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 New York Times [3/2/2025 5:21 PM, Julian E. Barnes, David E. Sanger and Helene Cooper, 145325K] reports Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered U.S. Cyber Command to halt offensive operations against Russia, according to a current official and two former officials briefed on the secret instructions. The move is apparently part of a broader effort to draw President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia into talks on Ukraine and a new relationship with the United States. Mr. Hegseth’s instructions, part of a larger re-evaluation of all operations against Russia, have not been publicly explained. But they were issued before President Trump’s public blowup in the Oval Office with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Friday. The precise scope and duration of the Defense Department order is not clear, as the line between offensive and defensive cyberoperations is often a blurry one. Still, retaining access to major Russian networks for espionage purposes is critical to understanding Mr. Putin’s intentions as he enters negotiations, and to tracking the arguments within Russia about what conditions to insist upon and what could be given up. Former officials said it was common for civilian leaders to order pauses in military operations during sensitive diplomatic negotiations, to avoid derailing them. Still, for President Trump and Mr. Hegseth, the retreat from offensive cyberoperations against Russian targets represents a huge gamble. It essentially counts on Mr. Putin to reciprocate by letting up on what many call the “shadow war” underway against the United States and its traditional allies in Europe. The leading European powers continue to say their support of Ukraine is undiminished even as Mr. Trump, who has sought to portray himself as a neutral arbiter in seeking to end the war in Ukraine, has at times sided openly with Mr. Putin. U.S. officials have said Russia has continued to try to penetrate U.S. networks, including in the first weeks of the Trump administration. But that is only part of a broader Russian campaign. CNN [3/2/2025 9:19 PM, Jim Sciutto and Sean Lyngaas, 908K] reports that the pause in operations and planning from US Cyber Command, the military’s offensive and defensive cyber unit, comes as the Trump administration has sought a broader détente with Russia three years into Moscow’s war against Ukraine. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday, throwing the US-Ukraine relationship into uncertainty. “Due to operational security concerns, we do not comment nor discuss cyber intelligence, plans, or operations. There is no greater priority to Secretary Hegseth than the safety of the warfighter in all operations, to include the cyber domain,” a senior defense official told CNN, referring to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The Record first reported on Cyber Command’s suspension of planning related to Russia. “It is not uncommon for the Pentagon to pause actions which are potentially destabilizing or provocative for negotiations, including cyber-effects operations,” Jason Kikta, a former Cyber Command official, told CNN. “But if a planning pause was also directed, that could cause offensive options to become stale and therefore nonviable.” “Any extended period without checking on access and updating planning, risks losing that access or missing a critical change,” Kikta said, adding that he was not personally aware of any change in status of Cyber Command operations. Russia and the US are in a regular state of confrontation in cyberspace, current and former US official say. The Kremlin sees cyberspace as a source of asymmetric advantage with the US, as it can burrow into US critical infrastructure and try to influence US elections. For their part, American military and intelligence hackers have in recent years increasingly gone after Russian cybercriminals and intelligence operatives. NBC News [3/2/2025 8:35 PM, Courtney Kube and Nnamdi Egwuonwu, 44742K] reports that the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which is housed in the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement that its "mission is to defend against all cyber threats to U.S. Critical Infrastructure, including from Russia. There has been no change in our posture."

AP [3/2/2025 7:21 AM, Christina A. Cassidy, 1769K] reports the centerpiece election legislation from congressional Republicans would require voters to prove their citizenship when registering, raising concerns among state election officials about how it would be implemented and who would pay for it. In recent interviews, secretaries of state from both parties said they were wary of federal lawmakers creating state election rules and of costly new procedures that would come with them, including collecting and storing sensitive documents. They also criticized a provision that would allow for civil or criminal penalties against any election official who registers someone without evidence of citizenship. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said there is no federal database that states can use to confirm a person’s citizenship status. Election officials described databases maintained by the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security as unreliable. "Reasonable people can agree that only citizens should be voting in our elections," said Bellows, a Democrat. "If they want us to prove citizenship, then they need to build the infrastructure for that to happen.". With the urging of President Donald Trump, House Republicans are expected to move quickly to advance the legislation, known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. A proof of citizenship requirement was included in a package of priority bills that can bypass committee and head straight to a floor vote. That could happen as soon as this week, though the bill’s prospects in the Senate are uncertain amid likely Democratic opposition.

FOX News [3/2/2025 3:18 PM, Michael Lee Fox, 46189K] reports the rapid reduction of illegal crossings at the U.S. southern border calls into question a key Democratic talking point during the 2024 campaign, when party leaders blamed then-former President Donald Trump for helping kill bipartisan border legislation that they argued was the only way to secure the border. "President Trump’s fast and successful border security proves Biden’s false claim of needing the Senate’s border insecurity bill was nothing more than Biden’s attempted power grab to codify his open border tools and hamstring a future president who wanted to enforce the law," Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, told Fox News Digital. The comments come as evidence continues to mount that Trump’s policies have rapidly improved the situation at the southern border, including news last week that single-day border apprehensions had hit a 15-year low, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents encountering only 200 aliens at the border on February 22. "President Trump and Secretary Noem have sent a clear message to illegal aliens: Do not come to our country. You will not be allowed in. And if you get in, we will hunt you down and deport you," a DHS spokesperson said in a release at the time. That news came just days after Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks told CBS News in an interview that southern border crossings were down 94% from the same period last year, a staggering number he credited to the Trump administration’s aggressive crackdown.

Bloomberg [3/2/2025 4:20 PM, Josh Wingrove, 3973K] reports President Donald Trump is on the verge of slapping new tariffs on Canada and Mexico while doubling a levy on China, moves that would dramatically expand his push to reshape the US economy, tap new revenues and upend ties with the biggest US trading partners. The long-promised tariffs scheduled to take effect Tuesday would easily be among the most sweeping of the Trump era, applying to roughly $1.5 trillion in annual imports. They would put a 25% tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico, except Canadian energy, which would face a 10% rate. He has also said he’ll double a tariff on China to 20%. The tariffs may yet be delayed — the Canada and Mexico measures were already stalled once — but any reprieve could prove temporary, with a host of other Trump levies due in April. Trump says the tariffs are a tool to bring the neighboring nations to heel on securing the borders from migrants and drugs, particularly fentanyl. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that both Canada and Mexico have been working hard on controlling the border but fentanyl was still an issue and the tariffs were contingent on both being resolved. “They have done a lot, so he’s sort of thinking about right now how exactly he wants to play with Mexico and Canada and that is a fluid situation,” Lutnick said on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, speaking of Trump. “There are going to be tariffs on Tuesday on Mexico and Canada, exactly what they are, we’re going to leave that for the president and his team to negotiate.”

The Hill [3/2/2025 3:16 PM, Sarah Fortinsky, 12829K] reports Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Sunday he is now directing all department civilian employees to respond to emails from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) asking for a recap of what they did the week prior. "I am now directing each member of the department’s civilian workforce — just civilian — to provide those five bullets on what they accomplished in their specific jobs last week," Hegseth said in a video posted to social media. "To reply to that email and CC their immediate supervisor.". "It’s a simple task, really, as Elon [Musk] said, as the president recognized in our first Cabinet meeting, just a pulse check — ‘Are you there out?’ — to DOD civilians," Hegseth continued. Hegseth said in the video that the Department of Defense (DOD) civilian workforce would soon get a second email outlining next steps "that they need to take in order to comply with this initiative.". Pentagon officials initially instructed employees not to respond to the first OPM email sent on Feb. 22, but Hegseth said that was only a temporary pause to allow for "a review of Pentagon procedures and consultation with the Office of Personal Management.". He noted the department deals with sensitive issues and with matters of national security, so "we needed to be careful on that front.". The directive from Hegseth comes as federal employees have begun receiving a second version of the same OPM email, a controversial practice ignited by Musk. Musk faced pushback last week from some agency heads, who instructed their employees not to respond to the email from hr@opm.gov, even as Musk threatened that a nonresponse to the email would be considered a resignation.

Yahoo! News [3/2/2025 11:53 AM, Joshua Haiar, 52868K] reports State Sen. Chris Karr didn’t like the way former Gov. Kristi Noem’s administration spent money without legislative approval or oversight. Neither did his colleagues, judging by the support he’s received for a legislative package he dubbed "three big, beautiful bills." The package, which is headed to the House after its unanimous approval by the Senate, would establish new restrictions on the kind of state government spending, leasing and fund transfers that Karr said the Noem administration abused. "There was a pattern of saying, ‘We don’t need to get permission — we’ll just do it,’" Karr said. "These bills make sure that doesn’t happen again.". The Sioux Falls Republican has served in the Legislature since 2017. He spent much of that time on the main budget committee, sometimes butting heads with fellow Republicans in the Noem administration over spending. He was elevated to the position of Senate president pro tempore this legislative session. The first bill would mandate that any Department of Game, Fish & Parks projects over $2.5 million receive legislative approval. Karr said the department’s $20 million shooting range complex north of Rapid City proceeded despite lawmakers rejecting funding requests. He said the department is building the shooting range using a mix of its own budget, donations and a discretionary fund controlled by the governor, thereby bypassing legislative approval. Karr highlighted the controversial One Stop government service centers in Sioux Falls and Rapid City as examples of why the measure is needed. The Noem administration entered into 30-year lease agreements that will ultimately cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars to consolidate state offices and employees in the buildings, without legislative approval. Skirting legislative approval, not owning the building despite the large investment, and the long-term spending obligation have some lawmakers upset.

FOX News [3/2/2025 12:00 PM, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, 46189K] reports the apparent head of a radical transgender cult linked to six killings, including a U.S. Border Patrol agent, told a Maryland judge last week, "I haven’t done anything wrong" while pleading for access to vegan food behind bars. "I might starve to death if you cannot answer me," Jack Amadeus LaSota, 34, who goes by "Ziz," told Judge Erich Bean during a bail hearing in Allegany County District Court in Maryland on Feb. 18, according to audio obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle. "I need the jail to be ordered for me to have a vegan diet. It’s more important than whatever this hearing is.". During the hearing, LaSota said at another point that releasing him on bail "may be a matter of survival if I don’t get vegan food… I haven’t done anything wrong. I shouldn’t be here.". He continued, saying that he might be in a "mild state of delusion" due to a lack of vegan options in the Allegany County Detention Center and that he is not a flight risk since he is homeless. LaSota and two other reported Zizian members, Michelle Jacqueline Zajko, 32, of Media, Pa., and Daniel Arthur Blank, 26, of Sacramento, Calif., were arrested on Feb. 16 in Maryland. LaSota and his affiliates face multiple charges, including trespassing and possession of a handgun. Their arrests brought attention to the "Zizian" cult – a group of radical young people who mostly identify as transgender, who are known for their affinity for veganism and their link to violent killings. The Zizians’ violence was most recently linked to the Jan. 20 killing of Vermont Border Patrol Agent David Christopher Maland, 44. During the hearing, Allegany County Attorney James Elliott described LaSota as someone who "appears to be the leader of an extremist group known as the Zizians. That group is tied to multiple homicides.". "It’s important to note Mr. LaSota has ties to Alaska, California, Vermont, [and] Pennsylvania at this point that the state is aware of," he said.

Washington Examiner [3/2/2025 9:22 AM, Jenny Goldsberry, 2296K] reports the North American Aerospace Defense Command was forced to send out jets Saturday when three civilian planes flew over Mar-a-Lago in the space of two hours. Ever since President Donald Trump took office, there is a temporary flight restriction over his resort in Palm Beach, Florida whenever he visits. This restricted airspace includes a 10 nautical mile (nm) inner core and 30 nautical mile outer core. This can often conflict with flight patterns in and out of Palm Beach International Airport. Trump arrived at Mar-a-Lago Friday with plans to spend the weekend at his Florida home. First, a plane entered the restricted airspace at 11:05 a.m, which prompted NORAD’s F-16 fighter aircraft to intercept the plane and escort it out of the area. Flares were also deployed to "draw attention from or communicate with the pilot" according to NORAD. "Adherence to TRF procedures is essential to ensure flight safety, national security, and the security of the President," NORAD Commander General Gregory Guillot said in a statement. "The procedures are not optional, and the excessive number of recent TRF violations indicates civil aviators are not reading Notice to Airmen, or NOTAMs, before each flight as required by the FAA, and has resulted in multiple responses by NORAD fighter aircraft to guide offending aircraft out of the TRF.". This comes months after Trump was the target of two assassination attempts just months ahead of the November election.

FOX News [3/3/2025 4:00 AM, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, 46189K] reports local jurisdictions are responding to the Trump administration’s call to apprehend illegal immigrants by collaborating closely with federal immigration authorities to carry out arrests. Fox News Digital observed the collaboration firsthand by accompanying the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office (SJSO) in Florida during their operations. The county’s task force collaborates with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Border Patrol agents and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest illegal immigrants and dismantle human smuggling and sex-trafficking operations. The SJSO task force is headed up by Sgt. Bobby Kukar and consists of approximately 20-25 local, state and federal law enforcement officers who conduct weekly operations along the Interstate 95 corridor. At the start of the operation, Sheriff Robert Hardwick emphasized the necessity for officers to have probable cause prior to conducting traffic stops. SJSO Lt. Jessica Hines reiterated the sheriff’s comments, explaining that probable cause builds the case against suspected illegal migrants. In one instance, the task force apprehended two suspected migrant brothers from Colombia. They were pulled over by task force members for speeding along I-95 and found to have been driving without a driver’s license. When the officers stopped the duo, they suspected the individuals were illegal immigrants after they failed to provide valid proof of documentation. Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Matthew Zetts arrived at the scene and used software to verify their illegal status. Through conversations with the brothers, authorities suspected that the pair may be trafficking drugs. Fox News Digital observed as authorities began searching the vehicles for evidence, noticing repeated screw holes on one side that raised suspicion. "It could show that the bumper section was repeatedly removed and could be a hold for illicit drugs from across the border," Kukar explained.

Yahoo! News [3/2/2025 3:00 PM, Katie Millard, 52868K] reports the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas issued two new rules limiting immigration enforcement to protect the court’s procedures. The court’s general division issued two new rules Friday prohibiting immigration arrests within the courthouse grounds and courtrooms. The court said these rules are designed to protect due process and access to justice for victims, witnesses and defendants. “Courts have a unique Constitutional responsibility to protect due process and access to justice on behalf of the entire public,” the courts announced. “That mission is jeopardized when victims, witnesses and defendants are afraid to come to the courthouse to testify and participate in ongoing cases, fearing civil arrest and deportation from courthouse grounds.” The first rule, Local Rule 111, prohibits civil arrests without a judicial warrant on courthouse grounds. The court said Ohio law has barred civil arrests of plaintiffs, defendants and witnesses coming to and from court, but Local Rule 111 clarifies they are also not permitted on courthouse property. The second, Local Rule 112, prohibits arrests by judicial warrant within courtrooms and bans court personnel from asking about an individual’s immigration status or assisting immigration enforcement. These rules are not applicable when there is written approval from a judge or when it is necessary for official court proceedings. The rules come as President Donald Trump cracks down on immigration nationally. Columbus leaders have said they will comply with federal requirements but will not compromise the city’s resources or mission to be welcoming in doing so. Federal agencies continue immigration detainments, however, charging and arresting at least four people in central Ohio with immigration violations this week alone.

New York Times [3/3/2025 3:26 AM, Natalie Kitroeff and Paulina Villegas, 330K] reports one cartel leader says he’s trying to figure out how to protect his family in case the American military strikes inside Mexico. Another says he’s already gone into hiding, rarely leaving his home. Two young men who produce fentanyl for the cartel say they have shut down all their drug labs. A barrage of arrests, drug seizures and lab busts by the Mexican authorities in recent months has struck the behemoth Sinaloa Cartel, according to Mexican officials and interviews with six cartel operatives, forcing at least some of its leaders to scale back on fentanyl production in Sinaloa state, their stronghold. The cartels have sown terror across Mexico and caused untold damage in the United States. But here in Culiacán, the state capital, the dynamic seems to be shifting, at least for now. Cartel operatives say they’ve had to move labs to other areas of the country or temporarily shut down production. “You can’t be calm, you can’t even sleep, because you don’t know when they’ll catch you,” said one high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel who, like other cartel operatives, spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of capture. “The most important thing now is to survive,” he added, his hands trembling. The government crackdown on organized crime intensified after the Trump administration threatened retribution unless Mexico halted the supply of fentanyl into the United States, vowing high tariffs if the flow of migrants and drugs continued. President Trump began floating the possibility of tariffs soon after his election in November, and soon after taking office announced 25 percent levies on Mexican goods if the country didn’t act on border security and drug trafficking. The president gave Mexico a month to deliver results, threatening to enact the tariffs on March 4 if he wasn’t satisfied. Facing economic chaos, the Mexican government went on the offensive. President Claudia Sheinbaum dispatched 10,000 national guard troops to the border and hundreds more soldiers to Sinaloa state, a major hub of fentanyl trafficking where a cartel war has caused turmoil for months. “Every day there have been arrests and seizures,” Omar Harfuch, the Mexican security minister, said at a recent news conference after returning from several days in Sinaloa. The detentions have led to “a constant weakening” of the cartel, he said.

AP [3/2/2025 10:48 PM, Staff, 48304K] reports that, while some are back dancing in the street, the lives of others touched by cartel violence in Mexico’s Culiacan will never be the same. For the past six months, the city has been the battlefield for the two main factions of the Sinaloa drug cartel. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Newsweek [3/2/2025 7:51 AM, Billal Rahman, 52220K] reports attorneys filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Saturday to halt the transfer of 10 migrants detained in the U.S. to Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. This marks their second legal challenge in under a month against plans to use the facility for large-scale immigrant detention before deportation. In a memorandum released in January, President Donald Trump outlined a plan to detain up to 30,000 immigrants suspected of being in the U.S. illegally at Guantánamo Bay as part of his immigration crackdown. Trump was elected president after promising the largest mass deportation operation in the U.S. history. Guantánamo Bay is widely recognized for its military prison, established after the September 11, 2001, attacks. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Center for Constitutional Rights, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), and the ACLU of the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit on behalf of migrants who face the risk of being transferred to Guantánamo Bay. The latest lawsuit argues that the transfers violate the men’s right to due process, as guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It also claims that federal immigration law prohibits the transfer of non-Cuban migrants from the U.S. to Guantánamo Bay, that the U.S. government lacks authority to detain individuals outside its territory, and that the naval base is legally part of Cuba. The lawsuit further describes the transfers as arbitrary. The federal lawsuit was filed less than a month after the same attorneys sued for access to migrants already detained at the U.S. naval base in Cuba after living in the country illegally. Both cases, backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, were filed in Washington.

The Hill [3/2/2025 8:00 AM, Staff, 12829K] reports the dictatorships of Venezuela and Cuba received two devastating blows in less than 24 hours. The first was President Trump’s announcement of an end to oil concessions to Venezuela. The second was the imposition of restrictions on U.S. visas for those who sponsor international medical brigades organized by Cuba’s communist regime. The first measure marked a clear and categorical decision on the dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro — that its oil cannot buy it an indefinite reprieve from the restoration of democracy. And here, the Trump administration went above and beyond by including the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua prison gang on the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. This new change of policy seeks to bury once and for all appeasement policies implemented by the Biden administration. The U.S. is finally calling out names and taking significant actions. A new standard is being set for relations with Latin America. The security, prosperity and well-being of the U.S. is closely linked to the security and prosperity of this region. This administration is addressing the symptoms and root causes of migration. Trump is securing the borders and dealing with authoritarian regimes that intentionally generate greater immigration to the U.S.. He is holding every country accountable for its share of the problem — a comprehensive and unprecedented approach.

ABC’s This Week With George Stephanopoulos [3/2/2025 11:59 AM, Staff, 2618K] reports Marco Rubio, Secretary Of State is asked if there has been any contact with President Zelenskyy since Friday. Rubio said that he hasn’t had contact with him but there have been plenty of contacts with him. "I think the last line in the president’s Truth Social post is the one to focus in on, and that is, we’ll be ready to re-engage when they’re ready to make peace, which is clearly what the president’s goal is here. He’s trying to get Russia to the table to bring about – to see if there’s a way to bring about an end to this conflict. That’s his goal. That’s his only goal. That’s his – that’s his centralized focus. And, you know, hopefully, we’ll get to a point where that’s possible," Rubio comments. The British prime minister said this morning that the United Kingdom and France are working on a peace plan with Ukraine to present to the U.S. Rubio is asked if he knows where things stand with that plan? "No. I mean I’ve talked to both of the foreign ministers of France and the U.K. yesterday, and I explained to them sort of the events leading up to what you saw on Friday. Look, I think what’s really important here is to understand the dynamic. The president is basically saying, there’s this horrible war. It’s been going on for three years. It is a bloody stalemate, a meat grinder type war, and he wants it to end. How does it end? It’s very simple. The only way it ends is if Vladimir Putin comes to a negotiating table. And right now President Trump is the only person on earth who has any chance whatsoever of bring him to a table to see what it is he would be willing to end the war on," Rubio states.

ABC’s This Week With George Stephanopoulos [3/2/2025 11:59 AM, Staff, 2618K] reports aren’t those talks feasible only if the United States is willing to also provide security guarantees to Ukraine? That was the point President Zelenskyy was also making in the Oval Office. "Well, the security guarantees which I actually like to call deterrents is all contingent upon there being a peace. Everybody is saying security guarantees to secure the peace. You first have to have a peace. We don’t even know if the peace is possible. And that -- this was understood by the Ukrainians. It was explained to them repeatedly, and that is, here’s our strategy. We’re trying to get Putin to a negotiating table. Don’t -- let’s not rehash -- everyone knows the history here, the back and forth. We understand that. We all understand that, but the question now is, can we get them to a table to negotiate? That’s our goal," Rubio states.

NBC’s Meet the Press [3/2/2025 12:09 PM, Staff] reports reaction has been pouring in to that Oval Office meeting on Friday. Democrats and even some Republicans say it only emboldened Vladimir Putin. A Kremlin spokesman saying today that the U.S. foreign policy shift, quote, "largely coincides with its vision." Here was The Wall Street Journal editorial board. Quote, "Putin wins. The Trump-Zelensky Oval office spectacle." Was Vladimir Putin the winner here? "No, he wasn’t. I have participated in a lot of bilateral meetings in my time with heads of state and other dignitaries. There’s always a certain protocol that goes along with this. I’ve never seen anything like President Zelensky’s behavior there. He berated and interrupted his host instead of expressing gratitude for the extraordinary help that the U.S. has provided his country, and effectively helped him stay alive and stay in power. So the way that that went down was very disappointing. I hope and pray, frankly, that President Zelensky will come to his senses, come back to President Trump, express gratitude as he should, you know, apologize for his behavior there, and accept this mineral rights deal. Because that is the best way for us to get to a point of peace over there in that region. And it’s in the interest of both countries," Johnson states. Johnson is asked: Do you still believe that Ukraine is an ally who the United States should support over Vladimir Putin and an axis of evil? "Yes. It’s pretty absurd for anyone in the media or Democrats to somehow proclaim that President Trump, the White House, or Republicans in Congress are on Putin’s side. It’s a joke. We understand that he is a dangerous adversary and he is the one that provoked the war. When we did the aid to Ukraine a year ago, the entire of that – and I was consistent from that moment until today, the whole point was to position Ukraine for peace talks. To make sure that they could hold the line until President Trump returned to the White House, which we knew was going to happen. President Trump is the only figure on the entire globe who is powerful enough to bring both of these parties to the table. And he was in the process of doing that. And he was very, I think, excited about the deal that was going to be consummated yesterday. But President Zelenskyy went in and blew it up. And it is such a great disappointment for everyone. We need to get him back to the table, we need to get Ukraine to express gratitude, of course, for all that we’ve done for them. But to bring it into this conflict, it is in America’s interest to get this done. And it is certainly, obviously in Ukraine’s interest, and all of our allies in Europe and around the world," Speaker Johnson comments.

NBC’s Meet the Press [3/2/2025 12:03 PM, Staff]
reports Senator Lindsey Graham on Friday floated the idea that President Zelensky may need to resign in order for there to be a peace agreement. Speaker Johnson states, "Something has to change. Either he needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude, or someone else needs to lead the country to do that. I mean, it’s up to the Ukrainians to figure that out. But I can tell you that we are re-exerting peace through strength. President Trump has brought back strength to the White House. We knew that this moment would come. We worked hard for it to come, and now it’s here. But we need these parties to go along with this. And we need President Zelensky to do what is necessary. This war has drug on far too long. He’s lost hundreds of thousands of people, including women and children. We’ve got to bring an end to it. And I think our European allies are hoping that that is the case, and we are as well."

CNN’s State of the Union With Jake Tapper and Dana Bash [3/2/2025 12:50 PM, Staff, 455K] reports we are watching the fallout after a remarkable Oval Office meeting this past week. The fallout is absolutely continuing. And we saw the shouting match between the president of the United States, the vice president of the United States, and also the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And it left Zelenskyy’s war-torn country in limbo, at an impasse with its most powerful ally, the United States while global friends and foes race to adjust to the new reality under President Trump, a transactional America first foreign policy that may cast aside longstanding alliances. Representative Mike Johnson said that what we witnessed in the Oval Office was an American president putting America first. What does America first mean to him? Does it mean that America’s role in the world is no longer to support democracies when threatened with tyranny? "No, America first is everything that that phrase implies. I have always considered myself a Reagan Republican. I believe in the idea that he used to articulate well that, after World War II, America had a very certain responsibility. We’re the last great superpower on the planet. It’s very important that we maintain that status. But we cannot maintain that status unless we maintain our own strength. And we achieve peace through strength. That was also a Reagan doctrine. So, what President Trump is doing is restoring that principle. He is a strong hand returned to the White House in a very perilous time on the world stage. We have to bring about an end to this war in Ukraine. Putin is the aggressor. It is an unjust war. We have been crystal clear about that. But now is the time to bring it to an end. And what President Trump was trying to do in the Oval Office when Zelenskyy acted so inappropriately, in my view, was to offer them an agreement that would be a win-win-win across the board. The mineral rights agreement is a fantastic solution to bring about an end to this conflict. And I would have hoped that President Zelenskyy would have understood that and showed some gratitude," states Johnson. Johnson says that the person who walked away from the meeting was President Zelenskyy and the way he acted was shocking to everyone.

CNN’s State of the Union With Jake Tapper and Dana Bash [3/2/2025 12:50 PM, Staff, 455K] reports less than a year ago, Speaker Johnson risked his speakership to support more aid to Ukraine. He were pretty emotional, saying that history judges us for what we do. Now does he think the United States should halt military assistance to Ukraine? "I said then and have said consistently until today, the entire point of providing the aid was to allow Ukraine to sustain itself and position them for peace negotiations. The whole idea behind it was to hold the line to eliminate the deaths of women and children and innocent people in their country until President Trump could return to the Oval Office. I was convinced that that was going to happen and that he would be the one that was powerful enough, strong enough on the world stage to bring both parties to the table. That is exactly the moment that we are in now. The plan worked, but now Zelenskyy has to follow through. And the fact that he acted as he did, I think, was a great disappointment. I hope it’s not the end of it, " comments Johnson.

CNN’s State of the Union With Jake Tapper and Dana Bash [3/2/2025 12:50 PM, Staff, 455K] reports Mike Waltz gives his view on what Ukrainian president said after that Oval Office meeting. Zelenskyy repeatedly went online. He thanked the U.S. and President Trump for the help that the U.S. is giving, saying it is crucial to have the president’s support, that no one wants peace more than we do. Is that enough for President Trump to get things back on track? "The president took calls from Prime Minister Starmer yesterday. He’s also taken a call from Prime Minister Meloni of Italy. President Zelenskyy is with those European leaders now. Those European leaders are talking to him directly about getting to the negotiation table. What does he need to see to actually negotiate with us and negotiate with the Russians, go to confidence-building measures, go to a cease-fire, and bring this horrific war to an end? And what was so, I think, stunning to all of us in the Oval Office was that it was not clear Zelenskyy was going to go to negotiations at all, that he would ever be able to negotiate with Putin, and whether he shared our goal of ending this war. So, what I made clear, as Secretary Rubio and I said, look, this cannot proceed, was that this was a huge missed opportunity for him and for his country. He could have left the White House on Friday on the heels of an engagement with President Macron of France, with President -- with Prime Minister Starmer of the United Kingdom, where they were talking about European boots on the ground, security guarantees for Ukraine, a positive movement towards ending this war, and being -- having Ukraine and the United States being bound together for a generation economically. But what we made clear was, that could not proceed, at least for now. And President Trump said in his announcement on X, when President Zelenskyy is ready to truly engage for peace, he’s welcome back any time, " Waltz states.

FOX News Sunday [3/2/2025 12:09 PM, Staff] reports Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard addresses U.S.-Ukraine relations following the heated exchange in the Oval Office and President Donald Trump’s focus on brokering peace on ‘Fox News Sunday.’

Yahoo! News [3/2/2025 11:03 AM, Rhian Lubin and Alicja Hagopian, 52868K] reports rounded up and detained in facilities largely in the South, a map of where tens of thousands are being held in states across the U.S. paints a striking picture of the vast Trump administration’s hardline immigration crackdown. With Immigration Customs and Enforcement detention facilities at capacity, The Independent’s map shines a light on where 43,759 people are being held in the centers across the country as of February 8 — and more than half do not hold criminal records, according to data collected by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. Many will have to wait in the facilities for weeks and, in some cases, months before their cases proceed. Detention centers in Texas and Louisiana have by far the most number of people overall, with one Mississippi center — privately-run Adams County Detention Center in Natchez — holding over 2,100 detainees on average, according to the data. Border states have detained the most people for years but under the first Trump administration, experts noted a shift to facilities in other southern states, reflected in the most current data. Texas has detained the most, with 12,259 being held in ICE detention centers across the state on average. Eight facilities in Texas out of the top 20 nationwide were each holding more than 800 people for ICE, according to the data. The Lone Star state was followed by 6,878 in Louisiana, 3,024 in California, 2,382 in Georgia, 2,300 in Arizona and 2,169 in Mississippi. After Mississippi’s Adams County center, run by private prison company CoreCivic, the facility with the second largest population was the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, averaging 1,680 detainees.

New York Times [3/3/2025 3:26 AM, Luis Ferré-Sadurní, 330K] reports the taco joint just around the corner from Corona Plaza, the beating heart of one of New York City’s largest Latin American neighborhoods, fell quiet in the days after President Trump was inaugurated. The restaurant’s Mexican waitress, who is undocumented, witnessed federal immigration authorities arrest someone a few blocks from the plaza, and now limits her time outside, afraid that being on the street leaves her more vulnerable to immigration agents. She dwells on the incident as she stares at empty tables once packed with immigrant families and construction workers. Across the street, sales have plummeted at a Colombian bakery. The shop used to take in about $1,600 most mornings selling soups and pastries, but now makes about $900. Workers at the bakery scour WhatsApp groups for news of immigration raids in the neighborhood, even as the messaging app swirls with misinformation. And at the Guatemalan restaurant at the edge of the plaza, fewer customers are dining in, with sales declining by about half. But takeout orders have picked up. “Everyone calls for food now,” Linda Hernandez, 44, said as she served a baked tamal to one of four customers in the 20-seat restaurant in early February, next to a sign warning people not to open their doors to immigration authorities. “No one wants to sit down to eat.” From New York to California, Mr. Trump’s campaign to arrest and deport millions of undocumented immigrants has spread fear and consternation, instantly subduing once-lively neighborhoods across the United States. The administration began with a media blitz, publicizing raids in big cities and deportation flights to Latin America. The showmanship was supported by some early numbers that showed an increase in immigration arrests, even as the authorities appear to be struggling to round up enough people to meet Mr. Trump’s mass deportation goals. The shock-and-awe tactic, however, has profoundly rattled immigrant communities. Few neighborhoods in New York were paralyzed like Corona, a working-class enclave that is about 75 percent Hispanic, home to generations of immigrants from Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere. But Corona was also one of the neighborhoods that swung most sharply toward Mr. Trump in last year’s election. Mr. Trump’s inroads, in Corona and elsewhere, exposed simmering tension between established immigrants and more recent arrivals who crossed the border during an era of more lenient Democratic policies.

Miami Herald [3/3/2025 4:19 AM, Anthony Man, 3973K] reports the hard-fought, controversial and pricey new Florida law aimed at supporting President Donald Trump’s efforts to round up and deport illegal immigrants may have little, if any, visible impact on the day-to-day operations of the largest law enforcement agencies in Broward and Palm Beach counties. That doesn’t mean the Broward Sheriff’s Office or Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office are flouting the law - praised by Gov. Ron DeSantis as "really, really significant" - or thumbing their noses at the governor. As they juggle multiple legal, law enforcement and political priorities, Sheriffs Gregory Tony in Broward and Ric Bradshaw in Palm Beach County said their departments are already doing what the new law requires. The agencies already cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the sheriffs said, including alerting ICE to illegal immigrants in the county jails and turning them over to the feds. And the agencies support ICE, if requested, when the federal agency conducts raids and other enforcement actions. What isn’t happening, Tony and Bradshaw said, is deployment of deputies to locate and round up illegal immigrants who haven’t committed crimes other than being in the U.S. illegally. "There’s no organized sweeps with us going on as far as just people that are here illegally," Bradshaw said. The sheriff said in an interview he has visited Hispanic groups throughout the county with that message. "You don’t need to be afraid. If you’re not a bad guy, you haven’t committed a crime or you’re not one of the people that’s here illegally that’s a convicted murderer, there’s no problem," Bradshaw said.

Chicago Tribune [3/2/2025 7:00 AM, Molly Morrow, 5269K] reports just off the Metra tracks on the East Side of Aurora, Elotes Gus, a food truck, sits in a parking lot. It’s open every day, according to its owner, Gustavo Salmeron, 47. When he’s not working as a Spanish teacher, he’s probably there, serving tacos to the passersby and witnessing the hustle and bustle of the streets around him from his truck. On a recent Friday evening at just before 6 p.m., Salmeron’s truck has no line. He said on a typical day, even in the winter, there would regularly be three or four customers waiting for their dinner by now. But business has been slow lately, Salmeron said. "The streets were so lonely, you know what I’m saying?," Salmeron said about the past few weeks. "There were not people around me. It’s because most of my customers are Mexicans or, you know, Latin people. … It was so different.". Salmeron says much of his customer base is undocumented, and he suspects fear in Aurora’s immigrant community – like immigrant communities nationwide – over Trump administration policies is the reason business is so quiet. Since President Donald Trump’s administration promised to crack down on immigration, touting Chicago as ground zero, fear and uncertainty has permeated immigrant communities in and near the city. With high numbers of immigrant and undocumented employees, restaurant and food service establishments in the Chicago area and beyond have grown especially concerned. Of its nearly 180,000 residents, Aurora is more than 40% Hispanic, according to the most recent available census data, compared to 19% in Illinois and just under 30% in Chicago. Its population was just over 25% foreign-born from 2019-2023, compared to roughly 14% in Illinois and just over 20% in Chicago. In Aurora, Salmeron described a chilling effect from the Trump administration’s immigration policies. With a customer base made up of mostly Hispanic residents, some of whom are undocumented, he said his business and those around him are struggling to stay afloat.

Yahoo! News [3/2/2025 2:09 PM, Amber Kite, 52868K] reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Dallas removed a Pakistani national who was identified as a national security priority. He was sent to his home country on Feb. 25, according to ICE officials. Syed Rizvi, 56, was designated as removable per the Immigration and Nationality Act. Rizvi entered the United States legally on Sep. 20, 2017 near the New York port of entry, and he violated the terms of his admission, ICE officials stated in a news release on Saturday. Rizvi was living in Dallas without authorization, according to ICE officials. Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Dallas arrested Rizvi on Jan. 31, following a routine traffic stop. He was ordered removed by an immigration judge on Jan. 24. "Illegal aliens suspected or known to have ties to organizations that threaten public safety will not find refuge in the U.S." said Enforcement and Removals Operations Dallas Field Office acting Director Josh Johnson. "Our most important priority is to arrest and remove those who pose an imminent danger to the citizens of the U.S."

Newsweek [3/2/2025 12:30 PM, Billal Rahman, 52220K] reports hundreds of people have rallied against a proposal by the Trump administration to turn a closed-down Californian federal women’s prison notorious for sexual assault into an immigrant detention facility run by ICE. Newsweek has contacted ICE for further comment outside of normal office hours. FCI Dublin has been in the spotlight due to allegations and convictions of prison staff for sexually abusing inmates. Reports of systemic misconduct led to investigations and calls for reform within the Bureau of Prisons. FCI Dublin was permanently closed in December, months after more than 600 inmates were relocated, with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons citing poor facility conditions and staffing shortages. That same month, the bureau agreed to a $115 million settlement with 103 women who alleged sexual abuse at the prison. The settlement—the largest in the agency’s history—came after a former warden and multiple staff members were convicted of assaulting inmates and other crimes. However, the Trump administration is now considering reopening the facility, which was dubbed the "rape club," as an ICE-run detention center. Protesters chanted "No ICE in Dublin" near the Federal Correctional Institution on Saturday. "One of our key demands as survivors of the extreme abuse at Dublin has been for the permanent closure of the facility," Aimee Chavira, an FCI Dublin survivor, said. "The prison was closed for good reason, and should remain closed," she added. The protest followed speculation that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is considering repurposing the prison in Dublin for expanded immigrant detention, per a report from The Los Angeles Times. ICE said in a statement that they are exploring options as they deal with a higher number of arrests, which requires more detention space and beds. Advocates organizing Saturday’s protest say that ICE has already toured the facility.

Washington Examiner [3/2/2025 1:48 PM, Bethany Blankley, 2296K] reports the number of foreign nationals apprehended entering the U.S. illegally reached its lowest level in recorded history in February. Last month, only 8,326 apprehensions and encounters were reported at the southwest border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced, "the lowest documented by U.S. Border Patrol.". That’s down from 189,913 in February 2024, 156,630 in February 2023 and 166,010 in February 2022, excluding those who illegally entered and evaded capture, according to CBP data. In just the first 10 days of the Trump administration, apprehensions dropped by 85% between ports of entry at the southwest border and 93% at ports of entry as a result of policies implemented by the Trump administration. On his first day in office, Trump issued multiple executive orders to secure U.S. borders, including declaring an invasion, a national emergency at both the southwest and northern borders, and directed the U.S. military to assist with apprehensions and deportations, The Center Square reported. "The mission is clear: secure the border, enforce the law, and protect American sovereignty," CBP said. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said, "February was the lowest month in recorded history for encounters at our border. The world is hearing our message: do not come to our country illegally. If you do, we will find you, arrest you, and send you back.". She made the announcement after she issued warnings to those in the country illegally and abroad in several ad campaigns that are currently running, The Center Square reported.

Yahoo! News [3/2/2025 11:56 AM, Mills Hayes, 52868K] reports President Donald Trump has a new means of making the United States trillions of dollars. The Trump administration on Tuesday said it would be revamping the U.S. investor visa, also known as the EB-5, increasing the funds required to secure the status while dubbing the new option a "gold card.". "It’s sort of a green card plus, and it’s a path to citizenship," Trump said this week. "We’re going to call it the "Gold card," and I think it’s going to be very treasured. I think it’s going to do very well. And we’re going to start selling, hopefully in about two weeks. Now, just so you understand, if we sell a million, right? A million, that’s $5 trillion.". Non-citizens can fast-track their visa status and potentially become citizens down the line for a price of $5 million. While President Trump has boasted the new visa would be a boost for the economy, some experts NewsNation spoke with say Congress controls the budget and immigration policy, and so new legislation might need to be passed to overhaul the current program. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says the new gold card would replace the current EB-5 program. The EB-5 visa allows qualified investors to become eligible for green cards if they invest between 800,000 to a million dollars in a commercial enterprise and also create at least 10 jobs. The program began in the 1990s to encourage investments in rural and economically depressed areas. Matt Gordon, CEO of E3IG who advises EB-5 visa applicants, says it would be a mistake to simply replace the program. "You’re talking three, $4 billion a year for rural communities," he told NewsNation. "You know, we’ve done projects which are opioid addiction clinics.". However, Ishaan Akanna of the American Immigrant Investor Alliance, says the gold card could be a brilliant idea if implemented in conjunction with the existing EB5 visa program.

CNN [3/2/2025 6:00 AM, Catherine E. Shoichet, 908K] reports the Oval Office announcement caught many immigration experts by surprise. Last week the president known for touting his mass deportation plans floated a new way he wants to draw wealthy foreigners to the US: a "gold card" that offers investors a path to US citizenship for $5 million. "I think it’s going to be very treasured. I think it’s going to do very well. And we’re going to start selling, hopefully, in about two weeks," President Donald Trump said on Wednesday. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the plan could raise $1 trillion to pay down the national debt, and that it would replace the existing EB-5 investor visa. But immigration law experts say the "gold card" proposal is far more complicated and uncertain than Trump and Lutnick made it sound. Here are several reasons why: The gold card Trump described would be a new visa granting lawful permanent resident status in the US and a pathway to citizenship. But a president alone can’t create a pathway to citizenship – a fact that’s also foiled Trump’s predecessors’ desires for significant immigration reforms. Both President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden used executive actions to protect certain people from deportation – efforts frequently decried by Trump and other Republicans. But Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, and Biden’s humanitarian parole program for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, known as CHNV, stopped short of conferring a legal status or providing a pathway to citizenship. Immigration law experts say a new visa would require a new law, something a president can’t create on his own. "Congress would have to legislate a new program. I really don’t know what legal authority you would have to just create this new program out of whole cloth," says Sharvari Dalal-Dheini, senior director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association. In other words, lawmakers would need to pass a law to create the program Trump has described.

FOX News [3/2/2025 1:54 PM, Staff, 46189K] Video: HERE reports Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks joins ‘Fox News Live’ to discuss the decrease in border crossings during President Donald Trump’s first month back in office.

Yahoo! News [3/2/2025 7:05 AM, Tom Vanden Brook, 52868K] reports Fort Huachuca in southeastern Arizona and Fort Bliss in west Texas have been identified by defense officials as likely sites to house migrant detainees. Officials have been taking inventory of tents and razor wire in preparation. The Pentagon has taken a number of steps recently to increase the military presence at the border. In late February, the Army began planning to house as many as 30,000 migrant detainees at military bases inside the United States. The news comes as the Pentagon ordered the deployment of as many as 3,000 additional troops with armored vehicles to the southern border, according to Defense Department officials. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, at the direction of President Donald Trump, ordered a Stryker Brigade Combat Team and an aviation battalion to a border security mission. They will arrive in coming weeks, according to Defense Department officials who were not authorized to speak publicly. The troops add to a growing U.S. military presence on the border. In January, Trump ordered 1,500 active-duty troops to support about 2,500 National Guard and Reserve troops already there.

CBS Austin [3/2/2025 1:00 PM, Valerie Bell, 602K] reports Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers intercepted 6,678 firearms at airport checkpoints nationwide in 2024, with 94% of them loaded. While the national figures show a decline from 2023, Alabama has seen an increase in firearms intercepted at its airports. In Alabama, TSA officers intercepted 130 firearms at airport security checkpoints in 2024, up from 106 in 2023. Sari Koshetz, a TSA spokesperson, said, "The number in Alabama unfortunately escalated about 23% between 2023 and 2024, whereas the national numbers went down slightly.". The largest number of firearms was intercepted at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, where 71 firearms were found, 69 of which were loaded. Huntsville International Airport saw 33 firearms intercepted, with 32 loaded. Mobile Regional Airport had 15 loaded firearms intercepted, Montgomery Regional Airport had eight, and Dothan Regional Airport reported three loaded guns. Koshetz explained that most people claim they forgot about the firearms in their bags, often because they used the same bag for a road trip. "Regardless of what that excuse might be, we take it very seriously and still investigate each case individually with our law enforcement partners," she said. When a firearm is detected, TSA freezes the bag in the tunnel and alerts police to seize the weapon. It is up to law enforcement to determine whether the individual is charged criminally. Many passengers who bring firearms to a federal security checkpoint are arrested or issued notices to appear in court, according to TSA.

Washington Post [3/2/2025 1:54 PM, Matthew Cappucci, 31735K] reports a multiday severe weather event is expected this week as a strong storm system swings across the Lower 48. Thunderstorms with damaging winds, hail and a few tornadoes could occur Sunday through Wednesday. The risk on Tuesday could include the chance of an isolated strong tornado — though many wild cards remain in the forecast. It’s perhaps the first classic spring storm system, ushering in a time of year when severe weather is more routine and tornado activity climbs. March, April, May and June are the busiest months for tornadoes, with several hundreds on average swarming across the United States through the season. There are signs that March could feature above-average tornado activity, especially across the Deep South. April may start busy, but peak tornado season — from late April to the end of May — could be a bit quieter than what’s typical across the Great Plains.

Washington Examiner [3/2/2025 4:37 PM, Brady Knox, 2296K] reports hundreds of blazes broke out across the Atlantic Coast, just one month after the most destructive wildfires in U.S. history ravaged California. The wildfires hit North Carolina and South Carolina, with the latter receiving the brunt of the blazes. Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC) declared a state of emergency in South Carolina on Sunday after more than 175 wildfires across the state scorched 1,200 acres and affected another 3,000. "This State of Emergency ensures that our first responders, who are working tirelessly and risking their lives to protect our communities from these wildfires, have the resources they need," McMaster said in a statement. "Dangerous wildfire conditions require that a statewide burning ban remain in effect until further notice. Those who violate this ban will be subject to criminal prosecution.". So far there have been no casualties reported and no structures damaged. However, evacuation orders were issued for several neighborhoods in the Myrtle Beach area, including Spring Lake, Waterford, and Avalon. So far, over 410 firefighting personnel have been mobilized to fight the fires. According to the National Weather Service, ideal fire conditions, including gusty winds, low humidity, and warm temperatures created a critical fire danger. In North Carolina, 400-500 acres have been scorched by fires. Though no casualties or damaged structures have been reported, Tryon and Saluda, towns located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, were issued evacuation orders. The U.S. Forest Service reported that it was battling flames in all four North Carolina national forests. The wildfires could draw concerns of a repeat of the destructiveness of the fires on the West Coast, which were contained last month. Beginning on Jan. 7 amid dry conditions and unusually high winds, the fires ravaged Southern California for weeks, requiring a response from an international coalition of 51,818 emergency personnel, according to Cal Fire. The flames burned 57,636 acres, destroyed 16,255 structures, and killed at least 29 people.

Washington Post [3/2/2025 8:53 PM, Anumita Kaur and Ariana Eunjung Cha, 31735K] reports Wildfires raged across North and South Carolina on Sunday, compelling officials to temporarily order evacuations near Myrtle Beach and in the Blue Ridge Mountains as dry and windy conditions whipped up flames over the weekend. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) declared a state of emergency Sunday afternoon to rally resources as more than 175 wildfires claimed about 4,200 acres, mostly in the Pee Dee region in the northeast corner of the state. “While a majority of the current wildfire activity is concentrated in the Pee Dee region, the rest of the state is experiencing a dramatic uptick in wildfires, straining the capacity of Forestry Commission firefighters and local emergency response personnel to respond,” said Darryl Jones, forest protection chief for the South Carolina Forestry Commission. The largest fire endangered Carolina Forest, a community of about 23,000 just northwest of Myrtle Beach. Videos taken by residents showed a fiery orange haze blocking out the sky and strong winds whipping between homes. That fire stood at 1,600 acres and was 30 percent contained as of Sunday evening, according to the South Carolina Forestry Commission. Evacuation orders have been lifted for all neighborhoods, though residents can expect to see first responders in the affected areas for an extended period of time, the Horry County Fire Rescue said. More than 400 firefighting personnel were battling the inferno. Doug Wood, a spokesman for the state forestry commission, said the agency issued a statewide red flag fire alert Friday, noting that the low humidity, gusty winds and dry landscape created dangerous wildfire conditions. So far, there are no known deaths, injuries or reports of structure damage, Wood said. In western North Carolina, emergency crews in Polk County on the state’s southern border with South Carolina battled a major fire in the Blue Ridge Mountains stretching 400 to 500 acres. As of Sunday evening, it was still zero percent contained, according to the North Carolina Forest Service. “Fire operations will continue throughout the day and night. … There will continue to be heavy smoke in the area, and we continue to ask for everyone to please avoid these areas so emergency crews can work safely,” the North Carolina Forest Service said.

Yahoo! News [3/2/2025 12:34 PM, Rodney Overton, 52868K] reports in addition to a 400+ acre wildfire in the North Carolina mountains this weekend, at least four other major state fires are underway Sunday totaling nearly 600 more acres, officials say. The four other fires active Sunday are in North Carolina’s National Forests with the largest outside the mountains now in Uwharrie National Forest in Montgomery County with around 300 acres burned, according to the U.S. Forest Service. That wildfire, called the Falls Dam Fire, is just west of Moore County, which had a few wildfires on Saturday, including one about 30 acres large. The Montgomery County wildfire is south of the Art Lily Campground adjacent to Forest Road 516, north of the Yadkin River Dam Overlook, officials said in a Sunday news release. "Firefighters are constructing new containment lines, reinforcing existing ones, conducting aerial reconnaissance and using mechanized equipment to manage heavy fuel loads," fire officials said.

UPI [3/2/2025 7:51 PM, Mark Moran and Allen Cone, 1890K] reports at least 175 fast-moving blazes in South Carolina have scorched more than 4,200 acres of tinder-dry vegetation, officials said Sunday. And in North Carolina, crews were working to contain multiple wildfires burning on more than 500 acres in four forests in the Blue Rirdge County. That includes a 300-acre one 40 miles south of Asheville, N.C, that was zero percent contained Sunday, state officials said. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster on Sunday declared a state of emergency, clearing the way for state resources to help those affected by the fires. "This State of Emergency ensures that our first responders, who are working tirelessly and risking their lives to protect our communities from these wildfires, have the resources they need," McMaster said in a release. "Dangerous wildfire conditions require that a statewide burning ban remain in effect until further notice. Those who violate this ban will be subject to criminal prosecution." Evacuation orders on Sunday were lifted after several wildfires broke out in the Carolina Forest in Horry County, S.C. The 1,600-acre Covington Drive Wildfire in Myrtle Beach, in the eastern portion of the state, is 30% contained, according to the state’s Forestry Commision. NBC News [3/2/2025 9:03 PM, Mirna Alsharif and Dennis Romero, 44742K] reports that more than 175 fires were burning in South Carolina, the governor’s office said, fueled by unusually dry conditions and gusty winds. Those conditions are expected to fade as a cold front pushes out the dry air mass over the Southeast U.S. and brings rain by Tuesday, the National Weather Service said. In Horry County, the Horry Fire had burned 1,600 acres by Sunday afternoon, according to a South Carolina Forestry Commission fire summary. It was among six major fires still burning in the state on Sunday, according to the summary. People in eight neighborhoods were forced to evacuate as several fires raged in Horry County, officials said. Soldiers with the South Carolina Army National Guard used two Blackhawk helicopters to drop water 600 gallons at a time on the blazes, the South Carolina National Guard said Sunday. Besides Horry County, fires have affected an estimated 4,200 acres across the state, including in Spartanburg, Union, Oconee and Pickens counties, McMaster’s office said in a statement Sunday.

Newsweek [3/2/2025 5:25 PM, Adeola Adeosun, 52220K] reports massive wildfires across the Carolinas have forced evacuations of multiple neighborhoods, particularly in the Carolina Forest area near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where a fire has grown to approximately 1,200 acres. According to the State Fire Marshal, there are ongoing response operations to more than 175 wildfires, impacting 4,200 acres across the state, including Horry, Spartanburg, Oconee, Union, and Pickens Counties primarily due to dry, windy conditions. Newsweek contacted the South Carolina Forestry Commission via email on Sunday for comment. The rapidly spreading wildfires threaten thousands of residents in populated areas, with hundreds already displaced from their homes. These fires come amid unusually dry conditions in the region, with February rainfall 1.5 to 2.5 inches below average in the Carolinas, creating perfect conditions for wildfires to spread quickly when combined with gusty winds and low humidity. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster has declared a State of Emergency to support wildfire response efforts, and the state’s Forestry Commission has implemented a statewide burning ban. Evacuation orders have expanded overnight to include multiple Carolina Forest neighborhoods including Indigo Bay, the Farm, Summerlyn, parts of Walkers Woods, Avalon, and sections of Covington Lakes, Spring Lake, and Blackberry Lane, according to officials. International Drive has been closed between Highway 90 and area schools to facilitate emergency response.

Reported similarly:
Yahoo! News [3/2/2025 1:11 PM, Michael Sainato, 52868K]

Yahoo! News [3/2/2025 10:30 AM, Adam Benson, 52868K] reports evacuations are underway after a wildfire broke out in the Carolina Forest in Horry County, South Carolina. More than 50 people have checked into a Red Cross shelter at the Carolina Forest Recreation Center as state Forestry Commission officials estimate the wildfire to be at least 1,200 acres. Along with Horry County’s massive wildfire, roughly 175 smaller wildfires had broken out across the state, impacting 4,200 acres of land, according to the state Fire Marshal. By Sunday afternoon, all but two of the fires were 100% contained – the 1,200 acre fire, and a separate 300-acre fire. Gov. Henry McMaster on Sunday declared a state of emergency to support South Carolina’s ongoing response. The order continues indefinitely an outdoor burning ban and makes it easier for responders to coordinate their efforts. "This state of emergency ensures that our first responders, who are working tirelessly and risking their lives to protect our communities from these wildfires, have the resources they need," McMaster said in a statement.

New York Times [3/3/2025 2:55 AM, Mike Ives, 145325K] reports a 3.9-magnitude earthquake caused mild shaking in and near the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles late Sunday, the United States Geological Survey said. The quake struck after 10 p.m. local time in Burbank, a city in Los Angeles County, at a depth of about nine miles. Little to no damage was expected, the agency said on its website. The epicenter was just over a mile east-southeast of North Hollywood, and a few miles north of the Dolby Theater, the venue for the Academy Awards on Sunday night. It has been more than three decades since California suffered a catastrophic earthquake. Scientists say this period of seismic silence will inevitably be shattered by an overdue “Big One.” For some Los Angeles area residents, a smattering of smallish earthquakes last year amplified the underlying dread that a major one might be around the corner. Others didn’t pay much attention.

Yahoo! News [3/2/2025 12:12 PM, Isaiah Calalang, 52868K] reports two men were arrested on Saturday after police investigated a string of counterfeit bills used at several Evansville businesses in the last month. In the month of February, authorities say they responded to multiple businesses including McAlister’s Deli, Chick-Fil-A, and Office Depot for counterfeit bills being used. Officials say in all the incidents, the counterfeits used were "washed" $10 bills that had been printed to appear as $100 bills. In camera footage, authorities say they see the suspect leaving in a silver Ford SUV. Police say they discovered a matching vehicle on Saturday at on Virginia Street near Burkhardt Road and the driver was detained. The first suspect, 47-year-old Dennis Carter of St. Petersburg, Florida, was identified as the man who used a counterfeit bill at one of the businesses. Officials say a search during Carter’s arrest led to the discovery of another counterfeit $100 bill, a fake South Carolina’s Driver’s License and Concealed Weapons Permit with the name Elton Tillman and a small plastic tube containing methamphetamine.

FOX News [3/2/2025 12:39 PM, Staff, 46189K] Video: HERE reports Coast Guard Capt. Jason Hagen says USCG District 11 has encountered approximately two migrant vessels per day over the past three months as land border security strengthens.

FOX News [3/3/2025 4:00 AM, Audrey Conklin, 46189K] reports that, over the last 90 days, the Coast Guard has recorded about 200 migrant boat encounters near the San Diego coast, amounting to approximately two migrant boat interventions per day, officials told Fox News Digital. "We see a myriad of elderly, male, female, children," Coast Guard District 11 Capt. Jason Hagen told Fox News Digital. "We’re starting to see an uptick in other nationalities, as well, which is a…national security concern because it’s not just your economic Mexicans looking to come to the United States for work. It’s also … bad actors coming from other countries. We’ve seen nationalities to include Chinese, Russian, Uzbekistan[i], Pakistan[i]. It’s really all over the place.” Hagen added that 10 or 15 years ago, most boats carried migrants from Mexico. The Coast Guard captain attributes the recent uptick in boat encounters and "landing" encounters, when Coast Guardsmen find beached boats with abandoned life jackets, to increased land border security under the Trump administration. "The smugglers have to move their operations somewhere.” "What you’ve seen in the news certainly has an effect on the maritime environment," Hagen explained. "It’s kind of like squeezing a balloon — you squeeze the balloon, and the air pushes to the other side, right? Well, that’s the same thing that’s happening with the migrant flow. They’re locking down the land border pretty good … where they used to get thousands a day. Now, they’re now down in the hundreds a day. So, the migrants have to go somewhere. The smugglers have to move their operations somewhere. And we’re starting to see an uptick in the maritime environment.” Hagen also noted the dangers of smuggling activity at sea. "Smugglers are not in the business of safety. They’re in the business of money.” "Just last night … we had a case where we interdicted a vessel 20 miles offshore with 16 people on board who … their boat was disabled at sea, and they [were] at sea for two days with no food or water. … Had we not found them, they could have just continued drifting west and further into the Pacific Ocean.”

Fox News [3/2/2025 1:58 PM, Pilar Arias, 46189K] reports a 72-year-old man who suffered "multiple strokes 300 miles offshore of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii" aboard a cruise ship last week is recovering after being airlifted to a hospital, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) announced. Video of the rescue shows a Coast Guard medevac helicopter hovering over the Holland America Line’s Koningsdam ship on Thursday, before it lowered a basket for the man to go into prior to being hoisted and taken to Honolulu’s Queen’s Medical Center. Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu received a notice the day before that the cruise passenger had multiple strokes, and a flight surgeon recommended that he be medevaced within 20 hours, the USCG said in a press release. The following morning, an HC-130 Hercules airplane crew and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point met up with the cruise ship about 60 miles south of Honolulu. Video shared by the U.S. Coast Guard shows the 72-year-old man being hoisted up to the medevac from the cruise ship. "By combining the skills of our crews and the specialized capabilities of our aircraft, we are able to respond to emergencies across the vast Pacific region," Lt. Cmdr. John Stockton, HC-130 Hercules aircraft commander at Air Station Barbers Point, said in a statement. "Teamwork is critically important for medevacs, which are among the most time-sensitive and high-stakes missions we take on.".

CNN [3/2/2025 7:00 AM, Chris Boyette, 908K] reports in cities across the United States someone or something is almost always watching you. On Tuesday, as Mardi Gras revelers flock to New Orleans to celebrate the end of Carnival, it will be no different. Surveillance cameras are crucial for deterring and solving crimes, finding missing people and fighting terrorism in cities across the US, but a unique web of eyes is observing Bourbon Street. Spawned in the aftermath of a natural disaster, Project NOLA, a community-based network in New Orleans and beyond is using its web of 10,000 security cameras to offer high-definition surveillance to dozens of law enforcement agencies serving communities from coast to coast. What sets the nonprofit’s model apart is that their cameras are positioned on private homes and businesses and can be outfitted with facial recognition, license plate reading and clothing recognition software. Some studies have shown that areas covered by surveillance cameras generally see significant crime reductions, but critics worry advanced facial recognition software violates the public’s right to privacy, and disproportionately targets people of color.

AP [3/3/2025 12:06 AM, Sophia Tareen, 34586K] reports the trial of a suburban Chicago man accused of a mass shooting at a 2022 Independence Day parade that killed seven people and wounded dozens more is set to begin Monday. Robert Crimo III faces 21 counts of first-degree murder, three counts for each person killed, as well as 48 counts of attempted murder. Prosecutors dropped the less serious 48 counts of aggravated battery before jury selection last week. The road to the trial has been bumpy, with delays partly due to Crimo’s unpredictability, including his rejection of a plea deal that even surprised his attorneys. As potential jurors were questioned last week, he sporadically appeared in court, at times refusing to leave his jail cell. Authorities alleged Crimo perched on a roof and fired into crowds assembled for the annual Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Chicago. Prosecutors have submitted thousands of pages of evidence, as well as hours of a videotaped interrogation during which police say Crimo confessed to the shooting. But the 24-year-old has since pleaded not guilty. His defense attorneys have declined comment ahead of the trial, which is expected to last about a month. His father, Robert Crimo Jr., a onetime mayoral candidate, was charged in connection with how his son obtained a gun license. He pleaded guilty in 2023 to seven misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct and served less than two months in jail. He has attended his son’s hearings, sometimes making eye contact with him during court. He declined to discuss the case in detail ahead of the trial. “As a parent, I love my son very much,” he said. “And Bobby loves this country more than anyone would ever know.” Prosecutors plan to call multiple law enforcement officers and survivors of the shooting to testify. They also will show videos of Crimo’s statements to police. Some of the videos already have been shown in court as prosecutors tried unsuccessfully to have them thrown out.

Yahoo! News [3/2/2025 9:56 PM, Staff, 52868K] reports a Minneapolis man has been arrested and charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS. According to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Abdisatar Ahmed Hassan was charged with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Hassan was arrested on Thursday and had his first court appearance Friday. The DOJ says Hassan tried to travel from Minnesota to Somalia to join ISIS on two different occasions, but neither were successful. He tried to hide his reason for traveling as visiting family, despite having none in Somalia. He was also traveling with his birth certificate, naturalization certificate, and high school diploma. The FBI found that Hassan had been pubically supporting ISIS on social media account, while also communicating with a Facebook account for the "Manjaniq Media Center" which is a media organization of the Islamic Caliphate, and reportedly encourages people to travel and join ISIS. Hassan also allegedly praised the man behind the Jan. 1 terrorist attack in New Orleans, investigators found. On Feb. 21, Hassan reportedly posted a video of him driving while holding a small ISIS flag inside his car, and another video with an open knife in his lap. The FBI then observed Hassan driving while holding the ISIS flag again. "As we have all seen in recent months, ISIS and its supporters pose the gravest of dangers to our communities," said Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick. "Those who support foreign terrorist organizations in our homeland—like Hassan—are a clear and present threat to our national security. They will be held to account." "The FBI will continue to aggressively use all of our authorities to investigate and arrest anyone who assists foreign terrorist organizations," said Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis. "Hassan allegedly attempted to travel to Somalia to join ISIS on two occasions and publicly shared support of ISIS on his social media accounts. Such acts are wholly unacceptable, and the FBI will work tirelessly with our partners to hold accountable those who attempt to support terrorists."

Yahoo! News [3/2/2025 6:58 AM, Martin Fornusek, 52868K] reports Russian and Chinese intelligence agencies are attempting to recruit U.S. federal employees working in national security who were impacted by the Trump administration’s layoffs, CNN reported on March 1, citing four undisclosed sources and an intelligence report. In efforts spearheaded by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the U.S. government launched a mass firing of government employees and gutted federal agencies like USAID. These steps, presented as cutting waste and realigning government policies with President Donald Trump’s "America First" agenda, could be followed by further layoffs in the civil service in the near future. Washington’s foreign adversaries are seeking to leverage the situation and recruit employees who were recently fired — or are in danger of being laid off — and have security clearance or access to sensitive information on critical infrastructure, CNN wrote. Foreign intelligence operatives were instructed to look for potential sources on LinkedIn, TikTok, RedNote, and Reddit, the outlet reported, citing a document by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The CIA has already fired about 20 officers working in diversity and recruitment, which is seen as only a first step before what the New York Times described as "one of the largest mass firings in the agency’s history.". The Pentagon, in turn, announced plans to lay off 5,400 probationary employees, representing roughly 5-8% of its civilian workforce.

NBC News [3/3/2025 5:00 AM, Ryan Nobles, 44742K] reports growing concerns around the Chinese artificial intelligence app DeepSeek have led a pair of congressional lawmakers to encourage governors around the country to ban the app on government devices. In a letter to 47 governors and the mayor of Washington, D.C., shared first with NBC News, Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Darin LaHood, R-Ill., warn that DeepSeek could introduce data privacy and cybersecurity risks, as well as potentially open the door for foreign adversaries to access sensitive government information. Gottheimer, who is also running for New Jersey governor this year, and LaHood have already co-sponsored a bill in the House that would ban DeepSeek on all federal government devices. A similar bill was introduced in the Senate last week. Their warning comes after The Associated Press reported that the chatbot has code embedded in it that would allow user login information to be transferred to China Mobile. China Mobile is a massive, state-owned telecommunications company that’s barred from operating in the United States. DeepSeek also acknowledges on the app that it stores user data on servers inside China. Gottheimer and LaHood said they are worried that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is using DeepSeek to steal the user data of the American people. "The CCP has made it abundantly clear that it will exploit any tool at its disposal to undermine our national security, spew harmful disinformation, and collect data on Americans," the letter reads. "The U.S. has been a leader in raising concerns on companies tied to the CCP, most notably Huawei and Byte Dance, that pose a direct threat to our national security.”

New York Times [3/2/2025 3:14 PM, Lisa Friedman, 145325K] reports President Trump has promised to “drill, baby, drill.” Now, he also wants to log. On Saturday, Mr. Trump directed federal agencies to examine ways to bypass endangered species protections and other environmental regulations to ramp up timber production across 280 million acres of national forests and other public lands. The move appears aimed at increasing domestic supply as the president considers tariffs on timber imports from Canada, Germany, Brazil and elsewhere. Environmental groups say increased logging would decimate American forests, pollute air and water and devastate wildlife habitats. And because trees absorb and store carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, cutting them down releases it back into the atmosphere, adding to global warming. “Trump’s order will unleash the chain saws and bulldozers on our federal forests,” said Randi Spivak, the public lands policy director for the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group. “Clearcutting these beautiful places will increase fire risk, drive species to extinction, pollute our rivers and streams, and destroy world-class recreation sites,” she said. As part of his executive order, Mr. Trump directed the Commerce Department to investigate whether other countries were dumping lumber into American markets. The inquiry could result in tariffs on Canada, the top supplier of lumber into the United States. In 2021, the United States imported 46 percent of its forest products from Canada and 13 percent from China, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission. But the country is also a timber exporter, sending nearly $10 billion worth of forest products to Canada. A companion directive signed by Mr. Trump said that “onerous” federal policies have prevented the United States from developing a sufficient timber supply, increasing housing and construction costs and threatening national security. Mr. Trump called for the convening of a committee of high-level officials nicknamed the God Squad because it can override the landmark Endangered Species Act so that development or other projects can proceed even if they might result in an extinction. The committee has rarely been convened since it was created, in 1978, through an amendment to the endangered species law to allow for action during emergencies like hurricanes and wildfires.

New York Times [3/2/2025 9:56 AM, Amelia Nierenberg and Johanna Lemola, 145325K] reports the Finnish authorities said on Sunday that they had released an oil tanker seized in December over suspicions that it had deliberately cut vital undersea cables but that a criminal investigation into the episode would continue. The authorities said last year that the ship, the Eagle S, appeared to belong to Russia’s shadow fleet — older tankers that covertly transport Russian crude oil around the world — escalating concerns about a covert campaign to sabotage European infrastructure. On Sunday, the Finnish police said that since the criminal inquiry “has progressed,” the aging tanker was free to leave and that border officials had escorted the ship out of the country’s territorial waters. Petteri Orpo, Finland’s prime minister, said in an interview with Yle, the country’s public broadcaster, that “the criminal process and investigation will continue.” Investigators were still examining materials gathered after an onboard “forensic investigation” and would continue to interview the crew, according to the police. Eight crew members are suspected of criminal offenses, including aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with communications, the police said in a statement. Five were allowed to leave Finland last week, while the other three were still barred from leaving, according to the statement. The police said the authorities hoped to conclude the investigation by the end of April. The cutting of the cables under the Baltic Sea in late December came on the heels of a series of similar incidents and prompted NATO to bolster security in the region. In January, the Swedish authorities also seized a ship and said they suspected “gross sabotage” after a different undersea cable was damaged. Last month, the European Union vowed to increase security after another cable break.

Washington Times [3/2/2025 11:30 AM, Seth McLaughlin, 1814K] reports White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said Sunday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blew a chance to advance peace talks after he left the White House without signing a minerals deal — warning that the patience of the American taxpayer is "not unlimited.". Mr. Waltz said the dustup between President Trump and Mr. Zelenskyy at the White House raised questions as to whether the Ukrainian president is "ready to negotiate in good faith towards" the war that started when Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago. "This was a huge missed opportunity for him and for his country," Mr. Waltz said on CNN’s "State of the Union.". Mr. Waltz said momentum had been building behind the peace talks before Mr. Zelenskyy left the turbulent White House meeting Friday without signing a minerals deal, which Mr. Trump said is a way for Ukraine to repay the United States for its financial aid and weaponry. "We were ready to sign this deal," Mr. Waltz said. "It is unclear whether President Zelenskyy — particularly after what we saw Friday — is ready to transition Ukraine to an end to this war, and to negotiate and to have to compromise," Mr. Waltz said.

Wall Street Journal [3/2/2025 5:30 PM, Max Colchester, Laurence Norman and Ian Lovett] reports the U.K. and France said they would lead a European effort to forge a Ukraine peace plan to present to President Trump, as they sought to patch up differences between Kyiv and Washington following Friday’s White House clash. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted nearly 20 allies in London on Sunday and said that progress had been made in building a “coalition of the willing,” which would commit military assets, including troops on the ground, to secure any eventual peace. He said more countries would need to come on board if Europe is to build a force that would deter Russian aggression in Ukraine. “Through my discussions over recent days, we’ve agreed that the U.K., France and others will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, then we’ll discuss that plan with the United States,” Starmer said, adding that he had spoken with President Trump about his intentions. Friday’s White House meeting between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which the U.S. president berated the Ukrainian leader during an extraordinary on-camera exchange, triggered frantic diplomacy among European allies as they both sought to display support for Ukraine while finding a way to ensure the U.S. doesn’t turn its back on Kyiv. After the meeting, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that he had determined Zelensky wasn’t ready for peace if America was involved because that gave Ukraine an advantage, reducing its incentive to make concessions. European officials hope to bring Washington, Europe and Ukraine around a shared stance on the conditions for ending the war that they can use as the basis for negotiations with the Kremlin. Key to that is ensuring Ukraine can continue to receive Western military assistance and putting European forces on the ground as part of a security guarantee. Starmer, who chaired Sunday’s meeting, looked to play down tensions between Europe and Washington and dismissed suggestions that Trump’s criticism of Zelensky cast doubt on the strength of the trans-Atlantic alliance. “I do not accept that the U.S. is an unreliable ally,” he said.

New York Times [3/2/2025 4:35 PM, Edward Wong, 145325K] reports Secretary of State Marco Rubio has invoked “emergency authorities” to bypass Congress and send $4 billion in weapons to Israel, the second time in a month that the Trump administration has skirted the process of congressional approval for sending arms to the country. Mr. Rubio did not explain in a statement announcing the decision on Saturday why he was using an emergency authority. He said only that the Trump administration would “continue to use all available tools to fulfill America’s longstanding commitment to Israel’s security, including means to counter security threats.” State Department officials told the two congressional committees in the House and Senate that review foreign weapons sales about the emergency declaration on Friday. At least one congressional official privately expressed alarm at the bypassing of the review. Several of the cases of munitions to be sent to Israel were undergoing review in Congress. But one large case worth about $2 billion had not been sent by the State Department to Congress for review, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk candidly about sensitive weapons deals. The Pentagon announced details of that sale to Israel on Friday. The announcement lists several possible mixes of bombs that would be delivered, including more than 35,000 2,000-pound bombs. Israel has been dropping 2,000-pound bombs in Gaza, a densely populated strip of 2 million people that is about the size of Las Vegas. U.S. military officers have said the bombs are unsuitable for urban combat. President Joseph R. Biden Jr. sent several orders of the bombs to Israel, then withheld one shipment last summer as Israel prepared to attack Rafah, a shelter point for many displaced Palestinians. Israel destroyed much of Rafah anyway, and the Trump White House released the shipment days after President Trump took office in late January. Israel announced on Sunday that it was halting all goods and humanitarian aid into Gaza in a pressure campaign to get Hamas to accept a temporary extension to a cease-fire that had just expired. Most of the aid is from groups and governments outside of Israel, and some legal experts said Israel’s halt violated international law.

Wall Street Journal [3/2/2025 3:53 PM, Dov Lieber] reports Israel on Sunday said it was stopping the entry of goods into the Gaza Strip after a 42-day cease-fire expired a day earlier without any agreement with Hamas on what comes next. Hours before the cease-fire eclipsed, Israel said that it had agreed to a proposal by the Trump administration’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, to continue the cease-fire and that Hamas had refused it. The proposal would see half of the 58 hostages still held in Gaza released on the first day and give both sides until mid-April to negotiate a permanent cease-fire under the same conditions as the previous 42 days. If successful, the rest of the hostages would be released on the final day of the extended period. Hamas said Israel was using its control over aid to Gaza to force it into a new agreement rather than allowing Hamas to have a say. Under the original agreement, the second phase would include the release of all living hostages held by Hamas while Israel was meant to fully withdraw from Gaza and commit to a permanent cease-fire. But negotiations over a permanent end to the war never got off the ground during the first phase of the cease-fire, leaving the second phase in limbo. “With the conclusion of the first stage of the hostages deal and in light of Hamas’s refusal to accept the Witkoff framework for the continuation of the talks, to which Israel has agreed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided that, as of this morning, the entry of all goods and supplies to the Gaza Strip will be halted,” Netanyahu’s office said. The Israeli leader accused Hamas of stealing aid and using it to fuel its fight. The decision to end the flow of humanitarian aid comes as Muslims are celebrating the holy month of Ramadan, during which people traditionally gather to break their fast together in evening festivities. More than 25,000 truckloads containing food, fuel, medical supplies and some temporary shelters have entered Gaza since the current cease-fire came into effect, according to Israel. A spokesperson for Netanyahu said no trucks had been allowed to enter Gaza as of Sunday morning. Israel also threatened “additional consequences” if Hamas continued to hold hostages. “Netanyahu’s decision to halt humanitarian aid is a cheap act of extortion, a war crime, and a blatant violation of the agreement,” Hamas said on Sunday.

FOX News [3/2/2025 9:14 PM, Landon Mion, Andrea Margolis, 46189K] reports the White House is supporting the Israeli government’s decision to block aid to Gaza until Hamas leaders agree to a ceasefire extension, according to a newly-released statement. In a statement obtained by Fox News on Sunday, National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said that Israel has "negotiated in good faith since the beginning of this administration to ensure the release of hostages held captive by Hamas terrorists." "We will support their decision on next steps given Hamas has indicated it’s no longer interested in a negotiated ceasefire," Hughes added. Earlier on Sunday, Israeli officials announced that they are stopping the entry of all goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip and warned Hamas it would face "additional consequences" if it does not accept a new proposal for an extended ceasefire. "With the conclusion of the 1st stage of the hostages deal and in light of Hamas’ refusal to accept the [U.S. Mideast envoy Steve] Witkoff framework for the continuation of the talks, to which Israel agreed, PM Netanyahu decided: as of this morning, entry of all goods & supplies to the Gaza Strip be halted," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on X. "Israel will not allow a ceasefire without a release of our hostages. If Hamas persists in its refusal, there will be additional consequences," the post added. Hamas accused Israel of attempting to derail the fragile truce, saying its decision to cut off aid was "cheap extortion, a war crime and a blatant attack on the (ceasefire) agreement." "The occupation’s announcement of halting the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip is yet another confirmation of its failure to uphold its commitments and its evasion of obligations under the ceasefire agreement," Hamas said in a statement. "This reflects its ugly criminal face and constitutes a continuation of the genocide against our people, as well as an act of blackmail targeting an entire population by depriving them of food, water, and medicine."

AP [3/2/2025 4:03 PM, Tia Goldenberg and Samy Magdy, 5269K] reports Israel faced sharp criticism as it stopped the entry of all food and other supplies into Gaza on Sunday and warned of “additional consequences” for Hamas if a fragile ceasefire isn’t extended. Mediators Egypt and Qatar accused Israel of violating humanitarian law by using starvation as a weapon. The ceasefire’s first phase saw a surge in humanitarian aid after months of growing hunger. Hamas accused Israel of trying to derail the next phase Sunday hours after its first phase had ended and called Israel’s decision to cut off aid “a war crime and a blatant attack” on a truce that took a year of negotiations before taking hold in January. In the second phase, Hamas could release dozens of remaining hostages in return for an Israeli pullout from Gaza and a lasting ceasefire. Negotiations on the second phase were meant to start a month ago but haven’t begun. Israel said Sunday that a new U.S. proposal calls for extending the ceasefire’s first phase through Ramadan — the Muslim holy month that began over the weekend — and the Jewish Passover holiday, which ends on April 20. Under that proposal, Hamas would release half the hostages on the first day and the rest when an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. The militants currently hold 59 hostages, 35 of them believed to be dead. The U.S. had no immediate comment. Netanyahu said Israel is fully coordinated with the Trump administration and the ceasefire will only continue as long as Hamas keeps releasing hostages. Saying the ceasefire has saved countless lives, the International Committee of the Red Cross said that “any unraveling of the forward momentum created over the last six weeks risks plunging people back into despair.”

NPR [3/3/2025 5:00 AM, Aya Batrawy, 29K] reports Egypt is formulating plans for a regional solution to the aftermath of the devastating war in Gaza that counter President Donald Trump’s idea of permanently displacing Palestinians from the territory to neighboring Arab states. Egypt, which borders both Gaza and Israel, views any mass displacement of Palestinians into its territory as a red line. Leaders from Arab League states are meeting in Cairo on Tuesday to jointly reject calls for displacement and to discuss counter-proposals spearheaded by Egypt in close coordination with powerhouse Saudi Arabia and others in the region. The meeting, however, comes as the ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas is at risk of unraveling, threatening Egypt’s plans for the reconstruction of Gaza after the war. Israel is currently blocking all humanitarian aid and goods from entering Gaza as its far-right government seeks to pressure Hamas into a new ceasefire deal to release more Israeli hostages, but without committing to permanently ending the war as Hamas is demanding. As Egyptian mediators work to maintain the ceasefire, Egypt will be simultaneously hosting Arab leaders at the summit to secure region-wide support for its vision for Gaza’s future. "We are builders. Egyptians are builders from the pyramids until now," says Abdel-Moneim Said Aly, head of the advisory board of the Regional Center for Security Studies in Cairo. "We need to have a plan of our own, not waiting for Mr. Trump to do it," he says. NPR has spoken with diplomats, intelligence officials and policy advisers in Egypt involved in these plans. NPR has also obtained a copy of one of the plans under review for a sustainable recovery in Gaza. These plans are rooted around Palestinians remaining on the land and lay the ground for what could be a lasting peace. Egypt’s role in drafting a regional response to the U.S. and Israel. The plans drafted by Egypt are an attempt at tackling Gaza’s moonscape of rubble and debris, the result of some 16 months of war and sustained Israeli airstrikes. At least 48,000 Palestinians were killed and more than 110,000 wounded by Israeli fire in the war, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The war was sparked when an attack by Hamas-led militants on Israel killed around 1,200 people. Another 250 were taken hostage from Israel.

Wall Street Journal [3/2/2025 3:37 AM, Summer Said and Benoit Faucon] reports that, as Arab leaders look to extend the cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and come up with an alternative to President Trump’s plan to depopulate the enclave, they are being forced to deal with a question they have long kicked down the road: What to do with Hamas. The first phase of the cease-fire, which saw the release of 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, is set to end Saturday. Looming ahead are talks over the next phase, which is supposed to lead to the release of the remaining hostages, a permanent end to the fighting in Gaza and reconstruction of the war-ravaged enclave. The rub is if Hamas remains in Gaza, Israel isn’t willing to end the war, and Gulf Arab states like the United Arab Emirates aren’t willing to fund its reconstruction. Egypt, meanwhile, thinks it is unrealistic to talk about eliminating Hamas and is looking for a solution that would at least dilute the authority of the group, which ruled Gaza for a decade and a half before leading the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel that left about 1,200 dead and around 250 taken as hostages and sparked the war. Arab countries appear divided on how to address Hamas’s continued presence in Gaza, recognizing that the militants remain in a position to spoil any reconstruction plans, said William Wechsler, a former senior counterterrorism official at the U.S. Defense Department. Any proposal they put on the table “cannot just be a reconstruction plan but a political and security plan,” he said. The question has gained urgency after Trump laid out a proposal for the U.S. to take over Gaza and redevelop it as an international destination while its Palestinian population is relocated to other countries. Arab states are united in opposition to the idea, but they still disagree over how Gaza should be run. Arab leaders are set to meet in Cairo on Tuesday to craft a plan for Gaza’s future, after failing to agree on one at a summit in Riyadh on Feb. 21. Yet it is far from clear that they will agree to a unified approach. Saudi Arabia and Qatar back an Egyptian plan that would see Hamas disarm but play a political role running postwar Gaza along with other Palestinian factions. The U.A.E. wants Hamas completely out of the strip and is leaning on the U.S.-designated terrorist group’s rival, the Palestinian Authority, to govern it. They also disagree on whether the Arab states should send troops to help secure the enclave. Israel has told mediators it doesn’t want Hamas playing any role in postwar Gaza, a demand backed by Washington.

FOX News [3/2/2025 7:30 AM, Rebekah Koffler, 46189K] reports at a recent artificial intelligence global summit, Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing encouraged other countries to embrace accessibility to Chinese artificial intelligence technology, such as the DeepSeek chatbot, in their domestic markets. Zhang claimed China’s goal was to share achievements among nations and build "a community with a shared future for mankind" while safeguarding security. The United States must not fall for yet another trick by China. DeepSeek is a dangerous weapon that is almost certainly part of China’s Unrestricted Warfare Doctrine. The concept of "Unrestricted Warfare" was created by two People’s Liberation Army officers, Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui, in 1999. "The first rule of unrestricted warfare is that there are no rules, with nothing forbidden," they wrote. The goal is to "compel the enemy to submit to one’s will" by using all military and nonmilitary means. Unrestricted warfare underpins China’s grand plan, which is to become the dominant world power by 2049, replacing the United States both economically and militarily. It is also part of Beijing’s strategy to prevent Washington from intervening if China’s moves to take over Taiwan, its decades-long goal. The nonmilitary means of unrestricted warfare that China has been using against Americans include Fentanyl. This drug flowing into our country from China is killing Americans by the thousand. Deepseek is another such weapon targeting Americans. According to The Wall Street Journal, DeepSeek promotes dangerous information, such as self-harm and cutting, exploiting teenagers’ emotional vulnerability through algorithmic amplification. Through DeepSeek, which is a free app, one can obtain directions on how to weaponize bird flu.

AP [3/3/2025 4:16 AM, Jim Gomez, 24727K] reports the Philippines’ top diplomat to the United States expressed confidence Monday that President Donald Trump’s new administration would continue military patrols in the disputed South China Sea and move ahead with an agreed expansion of the U.S. military presence in the Philippines, as concerns rise over China’s increasingly assertive actions in the region. Ambassador Jose Romualdez, who has had meetings with Trump’s diplomatic, defense and congressional officials, said the U.S. would likely maintain its support to help modernize the Philippine military, which is at the forefront of deterring China’s growing assertiveness in the disputed waters. "All of that will remain," Romualdez told foreign correspondents at a news conference in Manila. "I am confident that it will.” A Washington meeting between Trump and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was being arranged and could happen as soon as as both leaders’ schedules allow, maybe in the spring, Romualdez said. There was no immediate comment by Chinese officials on Romualdez’s statements. Trump’s "America First" foreign policy and moves to roll back Washington’s development assistance and security aid worldwide have set off concerns about the scale and depth of the U.S. commitment to the Indo-Pacific in his new term. In recent talks between Philippine defense and military officials and their American counterparts, both sides have reaffirmed their commitment to maintain robust ties. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany last month and "not only reaffirmed U.S. commitment to the United States-Philippines alliance but noted his enthusiasm for building an even more invested and enduring relationship," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said then.

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