s friends held a "celebration of life" ceremony for the Cal Fire captain, who had battled the Eaton fire. Rebecca Marodi’s death may have come after she announced the end of her relationship with Yolanda. Rebecca’s mother, Lorena Marodi, informed detectives that Rebecca told Yolanda a week before she was killed that she was ending their marriage, according to an arrest warrant filed in San Diego County Superior Court. In home security video, Rebecca was seen with blood on her back running from a woman believed to be Yolanda. "Yolanda! Please...! I don’t want to die!" Rebecca screamed, according to the warrant. "You should have thought of that before," Yolanda responded while standing over Rebecca holding a knife, according to the warrant. She also had blood on her arms. About 10 minutes later, Yolanda was captured on the security camera gathering pets and luggage and loading them into a Chevrolet Equinox SUV, according to the warrant. Yolanda drove away and her vehicle was logged by the Department of Homeland Security entering Mexico that same night.

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ABC News [3/26/2025 7:06 PM, Meredith Deliso, 52868K]
CBS Los Angeles [3/26/2025 7:29 PM, Marissa Wenzke, 51661K]
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FOX News [3/27/2025 4:00 AM, Stepheny Price, 46189K] reports the popular social media platform TikTok has removed a hashtag from its search engine after cartel members were caught using it to highlight their crimes and recruit human smugglers. A TikTok spokesperson told Fox News Digital that in addition to removing "#CartelTok," from its search engine, the platform also removed "known leaders of cartels or gangs" that violated the organization’s policy. Many of the videos in question showed cartels flashing piles of money, jewelry and luxury items that were used to entice teens in America and Mexico to smuggle illegal immigrants across the U.S. border. The videos proved that the cartel members were not afraid to boast about their illegal operations, often flaunting their cash on TikTok and other apps, bragging about the ease at which they can evade authorities. "Carteltok is WILDDD," read a caption from a TikTok video posted on X. "On TikTok there’s currently a trend called ‘carteltok’, where Mexican cartels hire drug mules who are then paid in crypto. It almost seems as if the cartels are striking back at the Trump administration," another X user wrote, sharing another video of cartels at work from another social media site. The smugglers not only targeted TikTok for their recruitment, they used other social media sites, including Snapchat and Instagram, among others. They then use encrypted messaging apps, usually WhatsApp, to communicate anonymously with cartel members, getting audio or text messages instructing them where to pick up their human payloads, Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Chris Olivarez previously told Fox News Digital. Representatives for Snapchat, TikTok and Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, told Fox News Digital that they have policies in place to crack down on such content and remove such content when it does appear on their platforms. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Examiner [3/26/2025 5:00 AM, Anna Giaritelli and Christian Datoc, 2296K] reports President Donald Trump and his allies have unabashedly targeted illegal immigrants over the past month with a near-daily barrage of public service announcement-type posts on social media that threaten to “hunt” down those who refuse to self-deport. The Trump administration has waged a public relations campaign that features point-blank warnings for immigrants illegally in the country to get out and ridicules those who have been caught and are in the process of being removed from the United States. Critics have said the videos and announcements dehumanize immigrants and are creating fear in many minority communities nationwide. However, the extent to which the ads have prompted immigrants to self-deport remains unclear. The English-only ads that federal agencies have run on X, Facebook, and Instagram are not likely to be understood by Spanish-speaking immigrants, but immigration experts largely agree that the "public fear" campaign is reaching that community and pushing them to leave. Senior members of the Trump administration, including the president himself, have pushed out the ads. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has also appeared in numerous videos in which she is often surrounded by heavily armed police and almost appears to be leading the troops into battle, accompanying federal agents and officers as they make arrests under the cover of darkness nationwide. "If you come to this country and break our laws, we will hunt you down," Noem wrote in a post to X, accompanied by a video in which she is surrounded by geared-up law enforcement officers. We will not be deterred by leaks. If you come to this country and break our laws, we will hunt you down.

Yahoo! News [3/26/2025 6:36 PM, Staff, 52868K] reports a Lewiston man pleaded guilty to possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material Wednesday in U.S. District Court, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release. Harold Clayton III, 35, was charged after Lewiston police and the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit carried out a search warrant in September 2022. State police received two CyberTips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and traced the identified number to Clayton. Clayton’s cell phone and laptop, which were seized during the execution of the search warrant, contained images and videos of children as young as toddlers being subjected to sexual abuse by adult men, the release said. The cell phone also contained communications in which Clayton distributed images and videos of children being sexually abused. Clayton will face 5-20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for distributing the material. He faces up to 10 years in prison and up to a fine of $250,000 for the possession charge. The U.S. Probation Office will complete a presentence investigative report before Clayton is sentenced by a federal district court judge. Homeland Security Investigations also investigated the case with help from state and local law enforcement.

The AP [3/26/2025 7:14 PM, Jake Offenhartz, Kathy Mccormack and Michael Casey, 1682K] reports a Turkish national and doctoral student at Tufts University has been detained by U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents without explanation, her lawyer said Wednesday. Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, had just left her home in Somerville on Tuesday night when she was stopped, lawyer Mahsa Khanbabai said in a petition filed in Boston federal court. Video obtained by The Associated Press appears to show six people, their faces covered, taking away Ozturk’s phone as she yells and is handcuffed. “We’re the police,” members of the group are heard saying in the video. A man is heard asking, “Why are you hiding your faces?” Khanbabai said Ozturk, who is Muslim, was meeting friends for iftar, a meal that breaks a fast at sunset during Ramadan. “We are unaware of her whereabouts and have not been able to contact her. No charges have been filed against Rumeysa to date that we are aware of,” Khanbabai said in a statement. Ozturk has a visa allowing her to study in the United States, Khanbabai said. Neighbors said they were rattled by the arrest, which happened at 5:30 p.m. on a residential block. “It looked like a kidnapping,” said Michael Mathis, a 32-year-old software engineer whose surveillance camera captured the arrest. “They approach her and start grabbing her with their faces covered. They’re covering their faces. They’re in unmarked vehicles.” Tufts University President Sunil Kumar said in a statement that the school learned that authorities detained an international graduate student and the student’s visa had been terminated. “The university had no pre-knowledge of this incident and did not share any information with federal authorities prior to the event,” Kumar said. Democratic U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley called the arrest “a horrifying violation of Rumeysa’s constitutional rights to due process and free speech.” “She must be immediately released,” Pressley said in a statement. “We won’t stand by while the Trump Administration continues to abduct students with legal status and attack our fundamental freedoms.” A senior DHS spokesperson confirmed Ozturk’s detention and the termination of her visa. "DHS and (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) investigations found Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans. A visa is a privilege, not a right. Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is commonsense security," the spokesperson told the AP. The New York Times [3/27/2025 3:58 AM, Jenna Russell, Safak Timur, Anemona Hartocollis and Eduardo Medina, 330K] reports that the student, Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish citizen, had a valid student visa as a doctoral student at Tufts, according to a statement from her lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabai. Ms. Ozturk, who is Muslim, was heading out to break her Ramadan fast with friends Tuesday night when she was detained by agents from the Department of Homeland Security near her apartment in Somerville, Mass., Ms. Khanbabai said. A statement attributed to a senior spokesman for Homeland Security claimed on Wednesday that Ms. Ozturk had “engaged in activities in support of” Hamas considered “grounds for visa issuance to be terminated.” Records from Immigration and Customs Enforcement showed that a person with Ms. Ozturk’s name was being held in a Louisiana detention center on Wednesday. Late on Tuesday, Judge Indira Talwani of the Federal District Court in Massachusetts had ordered the government not to move Ms. Ozturk out of the state without advance written notice to the court. It was not immediately clear on Wednesday whether the government had provided written notice of her removal from Massachusetts. Ms. Ozturk filed a court petition asking a judge to determine whether her detention was lawful, and it named as respondents Patricia Hyde, the acting director of the I.C.E. field office in Boston, and other agency officials. CBS News [3/26/2025 8:40 AM, Mike Toole and Beth Gemano, 51661K] reports that the Homeland Security spokesperson did not provide evidence as to how Ozturk allegedly supported Hamas. "DHS and ICE investigations found Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans," the spokesperson said. "A visa is a privilege not a right. Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is commonsense security." [Editorial note: consult video at source link

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CBS Boston [3/26/2025 11:14 PM, Tammy Mutasa, 51661K] reports hundreds of people gathered at Powder House Park on Wednesday, to demand the release of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish PHD student at Tufts University, who was arrested by federal agents Tuesday night. The 30-year-old graduate student and Fulbright Scholar was detained Tuesday by federal agents in Somerville. A representative of the Department of Homeland Security said the student "engaged in activities in support of Hamas." She’s now being held at an ICE Detention Center in Central Louisiana. "The university campus should absolutely be a place for the free and open exchange of ideas and the fact that someone can just be disappeared into the abyss for voicing an idea is absolutely horrifying," said rally attendee Sam Wachman. A neighbor’s surveillance video showed the moments Ozturk was cornered by about six plain clothes ICE agents on her Somerville sidewalk, then handcuffed and taken away. City leaders in neighboring Medford, where the university is located, joined the rally after seeing the video. "This is the exactly the wrong thing for America. This is the wrong thing for Medford. I know it’s not what our community stands for and I think we need to really see robust action from the state government here in Massachusetts to say that we’re not going to let this happen here," said Medford City Council president Zac Bears. Officials with the Department of Homeland Security say DHS and ICE investigations found Ozturk engaged in activities supporting Hamas. "A visa is a privilege not a right. Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is commonsense security," said a DHS spokesperson. It comes as the Trump administration is cracking down on college students who’ve voiced support for the pro-Palestinian movement. Rally organizers say last year Ozturk helped write an op-ed in the Tufts Daily calling for the university to acknowledge genocide in Palestine and separate from companies with ties to Israel.

Newsweek [3/26/2025 7:58 AM, Billal Rahman, 52220K] reports a Brazilian man faces up to 15 years in prison after being charged over allegations he twice sold undercover officers fake Social Security cards and green cards. Newsweek contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for further comment via email outside of normal office hours on Wednesday. Under President Donald Trump, ICE agents are cracking down on illegal immigration as Republicans plot to carry out what they call the largest mass deportation in U.S. history. As ICE’s crackdown ramps up, the market for counterfeit green cards could increase. The Trump administration this week suspended certain green card applications, affecting thousands of refugees and asylum seekers. This pause, attributed to two executive orders signed by President Trump, aims to enhance vetting procedures. Consequently, many applicants face extended waits for permanent residency, leaving some in legal limbo and at risk of deportation. Brazilian national Liene Tavares De Barros, Jr., allegedly sold one Social Security card and one green card for $250 in October last year, before allegedly selling two additional Social Security cards and green cards for a total of $500 in December. The 39-year-old, living in Woburn, Massachusetts, was arrested on March 18 and has been charged with the unlawful transfer of a document or authentication feature. If found guilty, he could face up to 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000, ICE said in a news release issued Tuesday. Tavares De Barros, was previously deported by ICE in 2010 and 2022, "will also be subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed," the release said. Customs and Border Protection sources told Newsweek there has been no increase in counterfeit green cards in recent months.

FOX News [3/26/2025 8:50 AM, Michael Dorgan and Bill Melugin, 52868K] reports that Fox News has obtained mugshots and rap sheets for some of the more than 200 criminal illegal migrants arrested during a recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in Boston and Massachusetts – including previously deported fentanyl traffickers, a child rape convict and murderers. The sweeping operation, which took place between March 18 and March 23, netted the arrests of 370 illegal immigrants in the Boston area, a sanctuary jurisdiction that restricts local cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Among those arrested migrants, 205 had "significant criminal convictions or charges," according to ICE. ICE mugshots of illegal migrants arrested in the Boston area. Fox News has obtained mugshots of 11 of those arrested, including Mario Luis Lambert Colon, a two-time previously deported Honduran migrant with a prior conviction for child rape in Massachusetts. Colon failed to register as a sex offender with ICE finding him on the streets of Salem. ICE and its law enforcement partners arrested 370 immigrant offenders during an enhanced operation in Massachusetts.

Boston 25 News [3/26/2025 5:14 PM, Timothy Nazzaro] reports a Milford man was taken into custody by police and federal authorities on Tuesday for allegedly committing crimes in his native country of Brazil. In a joint operation with ICE, Homeland Security, and Milford Police, 46-year-old Marcio De Souza E Silva was arrested at his residence on Grove Street around 12:35 p.m., according to officials. Police say 11 years ago, Desouza E Silva, known as "Carioca", was profiled on Brazilian TV for gang activity and trafficking assault rifles in cars with false bottoms and hidden in mattresses through Brazilian shipping ports. Desouza E Silva’s alleged criminal activity, including suspicion of murder, were profiled in an investigative report by RecordTV. Authorities believe Desouza E Silva began living in Milford in 2022, though his exact time in the United State is uncertain. He was taken into Milford Police Headquarters before being transported to ICE facilities for deportation.

Yahoo! News [3/27/2025 12:12 AM, Darryl Coote, 52868K] reports an undocumented Brazilian migrant accused of being the U.S.-based facilitator of an international operation was arrested Wednesday as U.S. and Brazilian law enforcement executed an operation to dismantle his criminal group. The suspect, Flavio Alexandre Alves, 41, who also goes by Ronaldo, was arrested in Worcester, Mass., on charges of conspiracy to bring undocumented migrants to and then transport them within the United States. The criminal complaint states Alves allegedly worked with others to transport Brazilian migrants from their home country through Mexico and into the United States where he bought them plane tickets to send them to cities throughout the country. Prosecutors accuse Alves of buying more than 100 individual plane tickets for flights departing from Tucson or Phoenix, Ariz., to Boston, Mass., or the Pennsylvania cities of Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia. He is also alleged to have transferred funds from the United States to undocumented migrants as well as smugglers located in Mexico and collected fees from them for smuggling them north of the U.S.-Mexico border. Alves was previously convicted of smuggling-related offense in California in 2004 and was deported to Brazil in February 2005. Authorities said he allegedly re-entered the United States within the interim years. The identities of his alleged co-conspirators are redacted in the court document but are said to be those whom he worked with previously. At least one of the alleged co-conspirators was arrested with Alves in 2004. Prosecutors said Homeland Security Investigations initiated an investigation into a human smuggling organization sending Brazilian migrants into the United States in February 2022 after Brazilian law enforcement interviewed several nationals who were deported from the United States who indicated they had paid Alves’ alleged co-conspirators to be smuggled. An alleged co-conspirator named Leno Rawlinson Silva Oliveira is identified in Alves’ criminal complaint as the leader of the Brazilian human smuggling organization. Search warrants executed by Brazilian police recovered a cell phone used by Oliveira to communicate with members of the organization, including Alves. The court document accuses Alves of being the organization’s U.S.-based smuggler and that he joined the group in mid-2021 at the recommendation of a Mexican-based human smuggler.

Washington Post [3/26/2025 11:54 PM, Lauren Lumpkin, 31735K] reports federal agents tried to detain a health-care worker at a D.C. elementary school as students arrived Wednesday morning, a spokesperson for the school district said. Late Wednesday, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the agents’ presence outside the school was “unrelated to any kind of enforcement action,” but did not offer further details. The worker is not a school employee, but a health-care contractor assigned to H.D. Cooke Elementary School by D.C. Health, school officials said. The person was approached in the school’s fenced-in parking lot by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that usually handles transnational crimes like human trafficking or money fraud. The Trump administration, however, has tapped other agencies to help with deportations and arrests. It was unclear Wednesday night why the contractor was of interest. In a statement late Wednesday, the DHS spokesperson said ICE “did not conduct any enforcement action at the school.” The statement said HSI agents were present at the school, but did not say why. Administrators at H.D. Cooke asked the agents for identification and a warrant, the school spokesperson said. The agents left the Northwest Washington school without making an arrest. The DCPS statement did not say whether the agents provided identification or a warrant. Witnesses continued to see the agents in the neighborhood for hours after the incident at the elementary school, according to Madhvi Bahl, an organizer with the group Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network. Bahl did not see the incident firsthand, but her group received reports about it through a hotline it operates to report sightings of immigration enforcement activity. In a photo sent to the group, an official can be seen wearing an HSI badge. H.D. Cooke, located in the Adams Morgan neighborhood, enrolls nearly 400 children. About half the student body is Hispanic, and more than a third is Black.

WSB [3/26/2025 5:53 PM, Staff] reports federal agents say it was a months-long investigation. Undocumented foreign nationals brought here to work in unsuitable conditions. Now, the owner of Wellmade Industries in Bartow County is in jail. That’s after agents raided his company. It was a massive operation with Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, GBI and Bartow County Sheriff’s Office on scene. Homeland Security investigators said a months-long investigation found he was bringing in workers from other countries and forcing them to work at his flooring company. Law enforcement said some 300 and 400 foreign nationals who work there are victims. Seven houses nearby were also searched. Law enforcement said that’s where some of the workers lived in harsh conditions.

Telemundo Amarillo [3/26/2025 4:06 PM, Staff, 2K] reports federal agents are conducting a large-scale operation at a flooring factory and several homes in Bartow County, in northwest Georgia. Officers from the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) raided the Wellmade Industries facility in Cartersville on Wednesday, Telemundo Atlanta confirmed. The operation also involves agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), and Bartow County Sheriff’s deputies. An ICE spokesperson told Telemundo Atlanta that this is a "criminal investigation." Agents “are executing federal search warrants at Wellmade Industries and several residences in the Bartow County area as part of an ongoing criminal investigation,” said ICE spokeswoman Lindsay Williams. The spokesperson explained that the operation is specifically targeting allegations of human trafficking for labor purposes "involving foreign nationals and financial crimes related to employer practices." At least four people have been arrested, according to preliminary reports. Among those detained is the company’s owner, authorities said. The ICE spokesperson said there is “no immediate threat to public safety.”

The New York Times [3/26/2025 8:07 PM, Eduardo Medina and Anemona Hartocollis, 145325K] reports a doctoral student at the University of Alabama was detained by federal immigration authorities, the university said in a statement on Wednesday, one of more than half a dozen students who have been targeted by the Trump administration in recent weeks. The student was not named by the school, but online records from Immigration and Customs Enforcement indicate that Alireza Doroudi, an Iranian citizen, was detained by the agency. Alex House, a spokeswoman with the University of Alabama, which is in Tuscaloosa, Ala., said that the student was detained off campus. It was not clear why the student was targeted, and U.S. immigration officials did not immediately respond to questions on Wednesday evening. Earlier this month, Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia University graduate and leader of pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations who has permanent U.S. residency, was arrested by federal immigration officers in New York. Though he has not been charged with any crime, the Trump administration has described comments made by Mr. Khalil as antisemitic and argued that he should be deported. And on Tuesday, Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University in Massachusetts who had a student visa, was taken into federal custody. Sunil Kumar, the president of Tufts University, wrote in an email to students, staff and faculty members on Tuesday night that Tufts administrators had been told the student’s visa had been terminated. The Crimson White, a student-run newspaper at the University of Alabama, first reported on the detainment of Mr. Doroudi on Wednesday afternoon. Reuters [3/26/2025 9:23 PM, Kanishka Singh, 41523K] reports that the university did not identify the student but records on the website of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) showed that Alireza Doroundi, an Iranian citizen, was detained by the agency. The records did not show which ICE facility he was detained in. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It was not clear why the Iranian citizen was detained. Doroudi studied mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama and specialized in metallurgical engineering, according to his LinkedIn page. New York Times and other media first reported the news. The detention comes as President Donald Trump has pledged to deport foreign pro-Palestinian protesters in the U.S. and accused them of supporting Hamas militants, being antisemitic and posing hurdles for American foreign policy. Protesters, including some Jewish groups, deny such claims by saying the Trump administration conflates their criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with antisemitism and support for Hamas. Trump’s administration has also been targeting international students as it seeks to crack down on immigration, including ramping up immigration arrests and sharply restricting border crossings. In recent days, some other students have also been targeted by the Trump administration in various educational institutions.

Yahoo! News [3/26/2025 10:58 AM, Stephen Hudak, 52868K] reports that federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement has told Orange County it has about 10,000 orders of removal for county residents it considers unauthorized immigrants, and the numbers may grow sharply in coming weeks. Mayor Jerry Demings relayed those totals Tuesday as part of a Board of County Commission discussion about an agreement allowing jail staff to help federal immigration authorities serve warrants and deportation orders. The mayor described the figures as "raw numbers" which had been provided to the sheriff’s department by immigration officials, and a sheriff’s spokesperson confirmed the numbers to the Orlando Sentinel but did not vouch for them. "We have no way of confirming their accuracy, only ICE is able to do that," sheriff’s spokesperson Michelle Guido said in an email, referring to the federal immigration authority by its better-known, three-letter acronym. Demings said the county has been told the number of signed orders could double in the near future.

NPR [3/26/2025 6:00 AM, Jasmine Garsd, Joel Rose, 29983K] reports it started off as a routine family trip to the supermarket. On Saturday, March 8, a woman named Sarahi hopped into the car with her two kids and her 19-year old brother to drive from their home in Detroit, Michigan to do some shopping at the local Costco and get some lunch. A few minutes into the drive, the GPS instructed them to turn onto the Ambassador Bridge, which is a one-way toll road that connects the U.S. and Canada. Sarahi says she quickly realized her mistake as American immigration agents approached — they’d accidentally typed in directions to the Costco in Windsor, Ontario, on the Canadian side of the border. Accidentally driving onto the Ambassador Bridge to Canada from the Detroit-area is a common mistake. Locals say it’s an area that is always under construction and can be confusing. But for Sarahi, it was a life-altering wrong turn: she and her brother are both Guatemalan immigrants in the U.S. without legal status. She requested NPR only use her first name because she fears retaliation for speaking with the media. For the next five days, Sarahi said she and her children were held in a windowless office space, in a one story building between the toll plaza and the bridge, with no access to legal counsel or communication with her consulate. Her two daughters, ages 1 and 5, are both American citizens. As a result of that wrong turn, she says her family lived through a nightmare that "felt like a kidnapping.” Advocates NPR interviewed say Sarahi’s detention illustrates how the Trump administration is bending the rules on immigration enforcement in its efforts to carry out a historic deportation campaign and immigration crackdown. Sarahi says she has been living in the U.S. for over six years. She is a homemaker. Her brother and the father of her children work as roofers in the Detroit area. No one in the family has a criminal record in the U.S., and yet, as they drove toward immigration officials, Sarahi says she immediately understood what this wrong turn meant. "I was in the backseat and I hugged my daughters. I started crying.”

Houston Chronicle [3/26/2025 7:00 AM, Matt deGrood, 1769K] reports that, with workplace raids in Spring, people detained during routine traffic stops and 650 arrests in Colony Ridge, the Donald Trump administration’s actions on immigration have taken on a central focus across the Houston region in recent weeks. But separating facts from rumor has proven more elusive, as despite questions and information requests, federal officials have not provided a detailed list of who was arrested, for what reason or their current whereabouts. Little more than two months into the Trump administration, which began with claims about significantly ramping up deportations, those seeking information about where their loved ones have gone are colliding against a system that was opaque even before Trump took office, according to local immigration attorneys who’ve handled cases for years. "Of course, the system is not transparent," said Silvia Mintz, a Houston immigration attorney. Here’s what we know about deportation operations across the Houston region: While the specifics remained unclear, attorneys agreed they’ve noticed a significant uptick in the number of cases they’re taking on in the early days of the Trump administration. "There has definitely been an increase in detention of individuals that are placed in removal proceedings," said Gabe Perez, a Galveston-based immigration attorney. "There has never been anything as aggressive as the efforts implemented by the current administration.” Mintz agreed, saying she has seen more cases than before. More than 640 people allegedly in the country without permission — 550 of whom were accused of crimes — were arrested in the Houston area during an operation that began in late February, federal officials said this month. And Houston police are also now being asked to call federal immigration authorities anytime they come in contact with one of at least 700,000 people listed in a national database over deportation orders, according to an internal email. The new guidance came as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials added the names of at least 700,000 people to National Crime Information Center database, a system available to agencies across the country. There are more than 1.4 million people facing active deportation orders nationwide, but local enforcement agencies didn’t have access to those administrative warrants until now, experts said. While all signs point to a renewed focus from federal officials on arresting and deporting people in the country without permission, attorneys said determining exactly how many have been arrested in the Houston region can be difficult. Even families have a hard time tracking down information about their loved ones, Mintz said. "Many times, even their last names are not spelled correctly," she said. "If a family doesn’t have their (Alien Registration) number, it can be difficult to find them.”

Kansas Public Radio [3/26/2025 2:11 PM, Zane Irwin, 16K] reports that the Leavenworth City Commission voted unanimously on Tuesday for a resolution that says a private prison operator must get permission before reopening its facility in the city. The resolution doesn’t carry legal weight, but it’s the city’s first formal move to place a check on CoreCivic after the company announced plans to operate as a federal immigration detention center. "Yes, CoreCivic needs a special use permit to open their facility in Leavenworth. And they have to abide by our ordinances," Leavenworth Mayor Holly Pittman said in an interview after the meeting. Pittman said she couldn’t confirm whether the city would file suit against the company if it reopens without approval. In their resolution, the Leavenworth commissioners reserved the right to take any necessary legal action to uphold it. CoreCivic, formerly Corrections Corporation of America, is one of the largest private prison operators in the country. It has said it intends to contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to hold up to 1,000 noncitizen detainees from around the region at the facility.

Los Angeles Times [3/26/2025 9:30 AM, Ryan Fonseca, 13342K] reports that Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day. An O.C. couple with no criminal record gets caught up in Trump’s deportation push. During a panel discussion at last year’s Republican National Convention, Tom Homan, who then-candidate Trump tapped to be his “border czar,” explained his approach to deportations: “No one’s off the table. … If you’re in the country illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder.” About seven months later, Nelson and Gladys Gonzalez found themselves on that table. The Laguna Niguel couple entered the U.S. illegally in 1989, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, and Nelson Gonzalez applied for asylum a few years later. Their application was denied, but the husband and wife stayed in the country, working and raising a family. They were subject to an agreement that included regular check-ins with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. A woman and a man. During one such appointment on Feb. 21, the Gonzalezes were detained by ICE. After nearly a month, they were deported to Colombia, arriving March 18, the Orange County Register first reported. The couple’s three adult daughters, all U.S. citizens, started a GoFundMe page to raise money for their parents’ legal costs and to help them rebuild their lives in Colombia. Times reporter Ruben Vives reached an ICE spokesperson who confirmed that the couple had been given a final order for removal, and that they had no criminal history.

Miami Herald [3/26/2025 6:56 PM, Syra Ortiz Blanes and Verónica Egui Brito, 3973K] reports Frengel Reyes Mota and his 9-year-old stepson, whose face has been blurred to protect his identity. Frengel Reyes Mota was supposed to be dealing with his ongoing asylum case as he fought for his chance to stay in the United States. Suddenly, he instead found himself locked up in a mega prison thousands of miles away. "He’s in the torture prison in El Salvador," Mark Prada, Reyes Mota’s lawyer, told Immigration Judge Jorge Pereira during a hearing on Monday at the Krome Detention Center in western Miami-Dade County. The hearing had been scheduled before Reyes Mota was sent out of the country. Reyes Mota is among the hundreds of Venezuelans that the Trump administration deported earlier this month through the use of extraordinary wartime powers based on a 1798 law. The administration sent them to the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador, claiming they are members of the notorious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. But the 24-year-old father does not have a criminal record in Venezuela. His U.S. immigration detention records are riddled with mistakes, raising questions about how reliable they are. He does not have tattoos and his family members deny he has any gang ties. "He’s not a gang member, judge," Prada said. Had Reyes Mota still been in the United States, the hearing related to his asylum request would have been a commonplace matter. But his absence showcases the remarkable nature of the Venezuelans’ deportation to El Salvador. As lawyers argue the deportation flights were unlawful and violated a federal judge’s order, the immigration court system is navigating the case of an asylum seeker with pending immigration proceedings whom the Trump administration flew to another country without due process. "We are facing a novel and extremely concerning situation where people’s immigration court proceedings are still pending but they are being disappeared from the United States without any lawful removal order," said Prada. "This is an affront to the rule of law.” Other lawyers have said in court documents challenging the deportations that their clients were also in pending asylum or other immigration proceedings. The U.S. government claims on Reyes Mota’s I-213 form, a document the Department of Homeland Security uses to support that someone is deportable, that he "may be a Tren de Aragua associate." But in those same documents, the government says he has no criminal records or immigration history in the United States. The government also uses someone else’s last name in several parts of the document, identifies him with female pronouns, and uses two different unique identification numbers that immigration authorities use to keep track of individuals, raising questions about the reliability of Trump officials’ accusations against him. After Prada pointed out the mistakes and argued there is no evidence Reyes Mota was a Tren de Aragua member, the judge asked whether the government had made a mistake. Lawyers for the Department of Homeland Security said this was not a hearing to analyze evidence but that they would look into it. However, there are no more hearings for the foreseeable future.

Border Report [3/26/2025 7:11 PM, Sandra Sanchez, 117K] reports a coalition of 19 attorneys general, led by New York, has filed a court motion opposing the Trump administration’s plan for lifting temporary protected status for Haitian and Venezuelan immigrants, Border Report has learned. New York Attorney General Letitia James filed the brief on Tuesday, along with attorneys general from: "The public interest will be harmed if Haitian and Venezuelan TPS beneficiaries are stripped of legal status," according to the motion filed in a Massachusetts federal court. The Department of Homeland Security this week said it will revoke legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, setting them up for potential deportation in about a month. The order applies to about 532,000 people from the four countries who came to the United States since October 2022. Several Haitians and Venezuelans, supported by several nonprofits filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration after DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced that temporary protected status (TPS) would be lifted in April for 350,000 Venezuelans who had previously been granted an extension of these protections under the Biden administration, allowing them to live and work in the United States for 18 months. Haitians will lose their TPS in August and could also face deportation, Noem said. "New York is home to thousands of hardworking Haitian and Venezuelan immigrants who are members of our communities, our culture, and our economy," James said. "Stripping these individuals of their legal status will not make our communities safer or stronger, it will only put immigrants and their families in harm’s way. I urge the court to block this unlawful action and uphold these potentially life-saving legal protections.”

Univision [3/26/2025 7:13 AM, Staff, 5325K] reports a proposal by the government of Donald Trump that anyone applying for a green card or permanent residence in the United States must provide their social networks to be reviewed is receiving harsh criticism from those who consider that it would be an attack on freedom of expression. This requirement already applies to those who apply for visas from abroad. With the proposed policy, however, the obligation to provide social media profiles will also affect people who are already legally in the U.S. and who are seeking asylum, permanent residency or naturalization in the country. According to various media estimates, the proposal - for which the government is still taking online comments from the public until May 5 - would affect between 2.5 and 3.5 million people a year, many of whom have been living legally in the U.S. for years. Many of them have been living legally in the U.S. for years. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) assured that the collection of social networks will serve to "facilitate and help inform the identity verification, assessment, screening, scrutiny and national security and public safety background checks" of applicants. "This data collection is used to validate the applicant’s identity and determine whether the granting of a benefit represents a threat to U.S. public safety," it said in a statement released on March 5. However, the initiative is seen by many as a clear attack on privacy and freedom of expression, raising concerns among those who believe that the publication of personal content or opinions on networks could be interpreted arbitrarily by government officials and thus harm some applicants for green cards or other immigration statuses.

Newsweek [3/26/2025 12:13 PM, Gabe Whisnant and Billal Rahman, 52220K] reports that Ireland is the latest European country moving to update their travel advice for the United States for its citizens traveling to the country. The government’s website issued guidance for transgender travelers, saying that U.S. ESTA and visa application forms require travelers to declare their sex, which should reflect their biological sex at birth. Travelers with an "X" marker on their passport or whose gender differs from the one assigned at birth are advised to contact the U.S. Embassy in Dublin for further information on specific entry requirements. This move comes after similar updates from other European countries, such as Finland, Denmark, the UK, and Germany, seemingly in response to President Donald Trump’s broad crackdown on illegal immigration and transgender rights. Since returning to the White House, Trump has enacted a series of executive orders rolling back rights for transgender and nonbinary individuals. On his first day back in office, he signed an order declaring that the government would recognize only two genders: male and female. Irish travelers will need to obtain either a visa or an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) visa waiver. Denmark and Finland updated their travel guidance for transgender individuals intending to visit the United States last week.

Washington Examiner [3/26/2025 3:09 PM, Anna Giaritelli, 2296K] reports arrests of suspected terrorists have sharply declined at the Mexican border since last fall but are dramatically higher on the Canadian border, according to the head of the FBI. FBI Director Kash Patel disclosed Wednesday to lawmakers on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence that as apprehensions of "known or suspected terrorists" had declined on the southern border, they have been and continue to be high along the northern boundary. Patel pointed to "the successes we’ve had in closing the southern border" as the reason for terrorist affiliates to be attempting to enter another way. Data posted online by U.S. Customs and Border Protection revealed that just 13 suspected terrorists have been nabbed attempting to enter the U.S. from Mexico between the land ports of entry in fiscal 2025, which includes from October 2024 through February this year. In fiscal 2023 and 2024, 103 and 169 suspected terrorists were arrested, respectively, at the same border. Arrests on the northern border are highest at the ports of entry, which include land, sea, and air ports. In the first five months of 2025, 143 suspected terrorists were nabbed by customs officers, putting the total on track to near last year’s total of 358, which was among the highest years in recorded history. Patel divulged that fentanyl is coming across the northern border as well as the southern border.

FOX News [3/26/2025 4:14 PM, Michael Lee, 46189K] reports U.S. adversaries such as China and Russia have started to target the northern U.S. border with Canada, FBI Director Kash Patel told lawmakers Wednesday. During testimony in front of the House Intelligence Committee, Patel told lawmakers that the "effective resolution" to the crisis at the southern border has caused adversaries such as China, Russia and Iran to shift their resources to targeting the U.S. northern border. "The enemy adapts," Patel said. FBI Director Kash Patel said roughly 178,000 Chinese nationals attempted to cross the U.S. southern border between 2022 and 2025. While Patel noted that adversaries have not stopped using the southern border altogether, the "monumental effort" to secure the border and stop known or suspected terrorists from coming into the country has made moving people and substances, such as fentanyl, illegally more difficult since President Donald Trump took office. Patel’s comments come as Trump has overseen a dramatic shift at the U.S. southern border since taking office in January, with the number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded encounters plummeting by 90% in most sectors compared to the same time period last year. That shift has been aided by deployments of thousands of U.S. military troops to the border, who have assisted CBP agents with everything from reinforcing barriers to surveillance of potential illegal crossers. The U.S. border with Canada has its own set of security concerns, Patel testified. The sudden silence at the southern border comes after record-setting numbers of illegal crossings during the four years of the Biden administration, a trend that also saw a dramatic increase in attempted crossings from immigrants outside of North and Latin America. Chinese nationals were among the most likely to attempt illegal crossings, with the number of crossings from citizens of the country rising to over 24,000 in 2023, a more than 5,200% increase from the 450 encounters just a year earlier, according to CBP data.

USA Today [3/26/2025 2:24 PM, Kathleen Wong, 75858K] reports that U.S. citizens and legal residents are experiencing heightened anxiety about traveling due to increased immigration scrutiny under the Trump administration. Border control officers are being encouraged to conduct more thorough vetting, leading to increased questioning and searches of travelers’ devices. High-profile cases of detentions and deportations, even of legal residents, have contributed to the fear and uncertainty surrounding international travel. When returning to the U.S. from her Curaçao spring break trip Keylin Rivera’s worst-case scenario became true. Rivera, a U.S. and Colombian dual citizen, had flown into Charlotte, North Carolina, on Friday for a layover before heading back to Boston. She was passing through the border control Global Entry line at the Charlotte airport. But when she put her passport in the kiosk, it flagged her to see an officer. This has happened before, but officers usually just glance at her document and let her through, so she didn’t think much of it. However, this time, she was led into a back room where she was questioned about her trip, and her bags were searched – under what they told her was a random search. Rivera asked for her passport back and resumed her journey home, but she still feels unsettled from the incident.

Yahoo! News [3/26/2025 7:48 PM, Daniel Borunda, 52868K] reports U.S. Army Stryker armored vehicles began rolling to locations along the Mexican border in El Paso and the Big Bend regions of West Texas, the military’s Joint Task Force Southern Border said. The M1126 armored infantry transport vehicles were deployed Wednesday, March 26, as part of President Donald Trump’s order to deploy military forces to the border to support U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The deployment of armored vehicles comes as illegal border crossings have dropped drastically. Local community concerns have risen about the dehumanization of migrants and an increased militarization of the border, criticized as costly, unnecessary, and political theater. Last month, Mexico deployed 10,000 troops to Juárez and other cities along the U.S. border in an effort to crackdown on drug trafficking named Operación Frontera Norte (Operation Northern Border). The Stryker is an eight-wheeled vehicle that can carry up to 11 people, according to the U.S. Army. The number of vehicles deployed was not disclosed. A U.S. Army Stryker armored vehicle in Fort Bliss, Texas, on March 24, 2025, is part of military forces deployed to assist with border security along the Mexico border in the El Paso and Big Bend border regions of Texas as part of Joint Task Force Southern Border. Strykers, military tactical vehicles and advanced optical sensors will give soldiers greater capability and mobility that will enhance patrols in vehicles and on foot to "detect, track, and monitor suspected illegal activity" in support of the U.S. Border Patrol, Joint Task Force Southern Border said in a new release. Joint Task Force Southern Border added that CBP and Border Patrol agents will conduct any necessary law enforcement activity.

Border Report [3/26/2025 4:57 PM, Sandra Sanchez, 117K] reports a Mexican cartel leader has been sentenced to U.S. federal prison for a murder-for-hire scheme in which prosecutors say he brought sicarios, or hit men, across the border into Laredo, Texas. Noe Gonzalez-Martinez, 41, aka "Tocayo," a leader and manager of the Cartel Del Noreste, has been ordered to serve the rest of his life plus 60 months in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei said Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos handed the sentence after a federal jury convicted Gonzalez-Martinez in December 2023 of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, murder-for-hire conspiracy, murder for hire, conspiracy to kidnap, possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking-related crime and interstate travel in aid of racketeering. During the trial, testimony linked Gonzalez-Martinez and several other Cartel Del Noreste members who officials say traveled from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, across the border into Laredo, Texas. Officials say in Laredo, he helped to recruit, plan and coordinate the kidnapping and murder of an individual the cartel believed had stolen from them. Testimony in court said three sicarios were to kidnap the suspected drug thief and return him to Mexico for cartel members to make an example of him. If they were unable to do so, they were to kill him and return the stolen property to the cartel. The three so-called sicarios — Juan Antonio Martinez-Padilla, aka Juan Antonio Martinez-Lopez and Otoniel Martinez-Padilla, 60; Gregorio Gonzalez-Barragan, 34; and Rodolfo Reyna-Zapata, 27, all from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, previously received sentences of 20 years, 29 years, and 29 years, respectively.

KIRO [3/26/2025 3:56 PM, Staff] reports multiple federal agencies are teaming up to locate two suspects wanted in connection to a drive-by shooting that killed a 14-year-old boy in Moses Lake and left four others injured. A 14-year-old boy inside the car was killed. The other people injured include a 26-year-old woman, two 17-year-olds and a 13-year-old. The U.S. Marshals Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force are now working with the Moses Lake Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Washington Department of Corrections, U.S. Border Patrol and the FBI to track down two fugitives believed to be involved in the drive-by shooting.

Border Report [3/26/2025 7:33 PM, Rhea Caoile, 117K] reports a U.S. citizen was arrested for allegedly smuggling methamphetamine into the country from Mexico, according to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Tuesday. The agency said that Border Patrol agents with the El Centro Sector stopped a sedan around 11:50 a.m. Monday at the Highway 86 immigration checkpoint. During the inspection, a Border Patrol K-9 team alerted agents to the vehicle and referred it for secondary inspection. The K-9 alerted agents to the floorboards of the vehicle, where an aftermarket compartment was located, the news release said. Several wrapped packages were discovered inside, with one testing positive for methamphetamine. The packages contained nearly 115 pounds of the drug with an estimated street value of $96,942, according to authorities. "This hefty seizure represents something significant happening here in the Premier Sector and across the Border Patrol, namely that cartel terrorists have an ever more difficult time smuggling drugs," said El Centro Sector Chief Gregory K. Bovino in the release. "Our checkpoints are open for business and Border Patrol agents know more, much more, than cartel terrorists know.” The driver was arrested for the transportation of a controlled substance and turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration along with the vehicle and narcotics.

AP [3/26/2025 5:27 PM, Amanda Swinhart and Patrick Whittle, 48304K] reports the Haskell Free Library and Opera House straddles the line between Howell’s village of Derby Line, Vermont, and the town of Stanstead, Quebec. The entrance to the imposing Victorian-style brick and stone building is on the U.S. side, but an informal agreement between the two countries has always allowed Canadians to enter without a passport. Canadians cross the border on a sidewalk leading directly to the library that is monitored by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The nearest border checkpoint is not within eyesight of the building. But since Tuesday, the only Canadian visitors able to enter on the U.S. side have been cardholders and library workers. All others have had to use an emergency exit on the Canadian side. Starting Oct. 1, all Canadians will have to enter from their side of the border or pass through a security checkpoint on the U.S. side. It’s a big change from the honor system arrangement the two countries have always used, users of the library said. Because of the regulation, the library will need to build a new entrance on the Canadian side, a renovation that will cost at least $100,000, Boudreau said.

Politico [3/26/2025 12:12 PM, Thomas Frank, 52868K] reports that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has privately voiced support for dramatically shrinking the Federal Emergency Management Agency, six people told POLITICO’s E&E News. Noem told Trump administration officials in a meeting Tuesday at Department of Homeland Security headquarters that she wants to eliminate FEMA’s role in funding long-term rebuilding efforts and and halt multibillion-dollar grant programs that help communities prepare for disasters. No decisions have been made, and it is unclear if certain FEMA functions would be removed from the federal government or be relocated to another agency or department. "We are grateful the press is covering Secretary Noem’s efforts to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse within the Department of Homeland Security," a DHS spokesperson said. The meeting, which occurred one day after Noem said publicly that "we’re going to eliminate FEMA," also included FEMA acting Administrator Cameron Hamilton and Corey Lewandowski, an adviser to President Donald Trump. Noem and other officials are looking to rebrand FEMA by putting it directly under White House control and narrowing the agency’s responsibilities to helping survivors in the immediate aftermath of disasters, according to the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

Washington Post [3/26/2025 7:49 PM, Brianna Sacks, Brady Dennis and Jake Spring, 31735K] reports Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem and other Trump administration officials expressed support in meetings this week for dramatically diminishing the role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, with the aim of all but eliminating the embattled agency’s role in disaster recovery by Oct. 1, according to four people familiar with the talks. The individuals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share details of internal deliberations, said a number of possibilities were floated to strip FEMA of some of its key functions, such as helping rebuild after disasters strike and, according to one person, funding resilience initiatives that help communities prepare for disasters. Even as administration officials met about FEMA’s fate, an advisory council created by President Donald Trump in January published a notice Wednesday asking the public to comment about “their experience with FEMA during disasters.” Trump has ordered the group to report back later this year on the adequacy of FEMA’s disaster response in recent years and on possible reforms. Asked about the discussions, a DHS spokesperson said in an email, “We are grateful that the press is covering Secretary Noem’s efforts to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse within the Department of Homeland Security.” FEMA’s acting administrator, Cameron Hamilton, spoke for about 45 minutes on Saturday to a gathering of state emergency managers about the difficulty of change and how states needed to be more resilient and responsible in their disaster response efforts, according to one state-level official who attended. Hamilton repeatedly used the phrase that states need to work with private partners as the “performance enhancing drugs of emergency response,” the official said. The closed-door push to abolish or substantially cut FEMA’s authorities, first reported Wednesday by Politico’s E&E News and CNN, comes barely two months ahead of the start of the Atlantic hurricane season. But such efforts will not come without opposition. “Eliminating FEMA will dramatically hurt red states. It will hurt rural areas. It will hurt cities. Places will not recover,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Florida) said in an interview Wednesday, adding that FEMA should be reformed but not eliminated.

CNN [3/26/2025 1:19 PM, Gabe Cohen, 908K] reports that as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem vows to “eliminate FEMA,” the agency is in turmoil, with disaster assistance, grant money, and hiring largely stalled, threatening its ability to respond to major disasters, multiple FEMA officials tell CNN. Top officials from FEMA and Department of Homeland Security met Tuesday, CNN has learned, to discuss the future of the disaster relief agency and their options for shutting it down. The group, which included Noem, FEMA Acting Administrator Cameron Hamilton, and long-time Trump ally Corey Lewandowski, debated the possibility of rescinding President Donald Trump’s recent executive order establishing a FEMA Review Council and instead moving more quickly to dismantle the agency, according to multiple sources familiar with the meeting. It’s the latest in a series of actions and attacks on FEMA that have stalled the agency’s work and raised concerns about its ability to respond to hurricane season, which is just weeks away. Last week, FEMA employees received an email titled “Hiring Update,” which outlined a new process, effective immediately, requiring that the majority of the agency’s workers, many of whom hold 2-to-4-year term positions, be directly approved by Secretary Noem’s team in order to be renewed for another term. FEMA has not responded to repeated requests for comment on the details of the reduction in force plan. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told CNN in an emailed statement, “We are grateful that the press is covering Secretary Noem’s efforts to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse within the Department of Homeland Security.”

NBC News [3/26/2025 11:01 AM, Kathryn Prociv and Matt Lavietes, 44742K] reports that more than 8 million people are under red flag warnings Wednesday, as firefighters continue to fight wildfires in the Carolinas. In addition to the Carolinas, wildfire risk is spread throughout Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and northern Georgia. The major cities that are currently under threat include: Atlanta; Asheville, North Carolina; Charlottesville, Virginia; and Hagerstown, Maryland. The critical fire conditions are a result of warm temperatures combined with strong winds in excess of 15 mph and relative humidity of 25% to 30%. The highest fire threat Wednesday will be on the east side of the Appalachians, where westerly downsloping winds will dry out the landscape even more. Another factor increasing the fire threat are downed trees and dry vegetation left behind by damage from Hurricane Helene last year. As of Wednesday morning, there were at least five active wildfires in the state, according to an interactive map by the North Carolina Forest Service. The fires are in Polk, Caldwell and Swain counties, according to the map. North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein said over the weekend that the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved a grant to help the state respond to the blazes. "Fire risk still remains high across NC — residents please continue to pay attention to emergency alerts and evacuation orders," Stein wrote on X on Tuesday. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency over the weekend and also issued a statewide burn ban as firefighters battle the Table Rock Fire in Pickens County. USA Today [3/26/2025 10:19 AM, Julia Gomez, 75858K] reports that wildfires in the Carolinas have taken over 10,000 acres and more evacuations, according to officials. In the Carolinas, wildfires have set 14,068.9 acres ablaze, according to the South Carolina Forestry Commission and the North Carolina Forest Service. Two of the biggest fires in North Carolina are responsible for at least half of that. One of the biggest fires in South Carolina, the Table Rock fire, is responsible for another round of evacuations. "Extreme fire behavior on both incidents today prompted immediate mandatory evacuations in Greenville and Pickens counties and led to significant expansion of both fires’ perimeters," according to a press release posted to the South Carolina Forestry Commission’s website on Tuesday. Both South Carolina and North Carolina have also issued burn bans to help mitigate future flames, according to media advisories. On Saturday, March 22, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster issued a state of emergency due to the Table Rock Fire in Pickens County, around 119 miles southwest of Charlotte, North Carolina, according to a press release published by the governor’s office. As of Tuesday morning, South Carolina lists 25 wildfires that burn across 6175.5 acres, according to the South Carolina’s Forestry Commission. North Carolina, lists 101 fires that span across over 7893.4 acres, according to the North Carolina Forest Service wildfire map.

Yahoo! News [3/26/2025 6:42 PM, Gabby Jonas, 52868K] reports that, entering Day 26 of the Covington Drive wildfire in Carolina Forest, residents are still seeing South Carolina Forestry Commission crews in their backyards tending to flare-ups. As the area remains without much rain, the soil remains dry and easy for pine needles on the ground to get fire and smolder. The fire, as of this writing, is still at 80% containment. Forestry Commission environmental program manager Holly Welch said crews could remain in the area along the southern edge of Carolina Forest — primarily near Tuckahoe and Silvercrest areas — for weeks or even months until a significant amount of rain saturates the area. "Right now, the fire conditions are still that smoldering and creeping in some areas," Welch said. "What we are seeing is that deep peat soil, that organic soil. There is still smoldering, real deep down in that soil, sometimes two and three feet deep. So, when it’s dry like it is with low humidities and windy, those fires tend to pop up.” Area residents say they can still smell smoke throughout the day. Welch said that will continue until it’s 100% contained. "There’s all this needle cast from the pine trees when the fire went through the first time. When they get that heat damage, they drop their needles, so there’s needles on the forest floor," she said. "So when that ground fire pops up, it ignites those needles and we may get little runs here and there. But all of that activity is within the fire line.” As the pop ups continue, residents say it’s become normal to see forestry commission crews behind their homes. Jeannine and Carl Nelson are still shocked after having had to evacuate their home a little under a month ago. "We were packed and out of the house in 20 minutes," Carl said. "The firemen were just two houses down telling people to get out. It was pretty scary.” Since the fires initially started, they said crews have died down coming in and out of their backyard, but efforts to help containment reach 100% haven’t stopped. "Last week was probably the last time we saw these little tractor tankers go through the woods, and they would just come whizzing along by the house, and then all of a sudden just blast off into the woods and with water in them," Carl said. "This week, it’s been the forestry commission coming through and grinding up all the dead trees, the foliage and leaving pretty much big mounds of dirt everywhere.” The couple is thankful for crews’ continued hard work.

Miami Herald [3/26/2025 12:14 PM, Mark Price and Martha Quillin, 3973K] reports that Residents of a Rutherfordton neighborhood were ordered to evacuate immediately on Wednesday afternoon, March 26, when a fire developed rapidly in the area of South Winds Dive and Davenport Road. Meanwhile, a wildfire of more than 1,000 acres was burning Wednesday afternoon in the Alarka Community, which is in Swain County about 16 miles southwest of Cherokee, according to an N.C. Emergency Management post on social media. According to the post, “The fire is moving toward Frye Mountain, Shepard’s Creek and Conley’s Creek. Evacuation orders have been issued and Swain County is notifying those that need to evacuate directly.” At the time of the notice, the fire was 0% contained. Members of the public are urged not to fly drones near where fires are burning because they can damage or ground fire-fighting aircraft, making the work even more dangerous. Massive wildfire burns in Polk County The wildfires in Polk County, North Carolina, have surpassed 6,000 acres and can now be seen 500 miles up by satellites, according to the Joint Polar Satellite System. Collectively, the Black Cove Fire, Deep Woods Fire and Fish Hook Fire have burned 6,168 acres, destroyed 22 structures, prompted evacuations on 18 roads and put one firefighter in the hospital, the county and N.C. Forest Service say. Smoke plumes and red flames from the fires were intense enough to be recorded March 23 by infrared imaging onboard the NOAA/NASA Suomi-NPP satellite, NOAA reports.

Yahoo! News [3/26/2025 8:27 PM, Aaron Mesmer, 52868K] reports Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem’s recent comment that she plans to close FEMA sparked debate on Wednesday among Florida leaders. During a televised cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump a day earlier, Noem told the president, "We’re going to eliminate FEMA," without going into detail about how that would happen. The statement, however, is in line with President Trump’s executive order in January calling for a "full-scale review" of FEMA. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis didn’t comment on Wednesday on Noem’s comments, but last month said he would support closing down the agency. "You’ve got folks with Milton and Helene who are still battling FEMA," DeSantis said at the time, adding he wants to see disaster funding provided to states in the form of block grants ahead of a major storm. "Cut the bureaucracy of FEMA out entirely and that money will go further than it currently does at greater amounts going through FEMA’s bureaucracy.” Ninety-three percent of counties in the U.S. have had FEMA disasters declared since 2011, and Florida has received $8.5 billion. Democratic U.S. Congresswoman Kathy Castor, who reprsents Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, said FEMA should be reformed, but she believes a full-scale closure is short-sighted and would leave communities unprepared and under-staffed to recover from storms. "Congressional District 14, which is Tampa and St. Pete had more requests for emergency FEMA aid than any other district in the country over the past couple of years," Castor said. "There is no way for local counties or the state of Florida to be able to surge in that kind of relief and expertise. You have to have a flexible national disaster response agency that can go to the areas of disaster, whether it’s wildfires or floods, tornadoes or hurricanes. So this one, it scares me.”

Houston Chronicle [3/26/2025 11:11 AM, Catherine Dominguez, 1769K] reports that a week after a prescribed burn spread out of control and scorched over 2,400 acres in San Jacinto County, Montgomery County officials are looking at a federal grant program to cover firefighting expenses. Gov. Greg Abbott announced last week the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved the state’s request for a Fire Management Assistance Grant. The grant is available to states, local and tribal governments, for the mitigation, management and control of fires on publicly or privately owned forests or grasslands. "Texas continues to provide all necessary resources to local officials and firefighters currently battling the Pauline Road Fire in San Jacinto and Montgomery counties," Abbott said in a March 20 news release. "This crucial grant will help Texas fight this wildfire and protect the safety and well-being of Texans." During Tuesday’s commissioners meeting, Jason Millsaps, executive director of the Montgomery County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said the program provides a 75% federal cost share, and the state or local government pays the remaining 25% for actual costs. He said the county was working with the Texas Department of Emergency Management to submit the grant application. County Judge Mark Keough said cooperation between state and local agencies was key to preventing any loss of life, animals, or homes. Millsaps said as of Tuesday, the fire was at 95% containment, and he expected it to reach 100% by the end of the week.

Newsweek [3/26/2025 10:31 AM, Joe Edwards, 52220K] reports that the National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a widespread Flood Watch for large portions of Texas, warning residents across the state to avoid travelling on certain roads as storms threaten to bring life-threatening flooding conditions. Flooding has been a leading weather-related cause of death in Texas, according to the National Safety Council. The NWS has stressed the mantra, "Turn around, don’t drown," stressing that most flood-related fatalities happen in vehicles. The alert urges caution through at least Friday afternoon in some parts of the state, with some areas likely to experience heavy rainfall totals exceeding several inches. Southern and southeastern areas of the state are at risk of flooding and the service advises people in these regions to keep up to date on the latest forecasts. Away from the roads, the NWS has also warned of potential damage to property due to the excessive rain. According to the NWS, a slow-moving storm system is expected to bring prolonged periods of moderate to heavy rain to already saturated grounds. This significantly increases the risk of flash flooding, particularly in low-lying areas, creeks, rivers, and urban centers with poor drainage.

AP [3/26/2025 8:07 PM, Ashley Thomas, 4K] reports a child slipped through fencing outside the White House on Wednesday and was intercepted by Secret Service officers. Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said the young trespasser squeezed through the fence on the North Lawn around 6:30 p.m., about an hour after President Donald Trump announced planned auto tariffs from the Oval Office. “Officers quickly reunited the child with their parents without incident,” Guglielmi said in a social media post. Video posted on social media shows an armed officer carrying a young child wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt across the lawn before handing off the child to another officer. Such intrusions have happened before. In April 2023, a toddler squeezed through the metal fencing, also on the North Lawn, and was later reunited with his parents, who were briefly questioned.

Yahoo! News [3/26/2025 10:24 PM, Chris O’Connell, 52868K] reports a credit card skimmer was discovered inside the Hamilton 7-11 store on the 500 block of Lalor Street on Monday. Members of the Mercer County Cyber Crimes task force sent the device to the US Secret Service for forensic analysis. The device was found after a social media video appeared online. It’s unclear how long it was there. Skimming has become a region-wide wave. The devices are designed to secretly steal your account information. In the last two weeks, police found skimmers at two stores in Abington and one in Cheltenham. Another device was found at the counter register at 7-11 in Mt. Ephraim, Camden County. "Basically, what it’s doing is recording a key pad. So they are catching the keystrokes, the individual putting their card in, capturing their PIN number" said Abington police. "Anywhere I go I use cash. Because credit cards, they steal your information.” Luis Lugo says these days it’s cash only for him. "Actually, I use cash here because I don’t trust here I don’t trust anywhere because it’s getting out of control they are stealing everywhere" said Lugo. Customers like Dionte Smith who come here every day are being told to monitor their accounts for any unauthorized activity.

Yahoo! News [3/26/2025 10:26 AM, Sharon Wren, 52868K] reports that a woman from Milan is in the Scott County Jail after police say she cashed several counterfeit United States Savings Bonds at banks across the Quad Cities. According to the criminal complaints, the defendant, identified as Dannatta Binion, 37, knowingly cashed a counterfeit U.S. Savings Bond at TBK Bank on Jersey Ridge Road in Davenport on October 18, 2024. Binion cashed the counterfeit bond for a total of $2,073.60. The bond was returned as counterfeit to TBK Bank on December 10, 2024. Binion allegedly deposited four counterfeit United States Savings Bonds at TBK Bank on Kimberly Road in Davenport on October 28, 2024, for a total of $8,294.40 or $2,073.60 per bond. All four bonds were returned as counterfeit to TBK Bank on November 20-21, 2024. All the bonds were marked as issued on June 19, 1992, which is consistent with the dates on other counterfeit bond cases in the area. The bonds were made out to Binion with an address where she lived in 2016. That would have been impossible to have printed on the bonds in 1992. A warrant was issued for Binion’s arrest on March 18, and she was arrested on March 25 on seven counts of felony forgery and two counts of felony second-degree theft. She is being held in the Scott County Jail on a combined secured and cash-only bond of $10,000 while she waits for an initial court appearance.

Washington Times [3/26/2025 8:47 PM, U.S. Reps. Mike Ezell (R-Miss.) and Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.), 261K] reports as leaders of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, we are committed to fostering a strong and reliable American maritime base that supports our national defense and strengthens our economy. The Jones Act a century-old law that remains as crucial today as when it was enacted in 1920 requires that goods transported between two points in the U.S. be carried on American-built, American-owned, and American-crewed ships. The Jones Act is quite literally the bedrock and foundation of our nation’s commercial shipbuilding industrial base, and we proudly support it. While we acknowledge the Jones Act has its detractors, the reality is that the law supports sustainable jobs, strengthens our national security, and safeguards our economy from foreign influence. First, the Jones Act safeguards American jobs. The maritime industry supports nearly 650,000 jobs nationwide, providing stable, well-paying work for shipbuilders, mariners, dockworkers, and others. Without the Jones Act, these jobs would be outsourced to foreign shipyards and foreign mariners, harming American workers and weakening our economy. Additionally, the Jones Act is critical to national security. A strong domestic maritime industry ensures we have the ships and workforce necessary to support our military and respond to national emergencies. The Jones Act helps maintain domestic shipyards and ship repair facilities, keeping our country from being reliant on foreign yards to build, repair, and maintain our military and merchant marine vessels. These vessels provide a strategic capability to the United States military during conflict allowing the expeditious transport of troops and supplies anywhere in the world. This law is not just about protecting one industry; rather, it ensures America remains a maritime power, capable of defending itself and maintaining economic stability. On the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, we are focused on policies that protect American workers, strengthen national security, and bolster our economy.

Washington Post [3/26/2025 6:38 PM, Katie Mettler, 3170K] reports marking the first anniversary of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on a somber Wednesday morning, hundreds of people gathered along the Patapsco River near the hole in the sky where the span once stood. Present were the mayor of Baltimore and the leaders of Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties, whose shipping port and economies were devastated when the Dali cargo ship slammed into a critical support pillar and toppled the bridge. First responders from that night a year ago, who saved lives by stopping traffic in the critical moments before the collapse, also attended. And there were the families of the six men who died — some of them sitting together for the state’s official commemoration of the tragedy. One by one, Gov. Wes Moore (D) read those men’s names aloud. “There’s little that I can say to truly be the balm for the pain you all feel,” the governor said to their families. “But I hope you all know that the promises that we made, we intend to keep.” Though the FBI launched a criminal investigation last April into the ship’s owner and operator, Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Group, that probe has thus far resulted in no charges. Dozens of lawsuits against Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Group are pending in federal court, still years away from resolution as the plaintiffs argue the ship operators knowingly allowed a dangerously unseaworthy vessel onto U.S. waters. Even the precise details of what led to the collapse and the men’s deaths are unresolved, with the final investigative reports on the crash still pending from the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board, the federal agencies investigating the crash. At a congressional hearing Wednesday, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy reiterated a call for the owners of 68 bridges around the country, included the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Maryland, to assess their vulnerability to being hit by a large ship. The board’s investigators found that Maryland officials had not carried out such a review for the Key Bridge, despite it being recommended in 1991 and 2009. The board said its analysis indicated the other bridges also appeared to lack the safety assessments. NewsNation [3/26/2025 12:02 PM, Nick Smith, 690K] reports that according to a new Johns Hopkins University study, major collisions like the one in Baltimore could occur once every 20 years for certain bridges, with many located along the Gulf Coast, where container ship traffic is high. Johns Hopkins researchers examined 16 years of U.S. Coast Guard data on shipping movements and found that severe collisions capable of causing catastrophic damage aren’t rare. The increased risk stems from two factors: Ships have gotten much larger, often reaching up to 1,000 feet in length, and shipping traffic has surged due to global trade. Plus, many of these bridges were built decades ago and weren’t designed to handle the force of ships this size. To prevent further bridge collisions, researchers emphasized two key measures: Stricter navigation controls to keep large ships away from bridge piers and reinforced barriers in the water to protect bridge supports. While it’s impossible to eliminate all risks, analysts stressed that these safety measures can significantly reduce the chances of future incidents.

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Marine Link [3/26/2025 8:22 AM, William Doyle, 94K]
NBC 6 New Orleans [3/26/2025 5:15 PM, Staff, 730K]

Breaking Defense [3/26/2025 9:15 AM, Justin Katz, 464K] reports the Coast Guard awarded Bollinger Shipyards a $951 million contract modification to advance the detail design and construction of the service’s upcoming heavy icebreaker program, a ship that will play a crucial role in allowing the Pentagon to operate in the High North. The Polar Security Cutter program, a top acquisition priority for the USCG, aims to deliver four or five heavy icebreakers, a long-past-due upgrade to the service’s legacy fleet. When the lead ship comes online, it will be the first, brand new, American-made heavy icebreaker in decades. “Securing this contract modification has truly been a herculean effort and underscores the incredible trust the U.S. Government has placed in Bollinger to build and deliver the first heavy polar icebreaker in half a century,” Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards, said in a company statement on Tuesday. “We wouldn’t be in the solid position we’re in today without the leadership and the tireless efforts of the entire team at Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding. Their hard work and dedication have successfully put the PSC program on a strong path forward after a rocky start under the previous, foreign-owned builder. We now look forward to receiving the green light to begin full production.” A spokesperson for the Coast Guard did not immediately return a request for comment from Breaking Defense.

Magnolia Tribune [3/26/2025 9:51 AM, Frank Corder] reports the Department of Homeland Security has decided to modify the U.S. Coast Guard’s Polar Security Cutter (PSC) icebreaker contract to include an additional $951 million investment at Bollinger Shipyards in Pascagoula. The Fixed-Price-Incentive-Firm Target (FPIF) contract modification advances the Detail Design and Construction phase of the PSC Program, the company said Wednesday. The PSC looks to provide enhanced operational capability in polar regions. Ben Bordelon, President and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards, said securing the contract modification has been a herculean effort. He said it underscores the trust the U.S. government has placed in Bollinger to build and deliver the first heavy polar icebreaker in half a century. “We wouldn’t be in the solid position we’re in today without the leadership and the tireless efforts of the entire team at Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding,” Bordelon said in a statement. “Their hard work and dedication have successfully put the PSC program on a strong path forward after a rocky start under the previous, foreign-owned builder. We now look forward to receiving the green light to begin full production.”

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Maritime Executive [3/26/2025 3:38 PM, Staff, 325K]
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NBC 5 West Palm Beach [3/26/2025 6:06 PM, Ethan Stein, 849K] reports a man is facing up to 30 years in prison, after federal prosecutors said he was operating a boat carrying eight undocumented migrants, according to court records filed earlier this month. Federal court records show Jermaine Domingo Williams faces eight charges of bringing aliens to the United States for private financial gain after telling a federal agent he was paid $8,000 to bring eight people into the country. All nine individuals on the boat were taken into the Coast Guard’s custody on March 13, according to the criminal complaint, after a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Marine Unit stopped a 21-foot cuddy cabin boat. The court records show financial details around immigration, such as migrants paying $4,000 to $11,000 to enter the United States. According to court records, the boat sank after Williams left the vessel and federal officials rescued the other eight people.

CW 4 Jacksonville [3/26/2025 1:40 PM, Brianna Brownlee, Chris Will, and Caleb Yauger, 947K] reports almost five days after a vessel capsized on the St. Johns River, crews continue to look for a child who remained unaccounted for as of Wednesday afternoon. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, on Wednesday, dive teams from outside the region joined the search for the remaining missing child using additional sonar equipment. The incident was first reported to the Coast Guard around 7 p.m. Friday after an 18-foot vessel overturned on the St. Johns River near the Dames Point Bridge, sending all eight people aboard into the water, including the two children. First responders with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Coast Guard, the FWC and JFRD responded to the Mill Cove area of Jacksonville, near where the Trout River and St. Johns River intersect, and found four of those aboard were able to cling to the overturned boat. They were rescued and one adult who did not survive was found nearby. That left first responders searching for another adult and the two children. The adult’s body was found Sunday evening, and the body of one of the children was found Monday morning.

CW 4 San Francisco [3/26/2025 6:32 PM, Aaron Tolentino, 170K] reports the person pulled out of the ocean at Rodeo Beach in Marin County on Tuesday has been identified. The victim was positively identified as 78-year-old Oakland man Ho Yu Wong, according to the Marin County Sheriff’s Office. Wong was pulled out of the water by nearby bystanders on Tuesday afternoon and was declared dead at the scene at 4:19 p.m. after suffering cardiac arrest, authorities said. He was fishing for mussels on the shoreline of Rodeo Beach when he fell into the water, the sheriff’s office said. The National Park Service, United States Coast Guard, California Highway Patrol and Southern Marin Fire District all assisted in the search.

FOX Weather [3/26/2025 11:31 AM, Chris Oberholtz, 350K]
reports a dramatic cliffside rescue unfolded on the rugged Lost Coast in Northern California as the U.S. Coast Guard saved two stranded hikers, one of whom had suffered serious injuries after a significant fall. The rescue mission was initiated on Saturday afternoon when the Coast Guard members in Humboldt Bay received a request for assistance from the Shelter Cove Fire Department and CAL FIRE. Initial reports indicated a hiker had fallen from a steep cliff, sustaining a dislocated shoulder, bleeding and other potentially serious injuries. When a Coast Guard helicopter crew reached the Big Flat area, they located both hikers clinging to the edge of the steep cliff. "One hiker had fallen over 100 feet and was barely holding on with hiking poles 60 feet above another unstable cliff," U.S. Coast Guard Sector Humboldt Bay said in a release. "With no winds and limited power, the crew had to make quick decisions regarding fuel and patient delivery." To lighten the aircraft and gain the necessary power, the crew jettisoned fuel and formulated a plan for a complex 160-foot hoist. They eventually successfully extracted the injured and bleeding hiker from the dangerous cliffside. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

DVIDS [3/26/2025 2:42 PM, Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, 77K] reports Alaska Army National Guard Soldiers with G Co., 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion rescued three people March 24 from the wreckage of a crashed PA-12 Super Cruiser aircraft that was partially submerged in glacial ice on a lake located approximately 40 miles southeast of Soldotna near Tustumena Lake. An HH-60M Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopter, branded with its distinctive red cross, with AKARNG critical care flight paramedics on board, was launched from Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, and the crew flew 25 minutes to the location after receiving a request from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center. Initially, the Kenai flight service station issued an alert notification for the overdue aircraft. The U.S. Coast Guard accepted the mission and launched an HC-130J Super Hercules. Good Samaritans flew ahead of the HH-60M to search for the aircraft. The aircraft was located by a good Samaritan pilot, and the location was relayed to the AKARNG en route.

Philippine Information Agency [3/26/2025 10:37 PM, Staff] reports the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) participated in the opening program of BALIKATAN Exercise 40-25 Integration Training together with the U.S. Coast Guard at NHQ-PCG Function Hall on 25 March 2025. Commander, Coast Guard Fleet, Commodore Arnaldo Lim PCG, spearheaded the said program and welcomed the Commanding Officer, Port Security Unit 305, Commander John Elkins USCG, and other participants of the said training. “The PCG’s participation underscores the growing importance of the law enforcement dimension in this partnership, particularly in areas such as humanitarian assistance, maritime safety, and environmental protection,” Commodore Lim PCG highlighted.

FOX News [3/26/2025 10:00 AM, Kurt Knutsson, 52868K] reports that online document conversion sites have been a lifesaver, whether you need to turn a PDF into an editable document, convert a PPT into a PDF or open a lesser-known file format. Most of these sites are free and deliver quick results, but many also pose serious privacy risks. When you upload your documents, you’re essentially handing them over to a service with no obligation to protect them. Now, the FBI is warning that some free online document converters go a step further by loading malware onto your computer. These malicious sites complete the conversion but also silently install malware on your device. The FBI Denver Field Office is warning about a scam involving free online document converter tools that cybercriminals are using to spread malware. These malicious tools can lead to serious incidents, including ransomware attacks. "Unfortunately, many victims don’t realize they have been infected by malware until it’s too late, and their computer is infected with ransomware or their identity has been stolen," the feds note. The FBI advises you to pause, slow down and think carefully before taking any actions online. To reduce the risk of malware infections, keep your antivirus software updated and scan any downloaded files before opening them, the security service noted.

Yahoo! News [3/26/2025 1:28 PM, Joe Hotchkiss , 52868K] reports that Richmond County deputies cleared T.W. Josey High School on Wednesday while investigating a report of a shooting. Officers arrived at Josey, 1701 15th St., Augusta, just before noon to answer a call about "an active shooter," according to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office. "Upon arrival, deputies cleared the Josey High School and learned there was no evidence of an active shooter," the RCSO said in a release Wednesday. Richmond County School System spokeswoman Haley Lacuesta said Wednesday that the school, and nearby Murphey Middle School, were "secured" but not evacuated. "The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office made us aware of a potential safety threat in the area outside of T.W. Josey Comprehensive High School and Murphey Middle School. Out of an abundance of caution, we secured the schools for around 30 minutes while the sheriff’s office and Richmond County School System Police responded," she told The Augusta Chronicle. "Police found the threat to be unsubstantiated and all of our students and staff are safe and sound. Both schools resumed their regular schedules and will dismiss at their normal times."

New York Times [3/26/2025 6:43 PM, Julian E. Barnes and Robert Jimison, 145325K] reports members of President Trump’s cabinet insisted at a House committee hearing on Wednesday that there was nothing wrong with using a consumer messaging app to discuss U.S. military plans to strike Houthi targets in Yemen. On Tuesday, the spy chiefs told the Senate that they did not believe any of their material, nor classified “intelligence,” had been exposed in the chat, where senior officials discussed the timing, advisability and possible targets of the administration’s planned airstrikes on Houthis in Yemen. Their answer at least left open the idea that some of the Pentagon plans shared in the chat might have been classified. But on Wednesday there was no hint of wavering, with Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, asserting that no classified material had been put into the group chat. “There were no sources, methods, locations or war plans that were shared,” she said. Republicans on the committee all but ignored the issue, focusing their questions on the official subject of the hearing, the intelligence community’s annual threat assessment. Representative Dan Crenshaw of Texas, who is a combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient, was one of the few Republicans on the panel to offer a defense of the chats, if partially in jest. “I will note I always use fire emojis when I see terrorists getting killed,” he said, referring to the three emojis — a fist bump, a U.S. flag and fire — that Michael Waltz, the national security adviser, put in the chat, held on the Signal app. Democrats, who have struggled to find their footing in the Republican-controlled federal government, appeared in lock step as they confronted one of the most notable blunders Trump administration officials have made since taking office. In question after question, the members of the Democratic caucus hammered away at the issue of the chat group during their allotted five minutes. Representative Chrissy Houlahan, a Pennsylvania Democrat who is a former Air Force officer, said she had initially intended to discuss biosecurity and bioterrorism threats facing the United States. Instead, she said that she would devote her time to pressing Mr. Trump’s national security team on the risks of communicating on a commercial messaging app.

The Washington Post [3/26/2025 9:11 PM, Alex Horton, Missy Ryan, and Matt Viser, 31735K] reports that the Atlantic on Wednesday published a transcript of top Trump administration officials’ group chat discussing an imminent U.S. attack on Houthi militants in Yemen, revealing a fuller accounting of the sensitive information they exchanged while the magazine’s editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, observed their conversation as it occurred over an unclassified, commercially available messaging platform. The newly disclosed material adds to a mounting controversy about the decision by the nation’s most senior national security officials — including President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, his secretaries of defense and state, the director of national intelligence, the CIA director, and Vice President JD Vance — to discuss sensitive military planning using the messaging app Signal, which is encrypted but not permitted by government rules for discussions of classified information. Further roiling the debate is their total lack of awareness that the group accidentally included a journalist. Former officials and lawmakers said the negligent tradecraft almost certainly violated the government’s strict rules for handling of classified information and may have risked exposing operational plans to adversaries as American pilots prepared to take flight. CBS News [3/26/2025 10:38 AM, Kathryn Watson, 51661K] reports that the Atlantic on Wednesday posted screenshots and a fuller text chain from the Signal group chat that inadvertently included a journalist, after the White House and top administration officials on the chat claimed no "war plans" were discussed. The screenshots show the timing and targets of the attack on Houthis in Yemen earlier this month were shared by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and discussed in the chat. The White House has stated — and Cabinet officials testified Tuesday — the information in the group chat wasn’t classified, even though Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg received tactical details before the attack. "This Signal message shows that the U.S. secretary of defense texted a group that included a phone number unknown to him—Goldberg’s cellphone—at 11:44 a.m.," Goldberg and Shane Harris wrote in The Atlantic. "This was 31 minutes before the first U.S. warplanes launched, and two hours and one minute before the beginning of a period in which a primary target, the Houthi ‘Target Terrorist,’ was expected to be killed by these American aircraft." "If this text had been received by someone hostile to American interests—or someone merely indiscreet, and with access to social media—the Houthis would have had time to prepare for what was meant to be a surprise attack on their strongholds," Goldberg and Harris continued. "The consequences for American pilots could have been catastrophic." The White House has not denied the authenticity of the messages, but is sticking with its characterization of the information and continued to attack Goldberg. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Times [3/26/2025 5:53 PM, Matthew Cullen, 145325K] reports Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth disclosed the exact time that American fighter jets would take off for strikes against Houthi fighters in Yemen to an unclassified commercial group chat that inadvertently included a journalist. Those sensitive details were revealed today when The Atlantic published a nearly complete transcript of the private conversation among President Trump’s most senior national security aides. The nation’s top intelligence officials, two of whom were on the chat, were pressed today on Capitol Hill about the extraordinary security breach. In defense of itself, the Trump administration has leaned on a semantic argument: It said the discussions on the chat were not classified — which national security veterans said could be true now, but was probably not at the time — and that no “war plan” was revealed. Technically, my colleague David Sanger told me, they may be right. But Hegseth’s descriptions of the plan were so detailed that it may be a distinction without a difference. “Had the chat leaked,” David said, “it could have given advance warning to the Houthis, who could have simply left the site and defeated the mission. They could have also prepared to launch against the planes, which would have put the pilots’ lives at risk.”

ABC News [3/26/2025 11:44 AM, Olivia Rubin and Peter Charalambous, 34586K] reports that five Cabinet members are facing a federal lawsuit over the use of Signal to coordinate military strikes in Yemen, with the case presided over by the same judge handling the case against the Trump administration over its deportation flights under the Alien Enemies Act. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg is overseeing the deportation case, which has led the White House to publicly attack him and call for his impeachment. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt has called him a "Democrat activist" and President Donald Trump has posted on Truth Social calling him a "radical left lunatic." The use of the Signal group chat was revealed Monday by The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who said he was inadvertently added to the chat as top national security officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, were discussing the operation. Transparency nonprofit American Oversight filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday afternoon in Washington, D.C., alleging that the use of Signal violates the federal law that governs the preservation of government records, asking a federal judge to order the cabinet members to preserve the messages.

Reported similarly:
FOX News [3/26/2025 11:40 AM, Anders Hagstrom and Preston Mizell, 46189K]
Washington Examiner [3/26/2025 11:03 AM, Ashley Oliver, 2296K]

Bloomberg [3/26/2025 6:51 PM, David Rovella, 16228K] reports the use of a commercial mobile phone app by US President Donald Trump’s closest aides to transmit secret details of a planned military attack, all while including a journalist on the exchange, further bedeviled the administration Wednesday. Even a few members of Trump’s own party started making noise about a potential investigation as more facts were revealed. The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg, accidentally invited to the chat by US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, published the full exchange after Trump and his aides spent a day arguing the details of the active military operation weren’t classified. On the chat, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth laid out precise timing for strikes on Yemen that, had they been intercepted, could have endangered the lives of military personnel. (Dozens of Yemenis were reportedly killed in the US attack on Houthi rebels.) Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s national intelligence director, also was on the chat. Both she and Hegseth faced difficult nomination hearings despite Republican control of the Senate due to their lack of traditional experience for their current roles. Hegseth, a former National Guard infantry officer and weekend cable television host, continued to deny war plans were discussed despite the now-public transcript. “Nobody’s texting war plans,” the 44-year-old Hegseth said Wednesday. “You know who sees war plans? I see them.” While the leak debacle gripped Washington and the news channels, the Trump administration continued its campaign to cut government staffing as well as taxpayer-funded Congressional mandates. From state healthcare research to vaccines for millions around the world, billions of dollars in allocated funds were sought to be eliminated, moves that are sure to trigger yet more litigation. And last night, Trump teed up another issue likely to be decided by the Supreme Court when he issued an executive order aimed at regulating elections. It was seen as another facially illegal broadside since, as legal experts quickly noted, such regulation is largely the province of the states.

FOX News [3/26/2025 12:41 PM, Emma Colton, 46189K] reports that Trump administration officials say the Atlantic "conceded" that its article providing a firsthand account of a Signal group chat involving the nation’s top national security leaders discussing an attack on terrorists in Yemen did not contain "war plans." "The Atlantic has conceded: these were NOT ‘war plans,’" White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted to X Wednesday morning. "This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin." National security advisor Mike Waltz posted to X Wednesday, "No locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS. Foreign partners had already been notified that strikes were imminent. BOTTOM LINE: President Trump is protecting America and our interests." The Trump administration came under fire from Democrats and other critics Monday after the Atlantic magazine published an article revealing that top national security officials discussed a planned strike in Yemen against terrorist forces in a Signal group chat that also included the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic. Trump administration officials have repeatedly argued since the release of the article that no classified information was included in the Signal correspondence. A spokesperson for the Atlantic defended that the outlet did expose a "war plan" in its Wednesday report, pointing Fox News Digital to a screenshot included in the piece of Hegseth’s messages related to F-18s and drone strikes that were accompanied by timestamps for the operation.

Bloomberg [3/26/2025 10:51 AM, Natalia Drozdiak and Chris Strohm, 16228K] reports that Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, acknowledged Wednesday that details of a planned attack on Houthi forces in Yemen were shared in a chat among US officials that inadvertently included a journalist. “The conversation was candid and sensitive, but as the president and national security advisor stated, no classified information was shared,” Gabbard said in a House Intelligence Committee hearing. “There were no sources, methods, locations or war plans that were shared.” She also appeared to distance herself from the issue, adding that she “was not directly involved” in portions of the chat where some of the most sensitive material was provided and maintained that she initially couldn’t recall the details of the exchange when asked about it Tuesday in a Senate hearing. The Trump administration is under scrutiny for the embarrassing episode revealed this week by The Atlantic magazine, whose editor-in-chief wrote that he had been added to a text chat among top cabinet members as they discussed plans for a strike this month on Houthi rebels in Yemen.

FOX News [3/26/2025 12:13 PM, Greg Norman, 46189K] reports that CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the Signal chat texts published by The Atlantic Wednesday revealing the so-called "attack plans" targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels prove he "did not transmit classified information." Ratcliffe, speaking during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats, told lawmakers "With regard to that article, I also would appreciate the opportunity to relay the fact that yesterday I spent four hours answering questions from senators as a result of that article that were intimating that I transmitted classified information because there were hidden messages." "Those messages were revealed today and revealed that I did not transmit classified information, and that the reporter who I don’t know, I think intentionally intended it to indicate that," Ratcliffe continued. "That reporter also indicated that I had released the name of an undercover CIA operative in that Signal chat. In fact, I had released the name of my chief of staff who was not operating undercover. That was deliberately false and misleading." "I used an appropriate channel to communicate sensitive information. It was permissible to do so. I didn’t transfer any classified information. And at the end of the day, what is most important is that the mission was a remarkable success is what everyone should be focused on here, because that’s what did happen, not what possibly could have happened," he also said.

The Hill [3/26/2025 2:09 PM, Ellen Mitchell, 12829K] reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday doubled down on his assertion that he did not share classified plans to strike Houthi targets in a Signal group chat of Trump administration officials that was inadvertently shared with a journalist, who he claimed "has never seen a war plan." In a combative post to the social platform X, Hegseth lambasted The Atlantic’s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, for publishing the Signal group chat messages, in which the Pentagon chief relayed details about airstrikes in Yemen earlier this month that an initial article on the matter did not contain, including the specific timeline of the airstrikes and what weapons would be used. The Atlantic said it wanted to make public the texts so that readers could see them for themselves, given that Hegseth and other national security officials have accused Goldberg of lying about the content of the group chat in an attempt to discredit his reporting. "No names. No targets. No locations. No units. No routes. No sources. No methods. And no classified information," Hegseth said in his post. The messages The Atlantic released do show specific information related to weapons used and the timing of attacks — including the exact times American F-18 fighter aircraft and MQ-9 drones took off for Yemen before the March 15 airstrikes.

Axios [3/26/2025 1:06 PM, April Rubin, 13163K] reports that an inadvertent invitation to a group chat thrust The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg into the center of an explosive national security breach that’s put the White House on the defensive. Why it matters: Goldberg’s decision to disclose the discussion of planned strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen and publish the group chat’s contents has embroiled top Trump officials in scandal and exposed them to potential legal jeopardy. The White House confirmed the authenticity of the chat, then responded by attacking Goldberg’s credibility and denying that officials shared classified materials when discussing the war plans in the messaging app. Goldberg responded on Wednesday by publishing a second round of information from the chat. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Karoline Leavitt, the White House’s press secretary, categorically denied that classified material was shared in the chat. Leavitt accused Goldberg of "sensationalist spin" after the magazine published its initial story, which withheld certain details from the exchange. Zoom in: On Wednesday, Goldberg and Atlantic staff writer Shane Harris wrote that The Atlantic generally would not publish information about military operations that could jeopardize U.S. personnel. However, they wrote that the administration’s response to the leak "led us to believe that people should see the texts in order to reach their own conclusions. There is a clear public interest in disclosing the sort of information that Trump advisers included in nonsecure communications channels."

The Hill [3/26/2025 10:45 AM, Brett Samuels, 12829K] reports that President Trump on Wednesday shrugged off new reporting from The Atlantic highlighting messages from a Signal group in which administration officials discussed specific timing of an attack on Houthi rebels. Trump was asked about the new development during an appearance on "The Vince Show" with Vince Coglianese. "There weren’t details, and there was nothing in there that compromised. And it had no impact on the attack, which was very successful," Trump said. "A thing like that — maybe Goldberg found a way," Trump continued, referring to Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic who was included in the chat by mistake. "Maybe there’s a staffer, maybe there’s a very innocent staffer, but we’ll get — I think we’ll get to the bottom of it very quickly, and it’s really not a big deal." National security adviser Mike Waltz said on Fox News on Tuesday night that a staffer was not responsible for adding Goldberg to the group chat. "Well, look, a staffer wasn’t responsible," Waltz told Laura Ingraham, refuting a suggestion from the president. "And look, I take full responsibility. I built the group to make — my job is to make sure everything’s coordinated."

Washington Examiner [3/26/2025 11:11 AM, Asher Notheis, 2296K] reports that President Donald Trump suggested that a "very innocent staffer" may have been the source of the recent Signal group chat, which has rocked the administration this week. The Atlantic released a report on Wednesday in which Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg included messages in the chat from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the timeline for strikes planned against Houthi targets. The president predicted an answer to who added Goldberg to the group chat could be found on Wednesday and suggested that Goldberg may have gotten into the chat "with a staffer" by accident. "Maybe Goldberg found a way, maybe there’s a staffer, maybe there’s a very innocent staffer, but I think we’ll get to the bottom of it very quickly, and it’s really not a big deal," Trump said on The VINCE Show. Trump also said that it is "bizarre" how a "sleazebag" like Goldberg got added to the chat to begin with, adding that it is "too bad" his magazine got a boost in attention through this leak. Additionally, he argued the leak had no effect on the administration’s attack on Houthi targets. Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, has suggested that Goldberg found a way to enter this Signal chat "deliberately."

The Hill [3/26/2025 6:33 PM, Brett Samuels, 12829K] reports that the White House on Wednesday scrambled to contain the controversy of a Signal group chat of national security officials that became public, opting for its signature defiant approach but one that left even some Republicans scratching their heads. After The Atlantic published messages from the chat, to which Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was mistakenly added, administration officials went on the attack against the publication and downplayed the significance of the revelations. Officials seized on a headline description of "attack plans" rather than "war plans," suggesting that slight difference in wording showed the controversy was overblown. They also argued no specific names, locations or sources of intelligence were revealed, although specific military aircraft, weapons and timing of strikes were laid out. "I don’t know about downplaying. The press up-plays it. I think it’s all a witch hunt," President Trump told reporters Wednesday. "The attacks were unbelievably successful, and that’s ultimately what you should be talking about I think.” Trump acknowledged national security adviser Mike Waltz took responsibility for the mistake, while saying Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was doing a "great job" and "had nothing to do with it.” Still, the publication of the messages and the subsequent response raised difficult questions for the administration and its handling of the entire episode. The situation was complicated by a Senate hearing on Tuesday in which Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe were adamant that no classified information was discussed in the Signal chat. Even some Republicans were not buying the White House’s defiant messaging.

The Hill [3/26/2025 2:15 PM, Miranda Nazzaro, 12829K] reports that the president of Signal defended the security of the encrypted messaging app on Tuesday after a bombshell report revealed top Trump administration officials used the app to discuss airstrike plans hours before they took place. In a lengthy post on the social platform X on Tuesday night, Signal President Meredith Whittaker called the app the "gold standard in private comms" without directly mentioning the ongoing controversy over the officials’ group chat. "We’re open source, nonprofit, and we develop and apply e2ee [end-to-end encryption] and privacy preserving tech across our system to protect metadata and message contents," Whittaker wrote. "Check out to see just how little data we are able to provide in response to the subpoenas we’re not able to resist.” A spotlight was put on Signal earlier this week after The Atlantic’s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, revealed he was invited to a group chat on Signal earlier this month by national security adviser Mike Waltz. According to Goldberg, top security officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President Vance, discussed plans for airstrikes on Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen hours before they were launched.

The Hill [3/26/2025 11:35 AM, Mychael Schnell, 12829K] reports that Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said the White House is "in denial" over The Atlantic’s explosive report about a text chain with senior-level administration officials — and, inadvertently, a reporter — that discussed plans for a U.S. attack on the Houthis in Yemen. Bacon — a former brigadier general in the Air Force who specialized in intelligence — took a swipe at the White House after The Atlantic on Wednesday published the full text exchange from Signal chat, which Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was mistakenly included on. Wednesday morning’s report showed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sharing sensitive information regarding the operation, including timing, weapons and targets, ahead of it being carried out. "The WH is in denial that this was not classified or sensitive data. They should just own up to it and preserve credibility," Bacon told The Hill. Bacon expressed a similar sentiment in a virtual town hall Tuesday evening, saying those involved should stop targeting the journalist who broke the story and accept responsibility for their mistakes. "Thus far, they have not," Bacon said, the Nebraska Examiner reported. "I want people to take responsibility for their actions. Blaming the reporter, blaming [The] Atlantic is not taking responsibility."

FOX News [3/26/2025 8:00 AM, Morgan Phillips, 46189K] reports the leak of Houthi strike plans by the Trump administration to a journalist was not the result of a hack but an apparent human error. Still, it sparked debate over whether the nation’s most powerful government officials should communicate sensitive military information on a non-government platform. Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, wrote on Monday that he was added to a group chat on Signal on March 11 by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz titled "Houthi PC small group." His article details a leaked conversation between the nation’s top government officials, including the vice president, secretary of defense, director of the CIA and others, in which the sensitive details of a planned strike on Houthi terrorists in Yemen were reportedly discussed. The report shocked Washington and led to accusations from Democrats and others that President Donald Trump’s team endangered national security and possibly violated the law by using Signal, a messaging app. Signal’s platform is encrypted, but that doesn’t mean it is not susceptible to hacks, experts told Fox News Digital. Encryption means that only the sender and the receiver of a message should be able to review it; not even Signal itself can pull its contents. But even without viewing a message’s contents, some metadata might be attainable. "Knowing who has spoken with whom at what time and for what duration is already very useful intelligence," said Vahid Behzadan, cybersecurity professor and researcher at the University of New Haven. "If a phone is infected with spyware, messages can be intercepted before or after encryption.” "Screenshots or photos are not protected by Signal itself … and if previews are enabled by users in the app, sensitive info could appear on a locked screen," he said. Government officials and journalists often use Signal to communicate sensitive information for fear that emails and text communications on official government cellphones could fall under the Freedom of Information Act, meaning they could be made public. However, transmitting controlled but unclassified information on Signal is explicitly banned by Defense Department policy.

Roll Call [3/26/2025 2:16 PM, Ryan Tarinelli, 503K] reports Democratic lawmakers called for criminal investigations Wednesday into the conduct surrounding a sensitive group chat in which high-ranking Trump officials discussed military action against the Houthis. Senate and House Democrats underscored the Espionage Act in letters to the Trump administration as they called for either Attorney General Pamela Bondi or a special counsel to review the activity of the Signal group chat, which has set off a firestorm on Capitol Hill. The existence of the group chat was revealed by The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, who reported he was accidentally added to the chat. On Wednesday, The Atlantic published the chat that included information about the attacks ahead of "the scheduled start of the bombing of Houthi positions.” Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, argued in a letter Wednesday that conduct in the group chat was "likely" a violation of the Espionage Act. "This situation is perhaps one of the most humiliating and dangerous national security breaches in modern American history," Raskin said in the letter to Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, adding that the episode put the lives of American servicemembers at risk. Raskin argued the group chat episode "likely violates federal criminal and civil statutes" that the Justice Department and the FBI "have a duty to enforce.” In their letter to Trump, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and other Democrats said they expect Bondi to conduct an investigation into the actions of the "government officials involved in improperly sharing or discussing such information.” The Democrats wrote that "willful or negligent disclosure of classified or sensitive national security information may constitute a criminal violation of the Espionage Act or other laws.” The Justice Department is unlikely to launch a criminal investigation or bring charges against prominent Trump administration officials, as both Bondi and Patel are staunch allies of Trump.

Washington Examiner [3/26/2025 6:53 PM, Ross O’Keefe, 2296K] reports the contact details for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard were found online, with some of them still connected to services such as LinkedIn and WhatsApp. The information was obtained by German-based Spiegel via a public people search and data leaks, showing additional vulnerabilities in the defense community after the Signal group chat leak. The outlet said it was "particularly easy" to find contact information for the high-ranking Hegseth. The newspaper added that it used a commercial provider of contact information to obtain his Gmail and mobile phone number. The Pentagon chief’s email, and, in some cases, password were available in "over 20 publicly accessible leaks," and it was used just days ago. The number led to a WhatsApp account with a profile picture of Hegseth that the newspaper said has since been deleted. Waltz’s contact information led to even more social media avenues. Profiles for his Microsoft Teams, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and Signal were found. Gabbard’s info was not as readily available as Waltz’s and Hegseth’s. Hers could not be found via a commercial search, but the outlet found her email on WikiLeaks and Reddit. Her information was reportedly contained in more than ten data leaks and contained a partial phone number that led to an active WhatsApp account and a Signal profile. Waltz was also found by Wired to have kept his active Venmo account’s friends list public. The list reportedly included White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Fox News’s Bret Baier and Brian Kilmeade, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), and hundreds of others. None of his transactions were public. Wiles’s friends list was also publicly available, which included Attorney General Pam Bondi. "We take our customers’ privacy seriously, which is why we let customers choose their privacy settings on Venmo for both their individual payments and friends lists—and we make it incredibly simple for customers to make these private if they choose to do so," a Venmo spokeswoman told the outlet.

Yahoo! News [3/26/2025 10:55 AM, Dave Jamieson, 52868K] reports that the White House is trying to get its hands on sensitive unemployment insurance data held within the Labor Department — raising concerns the Trump administration could weaponize it for deportations or political uses. The data, collected by states and provided to the agency’s inspector general’s office, likely includes workers’ addresses, Social Security numbers and other identifying information, according to unemployment experts. The office began collecting the information from states during the pandemic in order to fight fraudulent benefit claims. President Donald Trump issued an executive order last week that requires the inspector general’s office to grant the labor secretary and her designees "unfettered access to all unemployment data and related payment records" held by the office. Trump’s labor secretary, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, was confirmed by the Senate earlier this month. A White House spokesperson told HuffPost the administration wanted the unemployment information to fight fraud but declined to comment when asked specifically if the data could be shared with the Department of Homeland Security, which includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "DOGE is looking for waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars across all agencies, including the Department of Labor," deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said in an email.

CBS Miami [3/26/2025 6:33 PM, Natalie Brand and Seiji Yamashita, 51661K] reports top Democrats on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee are sounding the alarm about cuts to a little-known but rapidly expanding space office within NOAA as part of the hundreds of recent layoffs at the agency. NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce is tasked with helping to manage commercial and military satellite traffic in space to help guard against collisions, as well as licensing and regulating commercial satellite systems. The office has recently gotten attention around Washington as a key government office for commercial space companies. Its already small team lost eight employees in the initial round of layoffs in late February, representing around 30% of its staff, according to multiple sources. Since then, three staffers in leadership roles were brought back, but lawmakers still worry about the impact. The members of Congress are calling for all fired employees within the office to be reinstated permanently. Earlier this month, fired employees were placed on administrative leave after their firings were blocked by a federal court ruling. In a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, obtained by CBS News, lawmakers including the committee’s ranking member Zoe Lofgren, of California, say the firings could compromise the office’s public safety programs and risk hurting U.S. leadership in space. They also question whether there’s a conflict of interest given Trump adviser and DOGE leader Elon Musk’s stake in SpaceX. "If OSC is gutted, the harm to America’s economy, its national security, and its public safety will leave everyone worse off - except perhaps for SpaceX, whose size and scale will allow it to mitigate the damage done to the rest of the commercial space sector," reads the letter in part.

Yahoo! News [3/26/2025 1:45 PM, Jen Judson, 52868K] reports that the U.S. Army is looking for inexpensive but high-tech solutions, including artificial intelligence, to help protect the massive acreage that make up its sites where munitions are made and stockpiled. In one instance, a local duck hunter got out of his boat, grabbed his shot gun and waded right into the protected area of a munition site, Brig. Gen. Ronnie Anderson, Joint Munitions Command commander, said Tuesday at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Global Force Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama. These 13 operating sites under the purview of Joint Munitions Command have also seen 42 drone incursions, Anderson said, without specifying the timeframe. "What are they doing? We don’t know. Is there anything nefarious or is it just someone who’s curious? We don’t know because we don’t have the ability to interrogate the [unmanned aircraft system] or the person who’s operating." The worst-case scenario, Anderson said, is a hobbyist could crash a drone into an operating site where there are explosives being moved between Point A and Point B.

Los Angeles Times [3/26/2025 7:11 PM, Josh Boak, 13342K] reports President Trump said Wednesday he was placing a 25% tariff on auto imports, a move that the White House claims would foster domestic manufacturing but could also put a financial squeeze on automakers that depend on global supply chains. “This will continue to spur growth,” Trump told reporters. “We’ll effectively be charging a 25% tariff.” The tariffs, which the White House expects to raise $100 billion in revenue annually, could be complicated as even U.S. automakers source their components from around the world. The tax hike starting in April means automakers could face higher costs and lower sales, though Trump argues that the tariffs will lead to more factories opening in the United States and the end of what he judges to be a “ridiculous” supply chain in which auto parts and finished vehicles are manufactured across the United States, Canada and Mexico. To underscore his seriousness, Trump said, “This is permanent.” Shares in General Motors fell roughly 3% in Wednesday trading. Ford’s stock was up slightly. Shares in Stellantis, the owner of Jeep and Chrysler, dropped nearly 3.6%. Trump has long said that tariffs against auto imports would be a defining policy of his presidency, betting that the costs created by the taxes would cause more production to relocate to the United States while helping to narrow the budget deficit. But U.S. and foreign automakers have plants around the world to accommodate global sales while also maintaining competitive prices — and it could take years for companies to design, build and open the new factories that Trump is promising.

The New York Times [3/26/2025 2:57 PM, Michael Levenson, 145325K] reports that a heavy vehicle that was carrying four U.S. Army soldiers has been found submerged in a swamp in Lithuania, a day after the soldiers disappeared while on a training mission, the U.S. military said on Wednesday. The vehicle was discovered after a search by the U.S. Army, the Lithuanian military and other Lithuanian authorities, the U.S. military said in a statement. The soldiers have not been found. “Recovery efforts are underway by U.S. Army and Lithuanian Armed Forces and civilian agencies,” the U.S. military said in the statement. “Search efforts for the soldiers continue.” The soldiers, from 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, had been conducting scheduled tactical training near Pabrade, a city in eastern Lithuania, near the border with Belarus, the U.S. military said. They were in an M88 Hercules, essentially a giant Army tow truck that is designed to rescue disabled tanks from the battlefield, the military said. They had been sent out to bring back another heavy vehicle but may have driven off the road and into a swamp, according to a U.S. Army official in Europe. The soldiers appeared to have been trapped inside as the M88 sank, the official said. The 3rd Infantry Division, based at Fort Stewart in Georgia, was keeping the families of the soldiers informed on the status of the search, the U.S. military said. The Miami Herald [3/26/2025 2:06 PM, Mike Heuer, 3973K] reports that officials for the USAEA on Wednesday announced the four U.S. Army soldiers went missing on Tuesday and search-and-recovery efforts are underway near Pabrade, Lithuania. Personnel with the U.S. Army, Lithuanian Armed Forces, Lithuanian law enforcement and others are conducting the search-and-rescue operation for the four unnamed soldiers. "I would like to thank the Lithuanian Armed Forces and first responders who quickly came to our aid in our search operations," V Corps commander Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza said. "It’s this kind of teamwork and support that exemplifies the importance of our partnership and our humanity regardless of what flags we wear on our shoulders," Costanza said. The four soldiers are based in Fort Stewart in Georgia. Lithuanian Armed Forces officials received notification of the four missing soldiers and a tracked vehicle at 4:45 p.m. local time Tuesday during the training exercise at the General Silvestra Zukauskas Training Area in Pabrade.

Reported similarly:
NBC News [3/26/2025 11:38 AM, Mosheh Gains and David K. Li, 44742K]

Newsweek [3/27/2025 3:50 AM, Ellie Cook, 52220K] reports President Donald Trump has said he was not briefed about four soldiers reported missing during military exercises in Lithuania. U.S. Army Europe and Africa said on Wednesday that four soldiers with the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, were missing from a training ground near Pabradė, which sits close to the country’s border with Belarus. When asked by a reporter whether he had been briefed on the situation, Trump said: "No, I haven’t.” The soldiers were carrying out "scheduled tactical training at the time of the incident," the U.S. army said in a statement. It added that search efforts involved both the U.S. and Lithuanian militaries, along with law enforcement. In a later update, the U.S. Army said that a M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle that the four soldiers were using at the time of the incident had been found "submerged in a body of water.”

Reuters [3/26/2025 7:57 AM, Yuliia Dysa, 41523K] reports Russia has attacked at least eight Ukrainian energy facilities since March 18 when Moscow says it halted such attacks, a senior Ukrainian presidential official said on Wednesday. Ihor Zhovkva, speaking on national television, also said that, contrary to Russian statements, no preconditions were discussed with U.S. officials as they agreed a Black Sea truce with Russia during talks in Saudi Arabia this week. The Kremlin said earlier that a number of conditions must be met before the Black Sea maritime security deal negotiated with the United States can be activated.

AP [3/27/2025 4:16 AM, Kim Tong-Hyung, 34586K] reports North Korea sent around 3,000 additional troops to Russia in January and February in continued support for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine, South Korea’s military said Thursday in its latest assessment. The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea has also been sending more missiles, artillery equipment and ammunition to help Russia and that North Korea could increase its weapons supplies further depending on the war situation. Russia and Ukraine recently agreed on a limited ceasefire, though both sides have accused each other of violations. The military equipment North Korea has sent to Russia includes a “considerable amount” of short-range ballistic missiles, 170 millimeter self-propelled howitzers and around 220 units of 240 millimeter multiple rocket launchers. North Korea has sent approximately 11,000 military personnel to fight in the war against Ukraine in its first involvement in a large-scale conflict since the 1950-53 Korean War, and the Joint Chiefs assessed that around 4,000 of them have been killed or wounded. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service previously attributed the high North Korean casualties to the troops’ likely struggles in adapting to drones and other elements of modern warfare. North Korean troops are further disadvantaged by the crude tactics of their Russian commanders, who have sent them into assault campaigns without providing rear-fire support, the spy agency told lawmakers in January. Still, Ukrainian military and intelligence officials have assessed that the North Koreans are gaining crucial battlefield experience and have been key to Russia’s strategy of overwhelming Ukraine by throwing large numbers of soldiers into the battle for Kursk.

Reported similarly:
CNN [3/27/2025 4:01 AM, Lex Harvey, 52868K]

Axios [3/26/2025 6:25 AM, Colin Demarest, 13163K] reports the U.S. is pounding Houthi drone experts and infrastructure as well as command-and-control nodes across Yemen at a pace previously unseen. The rebel group has for months held the Red Sea and its surroundings hostage, despite international firepower levied against it. Key to its stranglehold are unmanned, explosive-strapped vehicles in the air and on the sea. "No doubt the Houthis have proven that they can take a punch," Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Axios. "But over time? That remains the big question." An initial wave of attacks hit 30-plus targets, including "a terrorist compound where we know several senior Houthi unmanned aerial vehicle experts were located," Air Force Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich told reporters at the Pentagon. "Those were key individuals who led their unmanned aerial vehicle enterprise and were some of the technical experts." That was more than a week ago. The action hasn’t stopped since. The U.S. launched at least 612% more strikes in March than it did during all of its operations targeting the Iran-backed group since November, according to a Jewish Institute for National Security of America tally. More than 749 strikes were executed since January 2024. The U.S. could again be mired in the Middle East if this operation has no publicly stated end goal or metrics of success. That said, experts told Axios a land invasion is unlikely.

Washington Examiner [3/26/2025 11:25 AM, Keith Self, 2296K] reports that the Trump administration has delivered on more promises in two months than any other president in history. At lightning speed, Americans have watched a vigorous push for peace across the globe, American hostages being returned home to their families, and the Trump administration’s unwavering commitment to peace through strength with indisputable transparency. The Atlantic piece on the Trump administration’s communications regarding the recent strike against the Houthis gave CNN, MSNBC, and the fake news gang prime-time banter. However, it actually provided Americans with reassurance that the Trump administration’s foreign policy team is not only well-coordinated but also unparalleled in its capability. Unlike the chaos and incompetence that plagued the previous administration, President Donald Trump’s team is laser-focused on protecting American interests and standing up to global threats. The president chose some of the most qualified officials ever to serve in the government, and they are working around the clock in lockstep to ensure that every decision is executed with precision and purpose.

AP [3/25/2025 7:09 PM, Sarah Parvini, 24727K] reports President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would consider a reduction in tariffs on China if that country’s government approves a sale of TikTok’s operations in the United States. Speaking with reporters at the Oval Office, Trump said the move "sounds like something I’d do." The president’s comments came less than two weeks before an April deadline requiring TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance to divest or face a U.S. ban. Questions about the fate of the popular video sharing app have continued to linger since a law requiring ByteDance’s divestment took effect on Jan. 19. After taking office, Trump gave TikTok a 75-day reprieve by signing an executive order that delayed enforcement of the statute until April 5. Trump reiterated that the deadline on a TikTok deal could be extended further if needed. He previously proposed terms in which the U.S. would have a 50% stake in a joint venture. The administration hasn’t provided details on what that type of deal would entail. But earlier this month, Vice President JD Vance said he was hopeful a deal to keep TikTok operating in the U.S. will be wrapped up by the early April deadline. NBC News reported that Vance did not offer details on who the potential buyers could be but noted that some issues could push a final agreement past the deadline. If TikTok is not sold to an approved buyer by April 5, the original law that bans it nationwide would once again go into effect. However, the deadline for the executive order doesn’t appear to be set in stone and the president has reiterated it could be extended further if needed.

Newsweek [3/26/2025 10:39 AM, Micah McCartney, 3973K] reports that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard warned lawmakers Tuesday that North Korea will emerge from the Russia-Ukraine war with a stronger military and diplomatic hand and is likely prepared to conduct its first nuclear test since 2017. Newsweek reached out to the North Korean embassy in Beijing, China, with an emailed request for comment outside of office hours. Since its first nuclear test in 2006, Pyongyang has conducted five more-four under current leader Kim Jong Un, defying a strict United Nations sanctions regime aimed at halting its progress. Kim has cited U.S. military presence in the region as justification for advancing his arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles, the most capable of which officials believe can now strike targets across North America. Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe testified Tuesday morning before the Senate Intelligence Committee on the evolving foreign threats facing the United States. Gabbard outlined the growing offensive capabilities and strategic objectives of key U.S. adversaries-most notably China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea-describing Beijing as "our most strategic competitor." "North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is pursuing stronger, strategic, and conventional capabilities that can target U.S. forces and allies in the region, as well as the U.S. homeland, to bolster North Korea’s leverage and stature, defend its regime, and achieve at least tacit recognition as a nuclear weapons power," Gabbard said.

Reuters [3/26/2025 10:21 PM, Jack Kim, 52868K] reports North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised the test of suicide drones with artificial intelligence (AI) technology and said unmanned control and AI capability must be the top priorities in modern arms development, state media reported on Thursday. Kim inspected new upgraded reconnaissance drones that are capable of detecting various tactical targets and enemy activities on land and at sea, KCNA state news agency said. "The field of unmanned equipment and artificial intelligence should be top-prioritized and developed in modernizing the armed forces," KCNA quoted Kim as saying. The nuclear-armed North also officially unveiled an airborne early-warning aircraft for the first time, a capability that could improve its aging air defence systems. Photographs published by state media showed Kim climbing steps toward the door of a large aircraft with four engines and a radar dome mounted on the fuselage, and viewing the aircraft on a low fly-by. Using commercial satellite imagery, analysts have previously reported that North Korea was converting the Russian-made Il-76 cargo aircraft for an early-warning role. Such an aircraft would help augment the North’s existing land-based radar systems, which are sometimes limited by the peninsula’s mountainous terrain, London’s International Institute for Strategic Studies said in a report in September. "The ability of an AEW aircraft to look down mitigates some of the challenges of the terrain and ground-clutter returns to track low-flying aircraft and cruise missiles," the report said. One AEW aircraft would not be enough, however, and North Korea would risk canabilising the rest of its cargo fleet to build more, the report said.

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