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

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

The Washington Post [3/5/2025 1:28 AM, Dan Lamothe, 31735K] reports President Donald Trump said during his address Tuesday to a joint session of Congress that U.S. authorities have recovered and detained a senior Islamic State official responsible for a bombing during the evacuation of Afghanistan in 2021 that killed 13 U.S. troops and about 170 Afghans. Trump, toward the end of a nearly two-hour speech, said he was “pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice.” He thanked the government of Pakistan for “helping arrest this monster” and called it a “very momentous day for those 13 families, who I actually got to know very well, most of them.” A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, identified the individual as Mohammad Sharifullah and said he was a planner with the Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K), the extremist group’s branch in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Also known as “Jafar,” he had a role in planning and coordinating other terrorist attacks, including on a Moscow concert hall in March 2024 and a bombing in Iran in January 2024, the White House official said. Senior administration officials made the capture a priority upon taking office in January and increased intelligence sharing with partners in the region, the official said. Pakistani authorities captured Sharifullah late last month and turned him over more recently to the FBI for extradition. Sharifullah told U.S. authorities in an interview that he was recruited into ISIS-K around 2016 and was in prison until two weeks before the Abbey Gate bombing, according to an FBI affidavit released late Tuesday. Upon his release, the militant group provided him with a motorcycle and he scouted a route to the airport for the eventual attacker, identified previously by U.S. authorities as Abdul Rahman al-Logari. Sharifullah also told U.S. authorities in his interview that he provided an instructional video on how to use a rifle to the perpetrators of the Moscow attack. CNN [3/5/2025 1:58 AM, Hannah Rabinowitz, Zachary Cohen, Jeremy Herb, Kaitlan Collins, 52868K] reports Pakistan acted on CIA intelligence that led to the arrest of Sharifullah, according to another source familiar with the matter. In his speech, Trump thanked Pakistan for “helping arrest this monster.” Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif returned the message of gratitude in a statement issued on Wednesday, thanking Trump for “acknowledging and appreciating Pakistan’s role and support in counterterrorism efforts in Afghanistan.” Sharif said Pakistan’s security forces apprehended Sharifullah, an Afghan national, “in a successful operation conducted in Pakistan-Afghan border region.” “We will continue to partner closely with the United States in securing regional peace and stability,” he added. In his speech Tuesday, Trump once again attacked President Joe Biden over the handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, a criticism he made frequently on the campaign trail last year. Trump said he spoke to the families of the service members who were killed on a call before his speech “and they did nothing but cry with happiness.” Sharifullah was charged in the Eastern District of Virginia with providing and conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization resulting in death, according to an indictment unsealed late Tuesday. He was interviewed by FBI agents on Sunday, where he told them he was recruited in 2016 into ISIS-K, a branch of ISIS. In the interview, Shariffullah “admitted to supporting and conducting activities on behalf of ISIS-K in support of multiple lethal attacks,” according to the indictment. Sharifullah, who is also known as “Jafar,” according to the court documents, was in prison from 2019 until two weeks before the Abbey Gate attack. When he was released, he was contacted by ISIS members for assistance in the attack. “Sharifullah was tasked with scouting a route near (Hamid Karzai International Airport) HKIA for an attacker. Sharifullah conducted surveillance on a route, specifically checking for law enforcement and American or Taliban checkpoints,” the court documents state. The indictment also details Sharifullal’s alleged involvement in two other attacks, claiming that he conducted surveillance and transported a bomber to an attack on embassy guards in Kabul in 2016, and provided weapons training for gunmen who carried out an attack on a Moscow nightclub last year. Trump’s CIA Director, John Ratcliffe, raised the issue during his first phone call with the Pakistani intel chief, which took place during his first few days on the job, the source familiar added.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [3/5/2025 12:42 AM, Ellen Mitchell, 52868K]

FOX News [3/4/2025 2:28 PM, Adam Shaw, 46189K] reports that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday said her agency "will not be deterred" by leaks after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid was leaked ahead of time — the latest leak to dog the agency. "We will not be deterred by leaks. If you come to this country and break our laws, we will hunt you down," Noem said on X. She pointed to what she said was a successful operation that hauled in MS-13 and 18th Street gang members, as well as sex criminals. Migrant Insider had reported on Sunday that raids were planned on Monday and Tuesday in Northern Virginia, and that the agency had obtained between 75 and 100 warrants. "Judicial warrants mean ICE can go into your homes, so plan accordingly," the outlet’s editor, Pablo Manriquez, said on X. He later posted where they had been allegedly spotted in Northern Virginia. Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid also reported where ICE activity could be expected and urged followers to what they should do when approached by ICE. The leaks drew anger from ICE, with one official telling Fox they feared it could result in an ICE agent being killed. [Editorial note: consult video at source link] ABC News [3/4/2025 8:21 AM, Rachel Scott, Kevin Shalvey, and David Brennan, 34586K] Video: HERE reports Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is bringing "consequences" during raids in Virginia on Tuesday. "There is consequences," said Noem, who was present during the pre-operation debrief. The raids were assisted by the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott covered the raids at the scene. The second operation saw agents detain a man who officials said had been convicted of sexual battery. The man, they said, had been deported twice and re-entered the country illegally. Two minors and an uncle were also present in the raided residence, officials said. Agents said the uncle is undocumented and told him to turn himself into immigration authorities in two days. Asked what would happen to the two minors, Noem told ABC News, "We don’t know what other family members they have, that’s why he has two days to go locate them and make sure these kids are with someone in their family that they believe will keep them safe and set a better example for them.” Pushed on the likelihood of the family being separated, Noem said there are "consequences," adding, "And we are giving him time to leave these children with someone else.”

AP [3/4/2025 8:05 AM, Rebecca Santana, 12335K] reports Republicans in Congress are taking aim at four cities — often called "sanctuary cities" — over their policies limiting cooperation with immigration enforcement with a hearing this week that comes as President Donald Trump presses ahead with his campaign of mass deportations. Mayors Michelle Wu of Boston, Brandon Johnson of Chicago, Mike Johnston of Denver and Eric Adams of New York are set to appear Wednesday in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. There’s no strict definition for sanctuary policies or sanctuary cities, but the terms generally describe limited cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE enforces U.S. immigration laws nationwide but seeks state and local help, particularly for large-scale deportations, requesting that police and sheriffs alert them to people it wants to deport and hold them until federal officers take custody. But some cities and states say cooperating with ICE means victims of crime and witnesses who aren’t in the U.S. legally won’t come forward. And, to varying degrees, officials argue that they want their localities to be welcoming places for immigrants. Courts have repeatedly upheld the legality of most sanctuary laws. But Trump administration officials have targeted sanctuary policies right out of the gate in his second term, seeing them as a key impediment to deporting people in the large numbers he wants. The administration has sued Chicago and Illinois as well as New York state over various immigration laws. The city’s Trust Act generally restricts how much the police can cooperate with ICE, although it does allow some cooperation with a division called Homeland Security Investigations when it comes to such issues as combating human trafficking or drug and weapons trafficking. The city also must follow a 2017 ruling by the state’s highest court that forbids Massachusetts authorities from holding a person otherwise entitled to release from custody based solely on a federal request. Those requests, called detainers, typically ask federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to give at least 48 hours’ notice before suspected immigrants are released from jail — or to hold them for up to 48 hours after they would normally be released so ICE can pick them up. Otherwise, ICE must go out into the community to arrest them. Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, hammered Boston’s police commissioner and promised to go to Boston and "bring hell" with him. That has not sat well in Boston.

Reported similarly:
CBS Austin [3/4/2025 11:10 AM, Staff, 602K]
FOX News [3/4/2025 12:39 PM, Staff, 46189K]
Newsweek [3/4/2025 1:37 PM, Dan Gooding, 52220K]

Telemundo51 [3/4/2025 6:37 PM, Leana Astorga, 171K] reports fear and anxiety are increasing for the undocumented immigrant community, after National Security officials pressured the IRS to obtain the addresses and information of some 700,000 immigrants who are believed to be undocumented in the country. So far, the tax collector has denied the request because this information, such as a taxpayer’s name and address, is considered protected data under federal law.

Los Angeles Times [3/4/2025 8:56 PM, Fatima Hussein, 13342K] reports the IRS is drafting plans to cut its workforce by as much as half through a mix of layoffs, attrition and incentivized buyouts, according to two people familiar with the situation. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to disclose the plans. The layoffs are part of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce through billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency by closing agencies, laying off nearly all probationary employees who have not yet gained civil service protection and offering buyouts to almost all federal employees through a "deferred resignation program" to quickly reduce the government workforce. A reduction in force of tens of thousands of employees would render the IRS "dysfunctional," said John Koskinen, a former IRS commissioner. The federal tax collector employs about 90,000 workers total across the United States, according to the latest IRS data. People of color make up 56% of the IRS workforce, and women represent 65%. In addition to the planned layoffs, the Trump administration intends to lend IRS workers to the Department of Homeland Security to assist with immigration enforcement. In a letter sent in February, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to borrow IRS workers to help with ongoing immigration crackdown efforts. Koskinen and six other former IRS commissioners wrote in the New York Times last month: "Aggressive reductions in the I.R.S.’s resources will only render our government less effective and less efficient in collecting the taxes Congress has imposed.”

CBS Austin [3/4/2025 11:31 PM, Austin Denean, 602K] reports President Donald Trump vowed to build on his administration’s early successes in lowering illegal immigration levels and locking down the southern border in a push to get more funding from Congress to carry out his agenda. Cracking down on illegal immigration has been a day one priority for Trump with a flurry of executive orders that have restricted asylum, attempted to overturn birthright citizenship and utilized the military to help with the border crackdown. The crackdown has yielded some immediate results in lower levels of encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border and increased levels of arrests. More than 20,000 migrants in the country without legal status were arrested in Trump’s first month in office, which the administration said was a 627% increase in monthly arrests compared to the Biden administration. "Joe Biden’s insane and very dangerous open border policies – they are now strongly embedded in our country, but we are getting them out and getting them out fast," Trump said. "Our friends in the Democrat Party kept saying we needed new legislation, but it turned out that all we really needed was a new president.” Along with touting the reductions in arrests and encounters, Trump also touted the signing of the Laken Riley Act, the first bill he signed into law in his second term. The requires the detention of migrants who enter the country without authorization and are arrested or charged with certain crimes and is named after a nursing student from Georgia who was murdered by a person in the country illegally.

Reported similarly:
AP [3/4/2025 10:39 PM, Staff, 48304K] Video: HERE

AP [3/4/2025 10:39 PM, Staff, 48304K] Video: HERE reports Trump discusses border security in address to Congress.

FOX News [3/4/2025 10:14 PM, Emma Colton, 46189K] reports President Donald Trump kicked off his address before a joint session of Congress Tuesday evening. "To my fellow citizens, America is back," Trump declared after thanking the members of Congress and first lady Melania Trump. "Six weeks ago, I stood beneath the dome of this Capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the golden Age of America," he said. "From that moment on, it has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country. We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years. And we are just getting started.” The audience was heard chanting "USA, USA, USA" amid the president’s opening remarks. Trump arrived to the podium shortly after 9:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time Tuesday, where he was greeted by cheers from conservative lawmakers, while Democrats overwhelmingly remained seated. Protests broke out shortly after Trump began his speech, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson demanding Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, be removed after he refused to stop yelling or sit during the speech. "Our members are directed to uphold and maintain decorum in the House, and to cease any further disruptions — that’s your warning," Johnson said. "Members are engaging in willful and continuing breach of decorum, and the chair is prepared to direct the Sergeant at Arms to restore order to the joint session.” The speech marks Trump’s first before Congress since his return to the Oval Office in January. The address, though similar to the State of the Union, does not carry the same official title as Trump has not been in office for the past year.

FOX News [3/4/2025 11:03 AM, Stephen Sorace, 46189K] reports that President Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday that "agitators" on U.S. college campuses will be permanently expelled from school or even "imprisoned." Trump made the claim in a post on his Truth Social platform, adding that any education institution that "allows illegal protests" on its campus will no longer receive federal funding. "All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests," Trump wrote. "Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS! Thank you for your attention to this matter." Trump did not detail any specifics about how the federal government could expel or force universities to expel students. The post comes as anti-Israel protests have popped up throughout the U.S. and on its university campuses amid Israel’s war in Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist attacks, which killed around 1,200 people.

CNN [3/4/2025 7:54 PM, Alexandra Skores, 908K] reports for decades, US officials liked to say the nation’s aviation system was the "gold standard" for safety. A House hearing on Tuesday cast doubt on that assertion. At the hearing, on problems with the nation’s air traffic control system, lawmakers pressed aviation organizations on aging infrastructure, chronic air traffic controller staffing shortages and what they called a broken hiring process. Rep. Troy Nehls, chairman of the subcommittee on aviation, pointed out that 105 of the Federal Aviation Administration’s 138 systems are unsustainable or potentially unsustainable. "For a country that considers itself the gold standard in aviation safety, these numbers are unacceptable, and we must do better," Nehls, a Texas Republican, said in opening remarks. "While it’s easy to lay blame at the feet of the FAA, and their project management is certainly not blameless, we also have to look at our own shortfalls.” The questioning comes following a string of US aviation incidents, like the deadly midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, DC, on January 29 and other close calls throughout the country. Relatives of those who died in the January collision were in the audience on Tuesday. Air traffic control’s role in the incidents will be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board. During the hearing, air traffic control experts and officials were asked what Congress can do. "We are not the gold standard in aviation anymore," testified Paul Rinaldi, who spent 30 years with the FAA — half as an air traffic controller. He previously led the air traffic controllers union. "We are not even on the world’s podium.”

NBC News [3/4/2025 2:50 PM, Shannon Pettypiece, 44742K] reports President Donald Trump has moved forward with a plan to put sweeping tariffs on all goods coming into the United States from Canada and Mexico, threatening a trade war with its closest trading partners — and higher prices for Americans on thousands of consumer goods. The U.S. was scheduled to begin collecting a 25% tariff on nearly all goods from Mexico and Canada starting at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, according to a draft public notice of the rules posted Monday. Canadian energy products would be levied at a lower rate of 10%. Businesses ranging from automakers to alcohol producers have warned that the added costs for companies to import goods from Canada and Mexico will have wide-ranging implications across the American economy. While some companies will look to source their goods from other countries or move production to the U.S., those moves could take years. In the meantime, companies have said they will have to pay the tariffs and then pick from two options: either pass the added costs along to consumers in the form of higher prices, or absorb the fees and either cut costs elsewhere or take lower profits. On Monday, Trump also added an additional 10% tariff on all imports from China on top of the 10% tariff he put on Chinese goods last month, which includes products such as electronics, footwear, medicines and cosmetics. Those tariffs are in addition to tariffs already put in place during Trump’s first term in office. Trump said he is putting the tariffs in place, in part, to pressure the countries into stopping undocumented immigrants and fentanyl from entering the U.S. via their borders. More than 107,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2023, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, with nearly 70% of those deaths from opioids, including fentanyl. Nearly all of the 21,900 pounds of fentanyl seized in 2024 was at the southern border, with just 43 pounds of fentanyl seized at the northern border, according to data from Customs and Border Protection. Late Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick indicated relief may be in sight. In an appearance on Fox Business News, Lutnick said an interim agreement with Canada and Mexico that would allow their tariffs to be rolled back to some degree could come as soon as Wednesday. "The Mexicans and the Canadians are on the phone with me all day today, trying to show that they’ll do better," Lutnick said. "And the president is listening because, you know, he’s very, very fair and very reasonable. So I think he’s going to work something out with them."

NBC News [3/4/2025 10:39 PM, Erik Ortiz, 44742K] reports President Donald Trump says a primary reason for his new tariffs against the United States’ three largest trading partners is what he calls a "national emergency" brought on by fentanyl flowing across the country’s borders. Trump says he is holding Canada, China and Mexico accountable for the spread of contraband drugs. "They’ve allowed fentanyl to come into our country at levels never seen before," he said in a joint address to Congress on Tuesday night, referring to Mexico and Canada, "killing hundreds of thousands of our citizens and many very young, beautiful people, destroying families.” But the tariffs come as the fentanyl epidemic is showing glimmers of improvement, drug policy experts and economic researchers say. They fear that the 25% tariff on nearly all goods from Mexico and Canada and 20% on all Chinese imports will only erode the international cooperation needed to thwart global drug trafficking operations. "Tariffs are not the sharpest tool in terms of negotiating with other countries and getting them to go along with drug and border policies," said Bob McNab, chair of the economics department at Old Dominion University in Virginia. "This is akin to having a fence-line dispute with your neighbor and taking a sledgehammer with you.” After years of rising overdose deaths, the United States recorded 87,000 drug overdose deaths from October 2023 to September 2024, a decrease from 114,000 the previous year, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That was the lowest overdose death toll in any 12-month period since June 2020, the CDC said. Overdose deaths surpassed more than 100,000 for the first time in 2021, with the majority linked to synthetic opioid use. The crisis has devastated small communities and urban centers alike. Bloomberg [3/4/2025 1:15 PM, Staff, 1492K] reports Trump pushed ahead with the levies using the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA), a national security statute that gave him authority to control economic transactions after he declared an emergency on fentanyl at the northern border. But U.S. Customs and Border Patrol data shows only a small volume of fentanyl crosses illegally into the United States from Canada. It reports just 13.6 grams of fentanyl seized by northern Border Patrol staff in January. Lutnick was asked whether fentanyl is being used as an pretext to hit Canada with levies. He replied that Trump launched a study on tariffs, which concludes April 2, and claimed Canada’s general sales tax is a tariff. Lutnick also said Trump wants to see "material reduction" in opioid deaths. Newsweek [3/4/2025 5:35 PM, Dan Gooding, 52220K] reports that when it comes to China, the White House believes leaders there have not stepped up efforts to curtail the flow of so-called precursor chemicals used by manufacturers in Mexico and elsewhere. Fentanyl is smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico and Canada. In 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized more than 21,000 pounds of illicit fentanyl at the border with Mexico, while just 43 pounds were seized at the norther border with Canada. Fentanyl makes its way into the U.S. in various ways, but mostly through legal ports of entry along the southwest border.

The Hill [3/4/2025 6:00 AM, Tobias Burns, 12829K] reports U.S. businesses are bracing for the impact of President Trump’s new tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods. After months of threats and pushed deadlines, Trump said Monday he would go ahead with implementing import taxes of 25 percent on goods from Canada and Mexico. The new tariffs, set to take effect Tuesday, would mark a drastic turning point in the relationships between the U.S. and its two closest trading partners. Asked whether there was any opportunity for more negotiations with top U.S. trading partners Canada and Mexico before the tariffs are announced, Trump said there wasn’t. He originally promised the tariffs for Jan. 20 and then early February. But the back-and-forth nature of Trump’s tariff threats have left business leaders holding their breath, plotting major changes in case the president opens a North American trade war. This latest policy reversal has led to uncertainties in corporate boardrooms about where companies should be investing. "As with other Trump tariff announcements so far, it’s hard to know if this is a bluff or a genuine turn in policy," J.P. Morgan U.S. economist Michael Feroli and others wrote in a Monday analysis. "Alternatively, at least the Canada and Mexico tariffs could get delayed again until after April 1, when the administration is set to publish the trade report the Trump asked for in his first day executive order.” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday night that his country would impose escalating reciprocal tariffs of 25 percent on U.S. goods if Trump went ahead with his import taxes. Ontario Premier Rob Ford went a step further, pledging to cut off energy exports to the U.S. if Canadians faced new tariffs. Many businesses and trade groups have said that tariffs will increase costs for companies and could translate to price increases for consumers. One analysis by Anderson Economic Group of the auto sector, which has production lines that are highly integrated across North American borders, predicted the cost per car of the 25 percent tariffs could be as much as $12,000. Others have suggested the tariffs could take a bite out of gross domestic product (GDP). "25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, if sustained, could present a 0.4 to 0.7-percentage point drag on our baseline 2025 real GDP forecast of 2.5 percent and 0.3 to 0.7 percentage points to core PCE inflation this year," Brett Ryan and others wrote Monday for Deutsche Bank.

New York Times [3/4/2025 8:09 AM, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Ravi Mattu, Bernhard Warner, Sarah Kessler, Michael J. de la Merced, Lauren Hirsch and Edmund Lee, 145325K] reports President Trump wasn’t bluffing, after all. Global markets plunged on Tuesday after U.S. tariffs went into effect on roughly $1.5 trillion worth of imports from Canada, Mexico and China, with another, and even broader, wave set to kick in as soon as next week. China and Canada have already responded, with Beijing targeting the American heartland with sweeping levies on imported food and halting log and soybean shipments from select U.S. companies. Mexico is expected to retaliate, too. The escalation has global business leaders increasingly worried about what will come next, as economists warn that consumers and companies will soon see higher prices. Warren Buffett offered a reminder of what the global economy is facing. “Tariffs,” the billionaire investor said this week, “are an act of war, to some degree.” “The market finally took the Trump administration at its word, and the realization that the tariff talk wasn’t just a negotiating tactic is starting to sink in,” Chris Zaccarelli, an investment strategist for Northlight Asset Management, said in a research note yesterday evening. Analysts see reason for cautious optimism — at least on China. “We view Beijing’s responses as still strategic and restrained,” Xiangrong Yu, Citigroup’s chief China economist, said in a research note on Tuesday. He said a trade deal was still “plausible.” The Shanghai composite index closed slightly higher on Tuesday. Market watchers warn of deep repercussions should the trade war drag on. Trump seems to be digging in, telling reporters yesterday that there is “no room left for Mexico or for Canada.” A protracted fight could dent global growth and accelerate inflation, all of which could “hamstring the Fed,” Mark Haefele, the chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, told Bloomberg Television on Tuesday. Analysts see the U.S. central bank pausing interest rate cuts until inflation drops closer to its 2 percent target. That would raise the chances of a clash with Trump, who has pressured the Fed to lower borrowing costs. The dollar is worth watching. Investors are now fretting about inflation and U.S. growth, factors that could force the White House into a rethink on tariffs.

Newsweek [3/4/2025 6:29 AM, Shane Croucher, 52220K] reports Canada and China retaliated immediately with their own tariffs and other measures against the United States after the Trump Administration followed through on its threats of tariffs over the trafficking of fentanyl. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country would respond with 25 percent tariffs on $155 billion of American goods. First, $30 billion of goods would be hit on March 4, and then the rest in 21 days’ time. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it would add an additional 15 percent tariff on American chicken, wheat, corn, and cotton, and a further 10 percent tariff on sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products, Chinese state-owned broadcaster CCTV reported. China will also subject 25 U.S. firms to further export and investment restrictions, per Reuters. Newsweek emailed the White House press office outside of normal working hours for comment. President Donald Trump had said during remarks at the White House that the 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico would take effect on March 4. Canada will also face 10 percent on its energy exports. The White House also announced that China would be subject to an additional 10 percent on imports, taking the tariff up to 20 percent. Trump blames China, Canada, and Mexico for not doing enough to stem the flow of the highly potent synthetic opioid fentanyl over its border. He threatened tariffs on imports from these countries unless he was convinced they were doing enough to stop the fentanyl industry. The White House cited CDC data showing 68 percent of all drug poisoning deaths in the U.S. in 2022 and 2023—216,294 total—were caused by synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl. China is the world’s major hub for fentanyl production, though it has cracked down on the chemicals used by drug gangs to make it. Mexico’s cartels traffic Chinese-made fentanyl into the U.S. Canada also has a problem with fentanyl production and trafficking, though it is smaller than Mexico’s. China, Canada, and Mexico all insist they are working to tackle the fentanyl problem. Global markets were knocked hard by the reciprocal tariffs amid fears that a fresh trade war is unfolding with significant economic repercussions. Aside from fentanyl and border issues, a key driver of Trump’s "America First" trade policy is to encourage greater domestic manufacturing and agricultural production instead of importing goods from the rest of the world. Boise State Public Radio [3/4/2025 10:31 AM, Brian Mann, 78K] reports that in a statement, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Trump’s criticism "unjustified," noting that fentanyl seizures at the U.S. northern border have dropped to "near-zero." "While less than 1 percent of the fentanyl intercepted at the U.S. border comes from Canada, we have worked relentlessly to address this scourge," Trudeau said. He pointed to $1.3 billion Canada is spending on new security measures along the border. Both countries called the link between fentanyl smuggling and trade barriers unjustified and announced plans to retaliate.

Reported similarly:
CBS Detroit [3/4/2025 3:49 PM, Tucker Reals, Ahmad Mukhtar, Anna Coren, and Haley Ott, 51661K]
Miami Herald [3/4/2025 7:24 AM, Ben Hooper, 3973K]

Newsweek [3/4/2025 5:56 AM, James Bickerton, 52220K] reports Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on Monday that he would block energy exports to the United States "with a smile" if U.S. President Donald Trump moved ahead with plans for a 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods. Trump announced on Monday that tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China would go into effect on Tuesday. Newsweek contacted Ford’s office for comment via email outside regular office hours. In response to Trump’s tariffs, Ottawa and Beijing have announced plans to retaliate, sparking fears of a global trade war. The U.S. imposed tariffs of 25 percent of Canadian goods—except for energy products, which face a 10 percent tariff. It also put a 25 percent tariff on imports from Mexico and an additional 10 percent on Chinese goods. According to figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Canada is by some margin the largest source of American energy imports, with 59 percent of all crude oil imported into the U.S. in 2019 coming from the country. So energy imports give Canada a powerful lever to hit back at the Trump administration in a way that is likely to raise prices and stoke inflation in the U.S. Speaking at a mining convention on Monday, Ford, a progressive conservative, addressed the Trump administration directly. "I don’t start a tariff war, but we’re going to win this tariff war," he said, adding, "If they want to try to annihilate Ontario, I will do everything—including cut off their energy with a smile on my face, and I’m encouraging every other province to do the same.” Ford added: "They rely on our energy. They need to feel the pain.” In an NBC interview on Monday, Ford said Canadian energy kept "the lights on for 1.5 million homes and manufacturing [facilities] in New York, in Michigan and in Minnesota.” Trump said the tariffs were being introduced in response to Mexico and Canada failing to stem the tide of fentanyl and illegal migrants across their respective borders. He also argued that Mexico and Canada, which had trade surpluses with the U.S., had been taking advantage of the country. The tariffs were initially intended to come into effect in February, but Trump delayed them for a month following conversations with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. According to federal figures, 0.2 percent of U.S. fentanyl seizures took place at the Canadian border in the 2024 fiscal year, compared to 96.6 percent at the Mexican border. Last year, there was an increase in illegal immigration across the border between the U.S. and Canada, though the level remained far below migration across the southern border.

Reuters [3/4/2025 8:37 AM, Mei Mei Chu and Ella Cao, 24727K] reports China suspended on Tuesday the soybean import licenses of three U.S. firms and halted imports of U.S. lumber, stepping up retaliatory action after the United States imposed additional tariffs on Chinese goods. Earlier in the day, China also imposed import levies covering $21 billion worth of U.S. agricultural and food products including soybeans, wheat, meat and cotton. The three U.S companies affected by the license suspensions are farmer-owned cooperative CHS Inc, global grains exporter Louis Dreyfus Company Grains Merchandising LLC and export grain terminal operator EGT, China’s customs department said in a statement. Customs said it detected ergot and seed coating agent in imported U.S. soybeans while the suspension of U.S. lumber imports was due to the detection of small worms, aspergillus and other pests. Media representatives for Louis Dreyfus, CHS and Bunge Global, which partially owns EGT, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Beijing’s retaliatory measures were in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose an extra 10% duty on China, effective Tuesday, resulting in a cumulative 20% tariff in response to what the White House considers Chinese inaction over drug flows. About half of U.S. soybean exports are shipped to China, totalling nearly $12.8 billion in trade in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The suspension of U.S. lumber was a direct response to Trump’s move on March 1 to order a trade investigation on imported lumber. Trump had earlier told reporters that he was thinking about imposing a 25% tariff rate on lumber and forest products. "The announcement of import restrictions on U.S lumber and soybeans linked with phytosanitary issues follows a long history of similar measures by Beijing," said Even Pay, agriculture analyst at Trivium China. The bulk import volumes and natural origin of soybeans and lumber make them susceptible to issues with plant health and pests, creating a convenient target for trade retaliation, Pay said.

The Hill [3/4/2025 6:18 PM, Rebecca Beitsch, 12829K] reports the former chief executive officer of the Federal Emergency Management Agency has sued over her termination last month, saying her firing flouted civil service laws. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fired Mary Comans over an $80 million grant to New York City allowing for emergency sheltering of migrants that FEMA ultimately clawed back. The grant was one of many doled out to cities as part of the Shelter and Services Program created by Congress to help pay for the cost of housing migrants. Comans was one of four FEMA employees fired over the matter. In a suit filed alongside a parallel complaint submitted to the Merit Systems Protection Board, Comans’ attorneys say she was not given due process. They also say the agency wrongly accused her of acting improperly by distributing the funds.

Yahoo! News [3/4/2025 10:21 AM, Dylan Stableford, 52868K] reports that Mardi Gras is here and security surrounding this year’s Fat Tuesday celebrations, marking the end of Carnival season in New Orleans, will be heightened following the deadly New Year’s Day terror attack on Bourbon Street. As was the case during last month’s Super Bowl, there has been a visible security presence in the Big Easy this week, including rooftop snipers, bomb-sniffing dogs and armored vehicles deployed throughout the city. According to the mayor’s office, there will be nearly 1,000 federal, state and local law enforcement personnel deployed during Mardi Gras, including more than 600 police officers and 100 plainclothes officers stationed in the French Quarter. A total of 11 federal agencies will provide tactical, air, maritime and canine support, along with specialized teams for explosives, intelligence and field operations. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has designated Mardi Gras a "Special Event Assessment Rating" (SEAR) Level 1 event, which it defines as one that requires "extensive federal interagency support." "This is one of the first moments in our history where Mardi Gras is a SEAR 1-rated event," Cantrell said. "All of the same resources that were brought out for [the] Super Bowl, they’ll see in an elongated fashion along Mardi Gras parade routes," Eric DeLaune, special agent in charge of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans, told the Times-Picayune last week.

Washington Examiner [3/4/2025 6:20 PM, Ashley Oliver, 2296K] reports Illinois attorneys pushed back Tuesday on a lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice targeting the state’s so-called sanctuary policies, arguing that the Trump administration cannot force the state to participate in federal immigration enforcement. The attorneys, writing on behalf of Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) and the state of Illinois, asked a judge to dismiss the case. They said the DOJ failed to state any federal violations and that Illinois had a constitutional right to enforce its own immigration laws and "opt out" of enforcing federal ones. "Yes, Illinois’s choice may ‘frustrate’ implementation of ‘[f]ederal schemes,’ like the current federal executive’s avowed commitment to conduct the largest mass deportation in American history," the Illinois attorneys wrote. However, they argued, the 10th Amendment protects Illinois’s "sovereign right not to cooperate in the President’s schemes.” The lawsuit is one of two brought by the Trump administration this year against blue states and cities and their leaders, who have implemented sanctuary policies that work, in part, to shield illegal immigrants from the federal government. Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a similar complaint in New York. In Illinois, the DOJ targeted the state’s TRUST Act, which prohibits state and local law enforcement officials’ abilities to honor certain federal immigration detainers or otherwise cooperate with federal immigration officials. At issue in the New York case is the state’s "Green Light Law," which prevents the Department of Motor Vehicles from sharing information it gathers about noncitizens with federal law enforcement.

Dallas Morning News [3/4/2025 4:35 PM, Staff, 2778K] reports the Fort Worth-based organization that runs Texas’ refugee resettlement operations has sued the federal government demanding it release $36 million in funding that has been held up since January. Catholic Charities Fort Worth on March 3 filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on grounds that the office unlawfully withheld grant funds for the charity’s refugee services. The lawsuit alleges that the funding freeze results in "real-world harm" to both the organization and more than 100,000 individuals who rely on its services that have been mandated by Congress. It has also led to layoffs, furloughs, office closures and service cuts in 24 of the organization’s 29 partner agencies, the lawsuit states. The effects have not only been felt by refugees themselves but also local businesses that rely on them, the lawsuit states.

Axios [3/4/2025 5:52 PM, Alayna Alvarez, 13163K] reports Mayor Mike Johnston will be in the hot seat Wednesday as he testifies before the powerful House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform over Denver’s immigration policies. The hearing is a high-wire act for Johnston that carries major implications — both for his own political future and Denver’s federal funding. Anything he says could be used against him and put a target on the city’s back. The Republican-led committee is investigating whether so-called sanctuary city policies, like Denver’s, undermine federal immigration enforcement. Wednesday morning, Johnston will testify alongside the mayors of Boston, Chicago and New York City in defending their cities’ approaches to immigration. But it’s Colorado’s own U.S. House delegation that could bring the heat.

FOX 5 [3/4/2025 2:56 PM, Rhea Caoile] reports a man who called himself the "King of Coke" and brought cartel hitmen into San Diego was sentenced Monday to 17 years and six months in federal prison. Rodolfo "Rudy" Benjamin Silva, 44, was a long-time drug distributor based in San Diego, according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California. Silva even facilitated bringing in Mexican assassins known as "sicarios" into the San Diego area, authorities said. Silva worked closely with traffickers in Mexico to receive international shipments of narcotics intended for distribution in the U.S., authorities added. In his plea agreement, Silva admitted to threatening, directing or using violence as part of his drug trafficking activities. Silva was charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine. He faced a maximum penalty of up to life in prison plus a $10 million fine. San Diego-based agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration led the investigation with help from authorities in Indiana.

Washington Post [3/4/2025 2:49 PM, Ann E. Marimow, 31735K] reports that Supreme Court justices from across the ideological spectrum expressed deep skepticism Tuesday about an unusual lawsuit by the Mexican government that seeks to hold major U.S. firearms manufacturers accountable for gun violence in that country. After a nearly two-hour argument, a majority of justices — if not a unanimous court — appeared likely to block the lawsuit from proceeding, with several suggesting Mexico had not shown a close enough connection between guns made in the United States and drug cartel violence. The Supreme Court was reviewing the case at a tense moment for relations between the two countries, on the same day President Donald Trump imposed new tariffs on Mexican goods. U.S. and Mexican officials agree that Mexico’s drug cartels obtain most of their firepower from the United States, with most American weapons seized in Mexico originating in either Arizona or Texas. Strict gun laws across the southern border make it extremely difficult for Mexican citizens to purchase a firearm. At least two-thirds of the roughly 30,000 weapons seized in Mexico and sent for tracing each year were sourced from the United States, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Just as Trump has taken aim at Mexican drug cartels and illegal immigration, saying they contribute to crime in the United States, Mexico alleges that U.S. firearms manufacturers know their guns are trafficked into Mexico. The lawsuit says the gun companies make deliberate design, marketing and distribution choices to retain and grow the profitable but illegal market.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [3/4/2025 1:06 PM, Zach Schonfeld, 12829K]
USA Today [3/4/2025 2:28 PM, Maureen Groppe, 75858K]

FOX News [3/4/2025 10:43 AM, Greg Norman, 52868K] reports that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said "nobody wins" with the Trump administration’s new 25% tariffs on goods from her country, adding Tuesday that she plans to unveil retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. this weekend. "There is no reason, rationale or justification to support this decision that will affect our people and nations. Nobody wins with this decision," Sheinbaum said at a press conference, according to Reuters. The U.S. began imposing a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico on Tuesday, and an additional 10% levy on Chinese imports, as President Donald Trump looks to curtail drug trafficking and illegal immigration. "In these 30 days, decisive actions were taken against organized crime and fentanyl trafficking, as well as bilateral meetings on security and trade," Sheinbaum reportedly said. President Claudia Sheinbaum holds a press conference to announce a response to U.S. tariffs at the National Palace in Mexico City on March 4. "We collaborate to avoid illegal drug trafficking to the United States, but as we have said on multiple occasions, that country’s government must take responsibility too for the crisis of opioid consumption that has caused so many deaths in the United States," she added, according to the Associated Press.

CNN [3/4/2025 8:43 PM, Chris Isidore, 908K] reports American asset management giant BlackRock has agreed to buy two ports at either end of the Panama Canal from a Hong Kong-based firm whose ownership had angered President Donald Trump. Trump said several times during the lead-up to his inauguration and since taking office that he intends to "take back" the Panama Canal from Panama, which took over control of the crucial international waterway in 1999 under a treaty negotiated with the United States 20 years earlier. And he cited Chinese ownership of some of the port operations as a sign that China is now running the canal. "China is operating the Panama Canal. And we didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back," said Trump during his inaugural address. At a January press conference ahead of his inauguration, Trump would not rule out using either military force or economic coercion to take control of the canal once again. The deal announced Tuesday called for BlackRock and a consortium of fellow investors to spend $22.8 billion to buy the ports of Balboa and Cristobal on either end of the canal from CK Hutchison, a Hong Kong company. It said the deal is an "agreement in principle." BlackRock’s consortium is also buying CK Hutchison’s controlling interest in 43 other ports comprising 199 berths in 23 countries, but none of the ports it operates in China or Hong Kong. "These world-class ports facilitate global growth," said a statement from BlackRock CEO Larry Fink. "Through our deep connectivity to organizations like Hutchison … and governments around the world, we are increasingly the first call for partners seeking patient, long-term capital. We are thrilled our clients can participate in this investment.” BlackRock is one of the world’s largest asset managers, with an enormous pool of $11.6 trillion in assets. For context, that sum equal is to about 40% of the United States’ gross domestic product, the broadest measure of a nation’s economic activity. Unlike some conglomerates, its doesn’t completely control a large number of high profile companies. But among its holdings, it owns the second largest stake in some of the nation’s largest and most successful companies, including Walmart, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Google owner Alphabet.

Reported similarly:
AP [3/4/2025 3:24 PM, Didi Tang and Alex Veiga, 34586K]

The Hill [3/4/2025 1:00 PM, Marc Polymeropoulos and Jeremy Hurewitz, 12829K] reports that as the White House attempts to drastically reshape the U.S. government, alarm bells are ringing for those of us whose careers have focused on America’s national security. In the Trump administration’s zeal both to radically curtail the size of government and to pay back his perceived enemies, we fear that many of these efforts are undermining the very safety of the country. This is not the government reform that is required — we would applaud such measures, as there is significant waste and redundancy in government that should be eliminated. Instead, this is taking a sledgehammer to government without any consideration for short or long-term effects to critical national security institutions that keep Americans safe. It was recently reported that the government demanded a list of probationary CIA officers sent over an unclassified server to the Office of Management and Budget. This is ostensibly part of the administration’s goal of reducing the size of government agencies, but many of us who saw the news thought the order must have come from a Chinese operative who had hacked the system. While the names were reportedly sanitized to show only a first name and last initial, any decent intelligence program can connect the dots through social media, data leaks and other avenues to figure out who these individuals are.

San Diego Union Tribune [3/4/2025 8:00 AM, U T Readers, 1682K] reports I’ve read that Gov. Newsom is asking for $16.8 billion from Congress in additional funds being allocated by FEMA to respond to the January fires in the Los Angeles area. I’ve also read that the Trump administration would like for congressional approval to be conditional upon the imposition of voter ID requirements by the state of California (among other conditions). Heretofore, other than cost-sharing requirements (the Stafford Act, 1988), the federal government has not imposed disaster relief fund restrictions upon any states. This proposed imposition by the current administration is based on political ideology, not constitutional law or pragmatic cost-sharing interests. Currently, state and local entities are given control over most policies and procedures regarding voting, not the federal government. One can only imagine the uproar if the Biden administration had attached FEMA aid to the Hurricane Milton disaster conditional upon Florida public schools being forced to teach critical race theory.

New York Times [3/5/2025 3:42 AM, Albert Sun and Allison McCann, 330K] reports President Trump’s drastic reshaping of immigration enforcement toward a goal of deporting millions has led to nearly 23,000 arrests and 18,000 deportations in the past month, federal data shows. Arrests inside the country are up sharply relative to the Biden administration, but they are below the levels seen when immigration agents made a show of force at the start of Mr. Trump’s term. Deportations have continued to lag. As a result, 4,000 more people are sitting in detention facilities than when Mr. Trump first took office. An additional 3,000 people who were detained have been released back into the country. The administration began its increased enforcement operations shortly after Mr. Trump was inaugurated, and ICE was quick to publicize the number of immigrants caught in its operations each day. People booked into detention by ICE — a rough measure of arrests — peaked at 872 people per day in late January before falling to just under 600 people per day in the first three weeks of February, data shows. This is a significant escalation from the Biden administration: ICE arrested and detained about 255 people each day last year. It also reveals the extent of a shift in immigration priorities under Mr. Trump to increase enforcement in the interior of the country. Deportations have not kept pace with arrests. ICE deported an average of 600 people a day in mid-February, the latest data available, compared with more than 750 people a day in the 12 months through November. The drop in deportations is due in part to a simultaneous change in border policy. During the Biden administration, a majority of people detained and deported were arrested crossing the southwestern border. But the Trump administration moved to quickly close the border, ending the asylum process and other Biden-era programs that offered migrants humanitarian relief. Now, border agents are arresting far fewer people than last year and sending fewer migrants to ICE for detention and eventual deportation. (It is not clear how many people are being removed directly from the border, since that data has not been published since Mr. Trump took office.)

Reported similarly:
Reuters [3/4/2025 4:12 PM, Ted Hesson, 41523K]

CBS Austin [3/4/2025 6:17 AM, Staff, 602K] reports federal authorities have arrested a high-ranking MS-13 leader in Hyattsville, Maryland, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials on Monday. ICE and the FBI took David Alejandro Orellana-Aleman, 27, into custody on Feb. 27 in Hyattsville. Officials said Orellana, a Salvadoran national, is wanted in his home country on charges of firearm possession, extortion, and terrorist affiliation. "The apprehension of David Alejandro Orellana-Aleman strikes a significant blow to the leadership and organization of the MS-13 terrorist organization," said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations acting Field Office Director Matthew Elliston. "This arrest speaks volumes about the cooperation enjoyed between ICE and the FBI. We will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing illegal alien offenders from our communities.” ICE described Orellana as a high-ranking leader who played a key role in the gang’s operations by controlling "the operation of MS-13 cliques in the United States, Mexico, and Europe.” Authorities said Orellana was first arrested in El Salvador on Dec. 1, 2016, and charged as a documented member of MS-13. At an unknown date and location, ICE said he entered the U.S. illegally before being arrested in Prince George’s County in December 2024 for driving without a license. FBI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno said the arrest makes Maryland safer. "Maryland is immediately safer because of this arrest. Working together, we took custody of one of the highest-ranking gang members in the United States," said DelBagno. "David Alejandro Orellana-Aleman is no longer in his alleged position of power directing violence. His arrest demonstrates the success we can have when we collectively investigate and disrupt violent criminals seeking to exploit our communities.” Orellana remains in ICE custody following his arrest.

Telemundo Amarillo [3/4/2025 4:23 PM, Staff, 2K] reports federal authorities in Mississippi announced the arrest of 16 immigrants at a concrete manufacturing company in Pass Christian, a town in the south of that state. The operation took place on February 24 after the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) went to the company Gulf Coast Prestress Partners, Ltd., with a search warrant and an immigration subpoena, reported our sister station WLOX. While doing paperwork and interviewing employees, agents saw a large group of people running toward the back of the building trying to get out. The operation ended with the arrest of 18 citizens from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. Two of them had a court date in an immigration court and had work permits, so they were released. Another was a 16-year-old Mexican boy. The ICE office in Gulfport transferred him to the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

Miami Herald [3/4/2025 6:27 PM, Jay Weaver, 3973K] reports a suspected member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua was arrested in South Florida and charged with possessing a firearm as an illegal alien. A suspected member of a violent Venezuelan gang, which has been condemned by the Trump administration in its sweeping crackdown on immigration, faced the charge of possessing a firearm as an illegal alien in Miami federal court on Monday. Luis Ernesto Veliz Riera, 23, a Venezuelan who authorities believe is a member of Tren de Aragua, entered the United States in February 2023 after appearing for an appointment at the Mexico-El Paso border that he had booked online through an immigration program during the Biden administration. Eleven days later, on Valentine’s Day, federal prosecutors charged Veliz Riera with one count of possessing a firearm as an illegal alien — a relatively low-level felony that has been made a priority by Trump’s Justice Department. During his initial appearance in Miami federal court on Monday, Veliz Riera, represented by court-appointed lawyer Omar Antonio Lopez, agreed to remain in custody at the Federal Detention Center in Miami before trial. Homestead, Miami and Sweetwater police departments, along with the Broward Sheriff’s Office and other federal agencies, assisted in the investigation.

Telemundo51 [3/4/2025 6:33 PM, Maylin Legañoa, 171K] reports with a nearly unanimous vote, except for Commissioner Marleine Bastian, the Miami-Dade commission approved a resolution on Tuesday that allows local authorities to work together with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE). The news was not well received by members of the Florida migrant coalition.

Miami Herald [3/4/2025 12:52 PM, Julia Marnin, 3973K] reports that a former priest convicted of sexually abusing a child in Maryland for years lied to gain U.S. citizenship, federal prosecutors said following a judge’s order to remove him from the U.S. Jorge Antonio Velez-Lopez, a Colombian citizen, arrived in the U.S. as a temporary religious worker in 2003 and was approved as a permanent resident in 2007, according to prosecutors. In March 2013, he wasn’t truthful in his application to become a U.S. citizen, including when he declared he never "committed a crime for which he had not been arrested," prosecutors said. Velez-Lopez was granted citizenship about two months later, on May 29, 2013, according to prosecutors. However, in February 2020, authorities in Howard County, Maryland, arrested Velez-Lopez on sex offense charges stemming from child molestation that occurred more than a decade earlier, according to prosecutors. Velez-Lopez pleaded guilty in May 2021 to sexually abusing a child "while serving as the child’s priest" in Maryland from June 2005 through June 2009, according to prosecutors. Velez-Lopez will be transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody after he serves his federal sentence and state sentence in Maryland, according to prosecutors. ICE will deport Velez-Lopez to Colombia, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

WHIO [3/4/2025 3:58 PM, Staff] reports authorities executed search warrants at an Ohio massage parlor and the home of the parlor’s owner Monday as part of a human trafficking investigation. The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office, in coordination with Homeland Security Investigations Task Force, served a search warrant at Elegant Massage in Carroll, our news partners at WBNS reported. The operation was part of an investigation into reports of suspected human trafficking, labor exploitation, and other illegal activities at the parlor. Investigators found evidence related to illicit operations, including financial records, electronic devices, and other materials indicative of human trafficking during the searches, WBNS reported. Some individuals who were found in the business at the time of the search were believed to be victims of human trafficking. WBNS reported that those people were given information about victim services and resources for their well-being. No arrests have been made at this time.

Yahoo! News [3/4/2025 8:04 PM, Staff, 52868K] reports the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced the capture of another fugitive from Texas’ 10 Most Wanted Criminal Illegal Immigrants List — this time in San Antonio. Clarence Mfor was arrested on Sunday, March 2. A Crime Stoppers reward will not be paid in his arrest. According to a DPS news release, Clarence Enyi Mfor, 37, a criminal illegal immigrant from Cameroon, was taken into custody in San Antonio by DPS Special Agents assigned to the Texas Anti-Gang (TAG) Center in San Antonio. Mfor had been wanted out of Bexar Co. since January 2025 for sexual assault. In 2019, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Mfor in California for alien inadmissibility. In May 2023, ICE arrested him again in San Antonio for failure to have an immigration visa. He was later released from a detention location. More information on Mfor’s capture can be found here. Funded by the Governor’s Public Safety Office, Texas Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards to any person who provides information that leads to the arrest of one of Texas’ 10 Most Wanted Fugitives, Sex Offenders or Criminal Illegal Immigrants. So far in 2025, DPS and other agencies have arrested 13 Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives, Sex Offenders and Criminal Illegal Immigrants, including 3 sex offenders and 4 criminal illegal immigrants — with $20,000 in rewards being paid for tips that yielded arrests.

KIRO 7 [3/4/2025 5:12 PM, Staff] reports a 33-year-old citizen of China, who was living in Los Angeles, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Ji Wang will spend seven years in prison for kidnapping and assaulting the worker of a hot pot restaurant in Bellevue in 2023. The office says the worker’s injuries were so severe that he was in a coma for six weeks, required four skull surgeries, and racked up more than $1 million in medical bills. According to records filed in the case, Wang was connected to a ring smuggling people across the southern border into the U.S. for a fee. Documents state that the worker was supposed to collect and transfer smuggling fees from those who wanted to come into the U.S. but wasn’t collecting as high of a fee as expected. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Wang will likely be deported following his prison term. The case was investigated by the Bellevue Police Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI), and the U.S. Marshal’s Service Task Force.

San Francisco Chronicle [3/4/2025 8:07 PM, Ko Lyn Cheang, 5046K] reports U.S. President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts have targeted some cities and migrants of certain nationalities more than others, a new analysis by the nonpartisan nonprofit Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC, showed. The number of people arrested and detained by federal immigration enforcement since Trump took office has risen modestly, but not at a level indicating Trump is fulfilling his promises to deport the estimated 11 million unauthorized immigrants who live in the U.S. In the first 11 days of the Trump administration, people in San Diego County were issued a higher-than-expected number of notices to appear in immigration court, researchers found by analyzing immigration court data. Notices to appear are documents issued by the Department of Homeland Security as the first step of deportation proceedings. To see if groups saw higher or lower immigration enforcement activity than expected, the researchers compared the nationwide change in notices to appear from the last 19 days of the Biden administration to the first 11 days of the Trump administration to that of the changes in specific counties and among specific nationalities. If a group saw exactly the same level of change as the nationwide trend, researchers concluded those areas had a targeting index of "zero." By that metric, TRAC found Los Angeles County saw zero targeting. Migrants in Alameda County, San Mateo County and Orange County were among those who saw a relative drop in targeting for notices to appear in Trump’s first 11 days in office. Nationwide, Chinese and Indian nationals saw more notices to appear issued to them than expected. Meanwhile, Venezuelan and Cuban immigrants saw fewer than expected notices to appear in court. There was a drop in the daily average number of notices to appear issued after Trump took office, from 2,586 on weekdays from Jan. 1-19 and 1,180 from Jan. 20 to 31, the report found. Trump took office on Jan. 20. Immigration attorneys said the higher than expected numbers in San Diego is likely due to aggressive immigration enforcement targeting the county. The Democrat-led city has become a political target of the Trump administration’s anti-immigration rhetoric.

NBC News [3/4/2025 10:07 PM, Staff, 44742K] Video: HERE reports President Donald Trump talked about the development of a gold card, which would allow foreigners to buy a pathway to U.S. citizenship for $5 million. He went on to compare it to a green card saying the gold card is "more sophisticated."

Washington Times [3/4/2025 10:07 PM, Mallory Wilson, 1814K] reports President Trump touted the immigration "gold card" that will help the United States balance its budget during his address to a joint session of Congress. "These people will have to pay tax in our country," Mr. Trump said Tuesday night. "They’ll also be taking people out of colleges and paying for them so that we can keep them in our country, instead of having them being forced out," he said. "So while we take out the criminals, killers, traffickers and child predators who are allowed to enter our country under the open border policy of these people, the Democrats, the Biden administration — the open border, insane policies that you’ve allowed to destroy our country — we will now bring in brilliant, hard-working, job-creating people," he said. "They’re going to pay a lot of money, and we’re going to reduce our debt with that money.” Mr. Trump first announced the gold card last month and said it will be sold for a whopping $5 million. He said it will give the holder green card privileges and that they will be wealthy and successful.

Miami Herald [3/4/2025 4:37 PM, Syra Ortiz Blanes and Verónica Egui Brito, 3973K] reports beneficiaries of federal programs that have allowed migrants — including many from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela— to come to the United States have sued the Trump administration for ending the legal pathways that let them and hundreds of thousands of others to temporarily live and work in the U.S. The litigation comes amid a tsunami of legal challenges against the Trump administration for ending immigration relief for hundreds of thousands of migrants already in the United States. The plaintiffs in the parole-program case have argued that dismantling the measures is illegal, causes substantial harm and goes against basic humanitarian principles. They also argue that Trump’s interpretation of the parole power the executive branch wields — which Biden used to create the programs — departs from the practice of past presidents, who have long used the authority to respond to migration crises. The complaint requests that the judge declare the parole programs lawful and order immigration authorities to resume processing applications through the programs.

Telemundo Amarillo [3/4/2025 3:35 PM, Staff, 2K] reports Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said cases of fraud and scams targeting the immigrant community in the state have increased since the start of the federal administration led by President Donald Trump. Felipe Rosas, who claims to have been a victim of fraud, said that the person he hired to assist him with his immigration procedures was only charging him money and he was not receiving any help. For her part, immigration lawyer Doralina Luna, says that most victims of fraud or scams do not report the crime for fear of being deported. Unfortunately, cases in which the immigrant community is the victim of a crime and does not report it are seen more and more frequently, Luna said. The prosecutor said that the people who commit the fraud offer to get you a visa or ensure your citizenship status and then that person runs away with the money and does not fulfill what they promised. She added that victims of this type of scam can and should report them.

New York Times [3/4/2025 2:55 PM, Peter Eavis, 145325K] reports the sweeping tariffs on Canadian, Mexican and Chinese products that President Trump imposed on Tuesday could strain the system that collects import duties and the government agencies that enforce those fees, trade and legal experts said. Adding to the challenge is the sheer volume of goods subject to the new tariffs — U.S. imports from China, Mexico and Canada totaled over $1.3 trillion last year, or about two-fifths of all imports. The tariffs apply a 25 percent duty on goods from Mexico and Canada and an additional 10 percent on imports from China. Importers typically employ customs brokers to calculate and pay tariffs to the government agency that collects them, U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Adam Lewis, a co-founder and the president of Clearit, a customs broker, said that it would not be hard to tweak software to collect the new tariffs, but that a crucial part of the tariffs payment system might need significant adjustments. Importers must buy a “customs bond,” a type of insurance that guarantees the duties will be paid. Mr. Lewis said some customers might have to increase the size of their bonds to cover the extra tariff payments. In addition, policing importers for tariff evasion will now become a much bigger task for Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Justice. Some importers may try to avoid tariffs by understating the cost of goods in customs declarations or by falsely claiming they were imported from countries not subject to tariffs.

CBS Austin [3/4/2025 12:56 PM, Jackson Walker, 602K] reports that United States Border Patrol on Saturday shared via X it recorded the fewest ever encounters at the Southwest border in President Donald Trump’s first full month in office. The agency recorded just 8,326 encounters in February 2025. That figure had risen as high as 301,981 in December 2024 under the Biden administration. Trump took to Truth Social to cheer the findings. "The month of February, my first full month in Office, had the LOWEST number of Illegal Immigrants trying to enter our Country in History – BY FAR!" he wrote. "This means that very few people came – The Invasion of our Country is OVER.” In comparison, under Joe Biden, there were 300,000 Illegals crossing in one month, and virtually ALL of them were released into our Country," Trump added. "Thanks to the Trump Administration Policies, the Border is CLOSED to all Illegal Immigrants. Anyone who tries to illegally enter the U.S.A. will face significant criminal penalties and immediate deportation. Also reacting was Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. "The world is hearing our message: do not come to our country illegally," she wrote. "If you do, we will find you, arrest you, and send you back. Thank you President @realDonaldTrump for your strong leadership and to our brave @CBP officers and agents for keeping America safe. We’re just getting started."

Border Report [3/4/2025 5:05 PM, Fernie Ortiz, 117K] reports a new batch of National Guard members has the authority to arrest migrants. Chief Patrol Agent Lloyd Easterling, of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Big Bend Sector, deputized members of the Texas Army National Guard, administering the oath of office during a ceremony on Monday at the Alpine Station in Alpine, Texas. The new designation will allow Guard members to enforce federal immigration laws under Title 8. Before Monday, their main roles were to gather intelligence, observe and provide logistical support. According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection news release, the soldiers now have the authority to apprehend and detain migrants for being in the country illegally and other immigration offenses under the direction and supervision of a U.S. Border Patrol agent. On Thursday, El Paso Sector Interim Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar deputized 60 National Guard members along the border wall in El Paso. A Texas Department of Public Safety official told KTSM that the soldiers will be stationed wherever needed. Chief Patrol Agent Jesse D. Muñoz, of the Laredo Sector, will deputize another group of Texas National Guard soldiers on Wednesday in Laredo, Texas.

Reported similarly:
CBS 7 [3/4/2025 3:50 PM, Staff, 4K]

Border Report [3/4/2025 2:24 PM, Melissa Luna, 117K] reports that a 24-year-old man was arrested on Sunday, March 2, at the Presidio Port of Entry after officers seized over 25 pounds of cocaine hidden within the floorboard of an SUV, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). CBP says the seizure was made just after 4 p.m. that Sunday when a vehicle driven by a man, a U.S. citizen, arrived from Mexico. Presidio is about 200 miles southeast of El Paso. Officers conducted a secondary exam of the SUV and found 10 cocaine-filled bundles, weighing a total of 27 pounds, hidden within the floorboard, according to CBP. A CBP drug-sniffing dog also alerted to the vehicle and an X-ray scan of the vehicle also detected anomalies in the floorboard area, according to CBP. The man was arrested and turned over to Homeland Security Investigations and is facing federal charges associated with the failed smuggling attempt, CBP said. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reported similarly:
Yahoo! News [3/4/2025 10:30 AM, Gabriella Meza, 52868K]

NBC News [3/4/2025 5:44 PM, Suzanne Gamboa, 44742K] reports in early January, as the days of the Biden administration wound down and the Trump era loomed, five dozen Border Patrol agents deployed to predominantly Latino Kern County, some 300 miles from the California-Mexico border, and began what they say was a targeted search for criminal immigrants. But attorneys for some who were subjected to their tactics that week said it was a "fishing expedition" targeting people of a certain skin color, regardless of citizenship and status. In a lawsuit filed on Feb. 26, they allege that agents abused their power, made arrests without warrants and used trickery to get people to agree to leave the country. These actions left the region shaken, they said. The arrests were carried out 300 miles from the California-Mexico border, well beyond the 100 air miles from the border that Border Patrol has claimed as the zone where it can conduct warrantless searches. The Los Angeles Times, citing three former Biden administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, reported last week that El Centro sector Border Patrol chief agent Gregory Bovino "went rogue" with the operation and did it without knowledge of higher-ups. NBC News reached out to Customs and Border Protection, which includes Border Patrol, to ask about the allegations. The emailed response, attributed to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, stated that Border Patrol enforcement actions are "highly targeted."

Bloomberg [3/4/2025 8:45 AM, Staff, 1492K] reports the federal union that represents Canada’s front-line customs and immigration officers says it’s worried about staffing levels at the Canada Border Services Agency as the country responds to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats. Trump’s executive order to implement 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian products, with a lower 10 per cent levy on energy, are set to kick in Tuesday. Despite Canada’s efforts to meet Trump’s demands to boost border security and launch a weeks-long diplomatic push by Canadian officials in Washington, Trump said Monday that the tariffs will take effect as planned. Mark Weber, national president of the Customs and Immigration Union, said the agency is now short about 2,000 front-line officers. Weber said the CBSA is short-staffed at some ports of entry and "desperately needs" another training centre. "Currently, the CBSA only has the one training centre which can pump out under 600 new recruits a year, which is about what our attrition is," he said. "With only that one training centre, it becomes really difficult to ever get your numbers up.” The federal government website says the Canada Border Services Agency employs 17,226 public servants. Around 8,500 staff are front-line personnel. In 2021, the CBSA had approximately 15,500 staff, including roughly 8,100 front-line employees. In 2012, the agency had around 13,000 employees and about 7,200 front-line officers. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said earlier this month the federal government needs to hire at least 2,000 border agents. He also said the CBSA’s powers should be extended to cover the entire border, not just border crossings — something the union has requested. The union also has raised concerns about budget cuts as part of the government’s efforts to refocus federal spending. The CBSA says it saw a net decrease in its allotment of $48.5 million between 2024 and 2025, mostly due to that government spending review. Weber said he hopes the "renewed focus" on the border will encourage the government to increase staffing. While he said he’s optimistic about the government’s new $1.3-billion border plan, he added it’s not clear how much of the money will go to staffing.

Los Angeles Times [3/4/2025 6:00 AM, Kate Linthicum, 52868K] reports it wasn’t long ago that record numbers of migrants were claiming asylum at the U.S. southern border, overwhelming federal agents and backlogging the immigration courts. Now the border is the quietest it’s been in years, largely because the Trump administration has stopped processing asylum claims there — and pushed that responsibility farther south. Mexico has seen more asylum applications over the last several weeks than at any time in recent memory, its refugee agency thronged by recent U.S. deportees, as well as migrants who were headed north but wound up stranded by President Trump’s crackdown. The Mexican government has not released recent data on asylum claims, but an official familiar with the figures said that the numbers are three to four times greater than before Trump was elected in November, with as many as 1,000 migrants a day starting the process. The surge underscores the ways Trump’s border policies are putting new pressure on Mexico. Previously a country where migrants simply passed through en route to the United States, it is increasingly seen as a Plan B for those who don’t make it or have been deported and feel they cannot return to their homelands. But there are growing fears that Mexico’s asylum system is unprepared to deal with the increase. And matters have been made worse by the Trump administration’s 90-day freeze on U.S. humanitarian aid. Around $2 billion in annual U.S. aid destined for Latin America and the Caribbean is now on hold, forcing nonprofit shelters, legal aid providers and other groups that work with migrants in Mexico to lay off staff members or suspend their operations at a time when they are needed most. The freeze is also expected to result in cuts to Mexico’s refugee agency, which was indirectly funded with U.S. money channeled through the United Nations. "This is worse than anything I’ve ever seen," said Gretchen Kuhner, director of the Institute for Women in Migration, a Mexico-based nonprofit that advocates for migrants, referring to both the shift in U.S. border policy and the sudden withdrawal of aid. "There’s just a lot of frustration and confusion.”

Yahoo! News [3/4/2025 12:39 PM, Jess Shannon, 52868K] reports that Transportation Security Administration officers have intercepted another gun at the Pittsburgh International Airport on Sunday. The gun was in a Kentucky man’s carry-on items while he was going through the checkpoint screening process. TSA said the 9mm handgun was loaded with 17 bullets, including one in the chamber. It was packaged alongside an additional 18 bullets. "It is concerning when someone shows up at one of our checkpoints with a loaded gun," said Gerardo Spero, TSA’s Federal Security Director for Pennsylvania. "But what is even more concerning is that there was a bullet in the chamber.” This is the 9th gun intercepted at PIT since the beginning of the year.

WNCN [3/4/2025 4:47 PM, Hannah Leyva] reports across the first two months of 2025, Transportation Security Administration officers have detected 50 firearms — all loaded — at checkpoints at North Carolina airports. According to TSA, that’s 18 more than were found in the same period in the state in 2024. In addition to all 50 being found loaded, 26 of them had "a round chambered at the time of detection", TSA said. The majority of the weapons — 27 — were found at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, NC’s largest transportation hub. Raleigh-Durham International Airport had the second-highest number of firearms found at 14, followed by Asheville Regional Airport with four and Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro with three. One weapon each was found at Wilmington International and Coastal Carolina Regional in New Bern, TSA said. The number of firearms found at CLT so far put them fifth in the nation for the first two months of the year. Last year, a total of 117 were found at Charlotte’s airport, ranking them 13th across the nation. While the number found so far at RDU is more than the amount detected in the same period in 2024, it matches the same number found in January and February of 2023. But the increase across the state "underscores the continued need for public education and increased awareness about the rules and regulations governing firearm transport through airports", TSA said in a news release.

The Hill [3/4/2025 1:41 PM, Rachel Frazin, 12829K] reports that Rep. Dale Strong (R-Ala.) outlined several possible ideas for overhauling the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) during a House hearing on Tuesday. Strong, the chair of the emergency management subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee, put forward ideas including moving FEMA out of the Department of Homeland Security and "making it an independent agency with direct access to the President of the United States." He also suggested narrowing the agency’s mission away from assisting with immigrant and refugee resettlement. And he floated finding a "more appropriate structure of burden-sharing between federal government and state and local government" as states become "increasingly reliant on FEMA" after disasters. Strong noted in his opening statement that he was looking for feedback from stakeholders during the hearing on the "future of FEMA." It’s not entirely clear how such FEMA reforms could come about — given that most legislation passed by Congress requires some Democratic approval in the Senate. President Trump, meanwhile, has set up a "FEMA review council" that seeks to assess reform proposals.

Los Angeles Times [3/4/2025 1:38 PM, Jeff Martin and Jack Brook, 13342K] reports that powerful storms tore roofs off an apartment building and a nursing home in a small town in Oklahoma and threatened more communities across the country Tuesday with weather ranging from fire in the Southern High Plains to blizzards in the Midwest. Dust storms blinded drivers in the Southwest, tornadoes were possible in the South and blizzard conditions descended on the Central Plains. In New Orleans, high winds were forcing some changes to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The alarming weather expected Tuesday could be one of the first big tests for the National Weather Service after hundreds of forecasters were fired last week as part of President Trump’s moves to slash the size of the federal government. Former employees said the firing of meteorologists who make crucial local forecasts across the U.S. could put lives at risk, though it was too soon to know the effects on forecasts and warnings for this storm. Storms that swept through Texas and Oklahoma early Tuesday brought high winds and rain, overturning tractor-trailers and damaging roofs. Power outages were climbing Tuesday morning in the storm’s wake, with nearly 400,000 customers without power in Texas and another 25,000 knocked offline in Oklahoma, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide. The week’s strong weather system will also bring "a threat of blizzard conditions, high winds, flash flooding, severe weather, dust storms and critical to extreme fire weather conditions to the nation’s heartland," the National Weather Service said. The dust storms brought near-zero visibility to parts of New Mexico and west Texas on Monday, prompting the National Weather Service to issue dust storm warnings. On Tuesday, twisters, damaging winds and large hail were all possible as the strong storm system began moving across the nation’s midsection into Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, the federal Storm Prediction Center warned. Tornado watches and warnings were issued Tuesday morning in Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas.

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [3/4/2025 12:38 PM, Matthew Cappucci, Ian Livingston, and Ben Noll 31735K]

NPR [3/4/2025 8:52 PM, Ayana Archie, 22K] reports a widespread storm is moving through the U.S., bringing extreme conditions to various regions, including blizzards, wildfires and tornadoes. The National Weather Service (NWS) has warned that parts of Texas, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and New Mexico are at risk of wildfires due to warm and dry conditions. Conversely, in areas that are warm and moist, there is a risk of severe thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes and heavy rainfall through Wednesday. This includes regions stretching from Louisiana and Arkansas to the Carolinas and further south, including Georgia and Florida. In the western U.S., the weather service expects significant rainfall and one to two feet of snow at high elevations, such as the Sierra and Rocky Mountain ranges. Blizzard warnings have been issued in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota through Wednesday. The NWS predicts six to 12 inches of snow from Iowa to upper Michigan. In the Midwest, temperatures are expected to be higher than usual, and these warm conditions are forecasted to move further east on Wednesday.

AP [3/4/2025 4:44 PM, Gary D. Robertson] reports North Carolina state Senate Republicans advanced a disaster recovery measure Tuesday to direct $533 million in additional spending to meet still-pressing needs from Hurricane Helene’s historic flooding and destruction last fall, but it also locates more relief funding for earlier storms. The legislation that cleared the Senate’s budget-writing committee is wider in scope than a $500 million relief package approved unanimously last week by the House that focused on Helene’s destruction in western North Carolina. Spending provisions within the Senate proposal locates an additional $217 million to complete lingering home construction projects for victims of Hurricanes Matthew in 2016 and Florence in 2018 in eastern North Carolina. The package also lays the groundwork to assist farmers who suffered agricultural losses last year — not just from Helene but also from drought and tornadoes. A Senate floor vote on the chamber’s bill was expected Wednesday. While House Republicans also are advancing agricultural assistance and Matthew and Florence relief in other measures, top House and Senate leaders later Tuesday said they believed they could agree upon a final supplemental disaster relief bill quickly — possibly by the end of the week — then send it to Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s desk.

Asheville Citizen Times [3/4/2025 5:20 PM, Iris Seaton] reports all wildfires across North Carolina’s National Forests have been contained or mostly contained, according to a 1:45 p.m. news release from the U.S. Forest Service on March 4. The Falls Dam Fire, Ramshorn Fire and Hicks Cemetery fires in N.C. National Forests covered about 765 acres in total. The news release informed the public that the three fires, as well as "all other reported fires," have been contained. Fire crews will continue reinforcing containment lines using natural barriers and improving existing defenses to prevent further spread. Smoke may still be visible in contained areas. While a weather system moving in tonight, March 4, and lasting through tomorrow, March 5, will further elevate fire risk, the Forest Service expects precipitation and rising humidity to "moderate conditions and fire behavior in coming days."

Newsweek [3/4/2025 12:41 PM, Anna Skinner, 52220K] reports that hundreds of wildfires broke out across North and South Carolina over the weekend, but most have been contained or controlled, according to maps from the North Carolina Forest Service and the South Carolina Forestry Commission (SCFC). As of Tuesday morning, one active fire remains burning in South Carolina, in Horry County near Myrtle Beach. All other fires that ignited across the state have been contained or controlled. The active fire is 30 percent contained. On Monday, it covered 1,600 acres, but it has since grown to nearly 2,060 acres. SCFC Director of Communications Doug Wood told Newsweek that a fire of that size can take days to extinguish. Wood explained that the SCFC was creating a perimeter around the fire, in which bulldozers remove fuels so that the flames can’t spread. However, sometimes embers can travel through the tree canopy. On Monday, the South Carolina National Guard was conducting fire suppression from helicopters. In North Carolina, the largest fire is burning in Polk County. It is 593 acres in size and 63 percent contained, according to the forest service’s map. Newsweek reached out to the forest service by phone and email for comment. Most of the fires labeled as active across the rest of the state are less than 100 acres in size, though many are 0 percent contained.

Yahoo! News [3/4/2025 7:50 AM, Greg Jordan, 52868K] reports FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance teams have started reaching out in McDowell County by going door-to-door and helping people affected by the Feb. 15 flooding which struck much of southern West Virginia. On Feb. 26, Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced that President Trump had approved his request for Individual Assistance in McDowell, Mercer, Mingo and Wyoming counties. Another nine counties in that request — Raleigh, Greenbrier, Summers, Wayne, Boone, Cabell, Kanawha, Lincoln and Logan – are still being considered by FEMA. FEMA’s Individual Assistance program provides funds to individuals facing major damage to their homes or property. This declaration also gives all West Virginia counties the opportunity to participate in the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which can provide resources to alleviate or reduce future flooding and help public service districts with wastewater treatment and other long-term hazard reduction projects. The FEMA representatives going door-to-door in McDowell County can help flood victims register for FEMA assistance, check the status of applications and make minor corrections to applications, according to agency officials. Residents of McDowell, Mercer, Mingo and Wyoming counties are eligible to apply for FEMA assistance to help with recovery from the winter floods that began on Feb. 15, 2025. People do not need to wait for Disaster Survivor Assistance teams to apply for FEMA assistance.

Axios [3/4/2025 6:20 AM, Thomas Wheatley, 13163K] reports a red-hot wildfire season has begun in Georgia, and state forestry officials are urging residents to exercise extreme caution when lighting a match. Though less prevalent than large-scale blazes in California and the Northwest, wildfires are a serious risk in Georgia from February to May, particularly in the rural and mountainous parts of the state. An all-consuming wildfire would be a one-two punch for Georgia’s forest industry after Hurricane Debby and Helene sliced through the state. During the weekend, almost 500 blazes burned through more than 6,000 acres across the state, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission. In the Carolinas, hundreds of people were forced to evacuate as dozens of wildfires consumed areas near Myrtle Beach and the Blue Ridge Mountains. The days ahead show less risk for blazes, the GFC said. But low humidity, coupled with dry vegetation and winds, are a recipe for fires to spark and spread. The whole state of Georgia has "above normal" potential for significant wildfire events in March, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. "Any spark that takes hold outdoors is capable of igniting a large wildfire," Georgia Forestry Commission Protection Chief Thomas Barrett said in a statement. "That means one ember from a backyard leaf pile, grill, or campfire can spark a dangerous fire. Also hot machinery on dry grasses or a tossed cigarette." "Human involvement is the reason behind these fires and the answer to preventing them as well." Even if the fire isn’t burning next door, wildfires have an impact. They can spark insurance rate hikes (or cause companies to decline coverage). The smoke from blazes can also pose serious health concerns for people with lung conditions. A recent study found that people exposed to smoke have a much greater risk of developing dementia.

CNN [3/4/2025 10:07 PM, Mary Gilbert, et al., 908K] reports a powerful storm is moving across the country and spawning multiple fires and severe thunderstorms with hurricane-force wind gusts and tornadoes that are knocking out power and causing damage Tuesday. At least two people have been reported dead due to storm-related incidents. Stretching from border to border, the storm in the central US is strengthening as it goes and putting tens of millions of people at risk of severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and fire weather on its warm, southern side, and blizzard conditions on its cold side in the Plains and Midwest. Severe thunderstorms caused significant damage to buildings and created hazardous conditions Tuesday morning across several cities in Texas – including the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area – and Oklahoma. The Benjamin Moore paint plant in Lewisville, Texas, was damaged “in the early hours this morning, prior to any of our employees being on the property,” its spokesperson Kimberly Flores told CNN. “None of our employees were injured and we are currently assessing the damage and implications to our operating procedure.” Strong winds also brought down trees and power lines around 5:30 a.m., leaving debris strewn across roadways and neighborhoods, according to the city’s office of emergency management. Images shared by local businesses showed damaged vehicles and large amounts of debris near commercial properties, but police told CNN there have been no reports of injuries in Lewisville thus far. In nearby Irving, Texas, police confirmed significant storm damage, including downed power lines. The Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office in Jourdanton, Texas urged people to avoid an area about 30 miles south of San Antonio: “Fire departments from around the county, as well as ACSO Deputies and DPS Troopers, have responded to multiple house fires in the area of Old Pleasanton Road and Big Leaf Road that are being driven by high winds.”

Reported similarly:
CBS Austin [3/4/2025 8:50 PM, Jahmal Kennedy, 602K] Video: HERE
Newsweek [3/4/2025 1:50 PM, Joe Edwards, 52220K]
Houston Chronicle [3/4/2025 4:52 PM, John Lomax V, 1769K]

New York Times [3/4/2025 10:07 PM, Madeleine Ngo, Christina Jewett and Rebecca Davis O’Brien, 145325K] reports the Trump administration said on Tuesday that it could sell hundreds of federal properties around the country, including offices for the Social Security Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Officials at the General Services Administration, an agency that manages the federal government’s real estate portfolio, originally said they had identified more than 440 properties that they could “dispose of” in an effort to ensure that “taxpayers no longer pay for empty and underutilized federal office space.” By Tuesday evening, however, the list of buildings deemed “not core to government operations” had been trimmed to 320 properties, removing a number of high-profile buildings, many of them in Washington, D.C. Still, the effort amounted to an aggressive attempt by the Trump administration to offload a vast amount of federal property, and it immediately raised questions about how the move could affect government services across the country and federal workers who have been ordered to return to the office. It also advanced a major priority for Elon Musk’s government overhaul operation, known as the Department of Government Efficiency, which has fixated on eliminating “underutilized” federal office space. The original list had included the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice building and the J. Edgar Hoover Building, the F.B.I. headquarters. The administration had also identified the headquarters for the Department of Health and Human Services, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Energy Department, the Labor Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and even the General Services Administration. Large office buildings used by the Agriculture Department and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission were included. The revised list no longer includes those buildings. A spokeswoman for the agency did not provide an immediate comment on the changes. The revised list of buildings to potentially sell includes a number of federal office buildings with more than one million square feet each. The properties are not currently on the market, but the ledger reflects the administration’s intent to sell off government-owned real estate. The General Services Administration will consider and evaluate all serious offers, according to an agency spokeswoman.

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [3/4/2025 8:28 PM, Aaron Wiener, Joe Heim and Rachel Weiner, 31735K]

CBS Boston [3/4/2025 8:11 PM, Staff, 51661K] reports the Trump Administration has put out a list of buildings which could be sold to cut government costs. The properties include the John F. Kennedy and Tip O’Neill Federal Buildings in Boston. The U.S. General Services Administration listed nine Massachusetts buildings as "non-core properties for disposal.” The GSA said it currently owns 440 non-core assets across the country and many of the buildings are obsolete and "unsuitable for use by our federal workforce.” "We can no longer hope that funding will emerge to resolve these longstanding issues," the GSA said in a statement Tuesday. "GSA’s decisive action to dispose of non-core assets leverages the private sector, drives improvements for our agency customers, and best serves local communities.” The GSA said divesting the non-core assets from government ownership could potentially save more than $430 million in annual operating costs. Key tenants of the JFK Federal Building in Boston include the offices of Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Edward Markey, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Social Security Administration, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Internal Revenue Service. The O’Neill Federal Building on Causeway Street in Boston has offices for the U.S. Department of State, Homeland Security, Federal Protective Service and the Boston Passport Agency.

CBS Austin [3/4/2025 8:06 AM, Sydney Keller, 602K] reports a Middle Tennessee man has been accused of plotting a bomb attack on a courthouse and federal building in Nashville. Alexander F. Thompson, 35, of Brentwood, was arrested Monday for allegedly making several "electronic threats involving plans to firebomb" the Fred D. Thompson U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building, Metro Police report. The threats said the downtown Nashville building would be targeted within the following two weeks, police add. Detectives were made aware of the threats Sunday night when they were made through emails and social media posts, with all accounts belonging to Thompson, police say. He was arrested at his work in Goodlettsville, Tennessee where he "admitted" to his involvement in the threatening messages and "an intent to carry through on the threats.” He has since been charged with terrorism and false reporting. He is in custody where he awaits a $100,000 bond. This is an ongoing investigation.

Reuters [3/5/2025 12:06 AM, Jeff Mason, 41523K] reports President Donald Trump used his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday to unveil a new member of the U.S. Secret Service -- a 13-year-old brain cancer survivor named DJ. Trump said the boy, DJ Daniel, who was dressed in a Houston police uniform and sitting with his father in the gallery of the House of Representatives for the speech, had always dreamed of becoming a police officer. "In 2018 DJ was diagnosed with brain cancer. The doctors gave him five months at most to live. That was more than six years ago," Trump said, to loud applause from the room. Since then, Trump said, DJ had been sworn in as an honorary law enforcement officer a number of times. "Police departments love him. And tonight, DJ, we’re going to do you the biggest honor of them all. I am asking our new Secret Service director, Sean Curran, to officially make you an agent of the United States Secret Service.” The boy’s eyes grew wide with surprise and his father lifted him up. Curran handed him what appeared to be a Secret Service credential, which the boy held up for the crowd to see, and then promptly put his arms around Curran’s shoulders in a hug.

NBC News [3/5/2025 1:51 AM, Dennis Romero, 52868K] reports twenty-five Canadian suspects are charged with bilking American elders of $21 million as part of a "grandparent scam," according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday. All 25, said to have operated out of Montreal and resided there or elsewhere in the province of Quebec, were charged with wire fraud in a case alleging they were part of a tech-savvy operation that victimized hundreds of U.S. retirees, the U.S. attorney for Vermont said in a statement. Thomas Demeo, special agent in charge of the Boston field office of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, said the defendants were part of a "transnational criminal enterprise with the sole intent of defrauding hundreds of retirees of their life savings by preying on their emotions and deceiving them into thinking that their loved ones were in peril." Twenty-three of the 25 suspects were arrested in Canada on Tuesday, according to the statement. Two remain at large; the statement didn’t indicate where they are believed to be. Prosecutors said defendants used a narrative known to law enforcement as the "grandparent scam": A grandparent is called and urged to send thousands of dollars to bail out a teenage or adult grandchild who was in a vehicle collision and then arrested. As part of the story, victims are told that the grandchild’s case is under a strict gag order and that they’re prohibited from telling anyone about their request for money, prosecutors said. Investigators found victims in 40 states, from Alabama to Wyoming, according to the indictment and the statement. While federal prosecutors estimated the operation’s earnings at $21 million, it wasn’t clear what individual victims lost. The federal grand jury indictment, filed under seal Feb. 20 in Vermont, where some of the victims live, includes an additional charge of money laundering for five of the suspects, who are alleged to have tried to hide the origins of their gains, the document said. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney in Vermont didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night.

KFOR [3/4/2025 2:38 PM, Terré Gables] reports authorities in Owasso are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man in a counterfeit currency investigation. Police asking for public’s help to identify man in counterfeit currency investigation, Image courtesy Owasso Police Department Facebook page. The Owasso Police Department says, the person is involved in a investigation related to an alleged uttering of counterfeit currency.

Miami Herald [3/4/2025 11:22 AM, Luke McCormick, 3973K] reports that a female passenger from the Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas vessel went overboard on the very first day at sea for the 80s Cruise. Musical acts like Tiffany, Men at Work, Squeeze, and Adam Ant are scheduled to perform for the nostalgic voyage. Numerous sources told The Hollywood Reporter a search began late evening, around 11 p.m. on March 3, for a woman who went overboard. No cause of the passenger incident was clear. The report went on to say the Explorer of the Sea ship eventually continued with its planned route for The 80s Cruise while the U.S. Coast Guard continued a search operation for the overboard passenger. "Our crew immediately launched a search and rescue effort, is working with local authorities, and we are providing support and assistance to the guest’s family during this difficult time. To respect the privacy of our guest’s family, we have no additional details to share," a Royal Caribbean representative told the outlet. An anonymous ship passenger told the outlet the incident occurred at the end of the evening when Squeeze was on stage. "There was an announcement over the PA saying someone went overboard so the ship was going to stop and turn around to try and locate the person," they said.

Yahoo! News [3/4/2025 7:13 AM, Abid Rahman, 52868K] reports a woman went overboard from the Royal Caribbean ship the Explorer of the Seas during the first day of The 80s Cruise, a nostalgia cruise featuring musical acts such as Squeeze, Adam Ant, Tiffany and Men at Work. Multiple sources aboard Explorer of the Seas confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that a search operation involving several ships was conducted after a woman went overboard around 11 p.m. on March 3. It is unclear what caused the incident. Sources say the Explorer of the Seas continued on with its planned journey with the U.S. Coast Guard taking over the search operation. THR communicated with one passenger, who wished to remain anonymous, about what happened. "[The incident] happened around 11 p.m. Squeeze was the band playing last night. There was an announcement over the PA saying someone went overboard so the ship was going to stop and turn around to try and locate the person.” The passenger added, "[The] ship was stopped for a few hours. Safety boats were deployed with floodlights to illuminate the surrounding area. Another cruise ship nearby had its floodlights on searching as well. My wife spoke with some people on one of the decks saying they heard that it was a woman and it was caught on camera. Can’t confirm though. Eventually the ship powered up and off we went. This morning a PA announcement said that the US Coast Guard had taken over the search. We arrived at Nassau, Bahamas a few hours behind schedule. No excursions were canceled. Haven’t heard anything since.” In a thread, X user Casey Markee tweeted, "Currently on the #RCL Explorer of the Seas for the #80scruise. Unfortunately, we have a "woman overboard’ situation and boats have been deployed. We are currently 80+ miles from Miami at 11pm PST. Not good.” In a followup tweet, Markee tweeted, "It looks like the woman "jumped" from the balcony of her 8th floor room after an argument with her partner. This is our 15th cruise, and the first time we’ve actually experienced this.” Additionally, an X user named Alan Smith tweeted, "Person overboard on Royal Carribean Explorer of the Seas. On the 80s Cruise. Just saw a great show by Squeeze, then it was announced a person is overboard. Ship is stopped and searching. Other nearby ships helping.”

MeriTalk [3/4/2025 12:43 PM, Andrew Rice, 45K] reports that the House voted on March 3 to approve a bill requiring the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Department of Defense (DoD) to take steps to prevent cybersecurity vulnerabilities posed by Federal contractors. The Federal Contractor Cybersecurity Vulnerability Reduction Act of 2025 requires OMB and DoD to require all Federal contractors to implement vulnerability disclosure policies consistent with guidelines from the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST). The bill enjoyed bipartisan support in the House with Reps. Nacy Mace, R-S.C., and Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, as cosponsors. "My bill would close a crucial vulnerability and protect our nation from malicious actors who seek to steal our data and harm our citizens," Mace said during debate on the House floor Monday. The bill tells OMB and DoD to make recommendations to its contractors based on the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and to update contract requirements and language for contractor vulnerability disclosures. "Federal contractors with access to government systems and data should have the same safeguards in place as the government itself, ensuring Federal systems and data are protected and security vulnerabilities are addressed," Mace said. "Until these vulnerability disclosure policies are adopted across the entire Federal digital ecosystem, our nation’s data and security is at risk," Mace said.

ABC News [3/5/2025 2:56 AM, Jon Haworth, 34586K] reports the U.S. embassy in Somalia has warned Americans that they are tracking "credible information" regarding potentially imminent terror attacks "against multiple locations in Somalia including Mogadishu’s Aden Adde International Airport," officials said. The U.S. embassy in Somalia’s capital city of Mogadishu said that all movements of embassy personnel have been canceled until further notice in a statement released on Tuesday. "The U.S. Department of State level four travel advisory ("do not travel") for Somalia remains in effect due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest, health issues, kidnapping, and piracy," U.S. officials said. "The U.S. Embassy in Somalia reminds U.S. citizens that terrorists continue to plot kidnappings, bombings, and other attacks in Somalia," the statement continued. "They may conduct attacks with little or no warning, targeting airports and seaports, checkpoints, government buildings, hotels, restaurants, shopping areas, and other areas where large crowds gather and Westerners frequent, as well as government, military, and Western convoys.” Shortly after Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the United States used manned fighter jets to conduct an airstrike against Islamic State targets in Somalia in early February. President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the airstrike, claiming no civilians were harmed in the attack. No details were released about the targets aside from the president labeling the target as a "Senior ISIS Attack Planner.” Hegseth said the airstrikes were carried out "at President Trump’s direction and in coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia.” The embassy warned that potential methods of attack include, but are not limited to, car bombs, suicide bombers, individual attackers and mortar fire.

New York Times [3/4/2025 12:04 AM, John Ismay and Azmat Khan, 145325K] reports Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is moving to terminate Pentagon offices and positions that focus on preventing and responding to civilian harm during U.S. combat operations, according to three defense officials. Employees at the Pentagon’s Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response office, which deals with policy matters related to limiting the risk to noncombatants, were informed on Monday that their office would be closed, the officials said. They were also told that the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, which handles training and procedures, would close as well. The Pentagon is likely to cut all positions at combatant commands around the world, like Central Command and Africa Command, that work to mitigate and assess risks to civilians during airstrikes and other military operations. It is unclear whether Mr. Hegseth is rescinding the Pentagon’s policy instruction, which requires that possible risks to civilians are considered in combat planning and operations. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive policy changes. If enforced, the decision would eliminate jobs for more than 160 Defense Department employees. The Office of the Secretary of Defense referred questions about Mr. Hegseth’s decision to close these programs to the Army, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding those developments on Tuesday. In President Trump’s first week back in office, the Army asked Pentagon leadership to rescind the policy instruction, relieve the service of its responsibility for the Center of Excellence and to ask Congress to abolish the office. The laws of armed conflict require the protection of civilians in war zones, and senior commanders draft rules of engagement for their forces to comply with them.

The Hill [3/4/2025 1:20 PM, Alexander Bolton, 12829K] reports that Republican members of the Senate Armed Services Committee led by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) grilled Elbridge Colby, President Trump’s pick to serve as undersecretary of Defense for policy, over his evolving stances on Iran, Taiwan and NATO allies. Republican senators have privately raised concerns over Colby’s past statements, specifically what they interpret as his past desire to shift U.S. national security focus away from the Middle East and Europe and toward Taiwan and China. Senate GOP sources say that Colby’s nomination may get less deference from Republican senators now that the Senate has confirmed most controversial Trump’s Cabinet picks, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. GOP senators are particularly alarmed over Colby’s past suggestion that the United States could tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran and that it would not be in the nation’s interest to launch military operations to destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons infrastructure. Republican members of the Armed Services Committee also pressed Colby on what some view as his softening stance on defending Taiwan, given what the nominee has called an emerging military capabilities imbalance between China, which now has the world’s largest maritime fighting force, and the United States, which faces defense spending cuts.

The Hill [3/4/2025 10:07 AM, Alexander Bolton, 12829K] reports that former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is warning that failure to reach a spending deal with critical adjustments for federal spending levels and priorities would be a "recipe for disaster" because it would hamstring the Pentagon’s ability to respond to changing national security threats. McConnell warned that a yearlong continuing resolution, which would essentially keep in place the funding levels and priorities of the fiscal 2024 appropriations bills, would leave the nation ill-prepared to counter Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and other adversaries. "Never in recent history has Washington forced the U.S. military to spend a full year applying yesterday’s budget to tomorrow’s challenges. Today, we’re closer than ever to making ignoble history on this front," he wrote in a Washington Post op-ed, referring to the growing momentum on Capitol Hill for passing a yearlong continuing resolution in the absence of a budget deal for the long-delayed 2025 spending bills. McConnell argued that defaulting to a yearlong spending stopgap would fail to keep pace with inflation and force the military to prepare for "next year’s threats at this year’s prices.

Yahoo! News [3/5/2025 2:59 AM, Martin Fornusek, 52868K] reports President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer might visit Washington as early as next week to present a "united front" on peace in Ukraine, the British tabloid Daily Mail reported on March 5, citing undisclosed diplomatic sources. The meeting would follow Zelensky’s televised clash with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Feb. 28, which derailed the planned signing of a mineral deal and preceded Washington’s decision to halt military aid for Ukraine. Macron and Starmer, who visited Washington just days before Zelensky to sway Trump toward playing a role in Ukraine’s post-war stability, have since then sought to mend the rift between Kyiv and the White House. On March 4, the same day he held a phone call with Starmer, Zelensky issued a statement in which he called the Oval Office clash "regrettable" while voicing readiness to work toward peace under Trump’s "strong leadership.” Zelensky also proposed initial steps toward peace, including the release of prisoners and a ceasefire in the air and sea, a proposal that was previously mentioned by Macron. During his address to Congress, Trump said he "appreciates" Zelensky’s statement but made no direct comment on the aid freeze or the proposed truce. The leaders of Ukraine, France, and the U.K. are hoping to discuss the plan with Trump during their potential visit to Washington, the Daily Mail wrote. The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims. Officials have not publicly commented on a possible trip of the three leaders to the U.S.

Bloomberg [3/4/2025 7:49 AM, Staff, 1492K] reports the U.S. threatened import taxes on Canadian lumber products totaling 52 per cent, raising fears about the industry’s future and increases to U.S. homebuilding costs. The Department of Commerce on Monday proposed almost tripling anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber to 20.07%, according to a document posted to the US International Trade Administration database. There’s already a 6.74% countervailing duty on that wood. The levies are meant to counteract the so-called dumping of low-priced Canadian lumber. Stacking the Commerce Department’s duties and Trump’s tariffs would total 51.81%. Confirmation of the new anti-dumping duty is expected in August, according to Kurt Niquidet, president of the British Columbia Lumber Trade Council. There are rarely differences between preliminary and final determinations, he said. Lumber futures rose on Monday to their highest levels in more than two and a half years, while shares in Canadian lumber companies such as Interfor Corp., West Fraser Timber Co. and Canfor Corp. slumped on the levy news. Softwood lumber has been a decades-old irritant in the trade relationship between the two countries. The US argues Canada subsidizes its loggers by charging cheap fees for harvesting, and has repeatedly slapped duties on Canadian softwood over the years. On Saturday, Trump ordered an investigation into the national security harm posed by wood imports, which could tee up additional import controls. He signed an executive action to expand domestic timber production. Canada supplies as much as 30% of the softwood lumber the US needs and most of the lumber that it imports. "If all of these taxes move forward, it’s hard to see how parts of the Canadian paper and forestry products sector aren’t ravaged," analysts with Bank of Nova Scotia wrote in a note to clients Monday, before the anti-dumping duty increase was announced. If all of these threatened taxes are imposed, "going-concern risk will inevitably rise for marginal mills in Canada," they added. The countervailing duty is also pending a review later this year, but Niquidet said he doesn’t expect it to rise. British Columbia is a prolific lumber harvesting province. "American homes will be more expensive to build and hardworking people in our province will bear the brunt of these unwarranted duties," BC Premier David Eby said in an emailed statement.

CBS News [3/4/2025 6:39 AM, Staff, 51661K] reports Mexican authorities were investigating the killing of a local reporter Monday in the central state of Guanajuato, the country’s homicide leader. The state prosecutor’s office identified the victim only by his first name, but local media outlets said the victim was Kristian Zavala, who covered local goings on in the city of Silao on his Facebook page. Zavala and another person were killed Sunday, according to the office. According local media, Zavala and his companion were shot dead by unknown individuals aboard a vehicle after midnight. It was at least the third killing of a media worker so far this year, though it remained unclear if the motive was connected to his work. The U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists and Mexico’s chapter of Articulo 19 demanded a thorough investigation. Violence in Guanajuato is linked to ongoing conflict between the Santa Rosa de Lima gang and the Jalisco New Generation cartel, one of the most powerful in the Latin American nation. Last month, the Trump administration formally labeled eight cartels as terrorist groups, including the Jalisco cartel. For years, Mexico has been one of the world’s most dangerous countries outside a war zone for journalists. A record number of journalists were killed worldwide in 2024, the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a report released last month. Sometimes authorities say the victim was a journalist, but usually only if it was someone well known. More commonly, press advocacy organizations share the information. The information, however, can vary between sources. In many cases, like that of Zavala, the victims cover very local events using social platforms rather than for a traditional newspaper, television or radio station. In those cases, it’s also common that the coverage is only one of the person’s jobs. They may also drive a taxi or do something else to make ends meet. The same authorities who are looked to for answers in some cases quickly dismiss a journalist’s work as a possible motive or suggest they were involved with unseemly people or business. The number of journalist killings is down, but does that mean it’s safer? No. Mexico had its deadliest year for journalists in 2022 with 13 killings, according to CPJ and Articulo 19. In 2023 and 2024, that fell to half or fewer, but non-lethal attacks shot up.

USA Today [3/4/2025 11:43 PM, Francesca Chambers and Zac Anderson, 75858K] reports President Donald Trump’s flirtation with expansionist foreign policy has taken a backseat recently to his bid to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. But on Tuesday evening during a joint address to Congress, Trump said his administration was taking steps to reclaim the Panama Canal, and he resumed his push for the U.S. to acquire Greenland. “We’re taking it back,” Trump said of the Panama Canal. Of his desire to acquire Greenland, the president said, he supports the right of the Danish territory’s people to determine their own future. But he added in an aside: “I think we’re going to get it. One way or the other, we’re going to get it.” Trump’s frequent assertion that Canada should become America’s 51st state wasn’t mentioned, but he did tout his executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. The president’s designs on Greenland, the Panama Canal and Canada have been an early theme of his presidency, prompting consternation from leaders in those countries. Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredriksen said last month that Greenland is not for sale. That hasn’t stopped Trump. "We need Greenland for national security and even international security, and we’re working with everybody involved to try and get it," Trump said Tuesday. Panama President José Raúl Mulino said he won’t negotiate over the canal. “That is done. The canal belongs to Panama," Mulino said. Canadian leaders also have dismissed Trump’s comments about absorbing the country.

AP [3/4/2025 6:17 PM, Jill Lawless, 34586K] reports that the U.S. has been Ukraine’s biggest military backer since Russia’s full-scale invasion began three years ago. The suspension of that aid by the Trump administration doesn’t mean Ukraine’s defenses will quickly collapse. But it’s a major blow that threatens to remove some of the most formidable weapons in Ukraine’s battlefield arsenal and ratchets up pressure on Kyiv to accept a peace agreement. The United States has given the Ukrainians more than $180 billion in assistance since Russia launched an all-out war on Feb. 24, 2022, including more than $66.5 billion in military aid. Washington provides about 20% of Ukraine’s military supplies, and that fifth includes the most lethal and important equipment, including longer-range missiles and Patriot air defense systems that can shoot down the most powerful Russian projectiles. American military assistance also goes far beyond weapons and ammunition. Ukrainian troops rely on satellite communications systems supplied by Elon Musk’s Starlink to communicate on the front line, and on American intelligence to track Russian troop movements and select targets for Ukrainian strikes. If the U.S. stops sharing data from satellites and other assets, it would badly affect Ukraine’s capability to strike back at Russia, and Ukraine’s other allies lack the resources to fill the gap.

CNN [3/4/2025 8:18 PM, Nick Paton Walsh, Rob Picheta, and Lauren Kent, 52868K] reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his Oval Office meeting last week with US President Donald Trump "did not go the way it was supposed to," describing the fiery meeting as "regrettable" and noting that Ukraine is ready to negotiate about an end to the conflict. "I would like to reiterate Ukraine’s commitment to peace," Zelensky said on X, addressing his remarkable sit-down with Trump directly. Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelensky during the meeting, angrily accusing him of "gambling with World War Three" and telling him: "Your country is in big trouble." "Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be," Zelensky wrote in Tuesday’s X post. "It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive." "None of us wants an endless war," he added. "Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts."

Reported similarly:
New York Times [3/4/2025 6:43 AM, Marc Santora, 145325K]
PBS [3/4/2025 6:50 PM, Amna Nawaz, Nick Schifrin and Dan Sagalyn, 10355K] Video: HERE

New York Times [3/4/2025 6:59 AM, Cassandra Vinograd, 145325K] reports the Trump administration’s decision to temporarily suspend the delivery of all military assistance to Ukraine sent shock waves through Europe on Tuesday, even as details about the move remained scant. The decision — which affects more than $1 billion in arms and ammunition in the pipeline and on order — made real a fear that has racked Ukraine since President Trump’s re-election. In the run-up to Mr. Trump’s inauguration, the Biden administration rushed to deliver as much support to Ukraine as it could out of concern that Mr. Trump would cut military assistance. And President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has been working furiously to shore up European support. Mr. Trump’s overtures toward Russia since he took office aggravated those fears — culminating with an explosive confrontation in the Oval Office on Friday between the U.S. leader and Mr. Zelensky. Mr. Trump castigated the Ukrainian president for not being grateful enough for U.S. support in the war with Russia. The decision to suspend aid came out of meetings at the White House on Monday between Mr. Trump and his senior national security aides, according to senior administration and military officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. It appears aimed at forcing Mr. Zelensky to agree to a cease-fire on terms Mr. Trump dictates, or condemns the country to larger battlefield losses. The officials said the directive would be in effect until Mr. Trump determined that Ukraine had demonstrated a good-faith commitment to peace negotiations with Russia. It was not immediately clear what that might look like or how long the suspension will last. For now, it will be up to Kyiv and its European allies to try to keep Ukraine’s guns firing. Mr. Trump’s move has few direct precedents in recent American history. The United States has paused the transfer of specific weapons systems to allies and partners, like when President Joseph R. Biden Jr. suspended deliveries of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel that he feared could be used against civilians in Gaza. But a full cutoff is unusual, and is essentially an ultimatum.

Reuters [3/4/2025 1:14 PM, Emily Rose, 41523K] reports that Israel’s top security agency ignored signs Hamas would attack in October 2023 and was fooled into believing the militant group did not want all-out war, the agency reported in its own inquiry into one of Israel’s most devastating security failures. The Shin Bet’s report was published on Tuesday, five days after the military released the result of an investigation saying it had drastically underestimated Hamas’ capabilities and "failed in its mission to protect Israeli civilians". Hamas fighters from Gaza stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. More than 48,000 people have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza since then, according to Palestinian health officials, with the small enclave largely demolished and most of its 2.3 million people displaced, humanitarian agencies say. Around 400 Israeli soldiers have also been killed. A fragile ceasefire has held in Gaza since January 19. A published summary of Shin Bet’s investigation said that if it "had acted differently in the years preceding the (Hamas) attack and on the night of the attack..., the massacre would have been prevented."

FOX News [3/4/2025 11:59 AM, Stephen Sorace, 46189K] reports that
The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have been designated as a foreign terrorist organization, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Tuesday, fulfilling one of President Donald Trump’s first promises upon taking office. Rubio said the U.S. "will not tolerate" any country that does business with "terrorist organizations like the Houthis." "Today’s action taken by the State Department demonstrates the Trump Administration’s commitment to protecting our national security interests, the safety of the American people, and the security of the United States," Rubio said in the statement. "Terrorist designations play a critical role in our fight against terrorism and are an effective way to curtail support for terrorist activities." The Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks on vessels in the Red Sea following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza. The U.S. military has defended its warships patrolling the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, escorting and preventing attacks on commercial ships by the Houthis. Trump re-designated Yemen’s Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization in January, writing in an executive order that "the Houthis’ activities threaten the security of American civilians and personnel in the Middle East, the safety of our closest regional partners, and the stability of global maritime trade."

Yahoo! News [3/4/2025 11:50 AM, Marc Rod, 52868K] reports that Elbridge Colby, the nominee for undersecretary of defense for policy, said at his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing on Tuesday that he now views a nuclear-armed Iran as an "existential" threat to the United States homeland and said he would provide military options to the administration to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon if necessary. Colby also sought to distance himself from Michael DiMino, who prompted alarm among supporters of Israel after being named deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East. Colby’s comments suggest he’s backtracking on his past views that the U.S. could contain a nuclear-armed Iran, and that the consequences of striking Iran to eliminate its nuclear program would be worse than those of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, which had raised serious concerns for Senate Republicans. But when pressed in detail about his past comments, Colby also tried to justify them by arguing he was merely pushing back against what he viewed as an overly hawkish consensus at the time. And he underscored, later in the hearing, that the Trump administration’s goal is to reach a "trust-but-verify negotiated agreement" with Iran — with a military option available.

Reuters [3/5/2025 2:45 AM, Panu Wongcha-um, 41523K] reports Canada and the United States offered to resettle 48 ethnic Uyghurs held in detention in Thailand over the past decade, sources told Reuters, but Bangkok took no action for fear of upsetting China, where they were covertly deported last week. Thailand has defended the deportation, which came despite calls from United Nations human rights experts, saying that it acted in accordance to laws and human rights obligations. Human rights groups accuse China of widespread abuses of Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim ethnic minority numbering about 10 million in its northwestern region of Xinjiang. Beijing denies any abuses. Thai Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said on Monday that no country made any concrete offer to resettle the 48 Uyghurs. "We waited for more than 10 years, and I have spoken to many major countries, but no one told me for certain," he told reporters. Phumtham was out of government from 2006 until mid-2023. The United States offered to resettle the 48 Uyghurs, said an official from the U.S. State Department. "The United States has worked with Thailand for years to avoid this situation, including by consistently and repeatedly offering to resettle the Uyghurs in other countries, including, at one point, the United States," the U.S. official said, asking not to be named. Canada also offered asylum to the detained Uyghurs, said four sources, including diplomats and people with direct knowledge. Two of these sources said another offer came from Australia. These proposals, which the sources said were not taken forward by Thailand over fears of a fallout with China, have not been previously reported. All the sources declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Newsweek [3/4/2025 7:12 AM, Ryan Chan, 52220K] reports a visit by the Japanese army to the United States has signaled its possible deployment of an American long-range, hypersonic missile unit in home territory, to counter China. Newsweek has reached out to the Pentagon for comment by email. The Chinese Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a written request from Newsweek for comment. The U.S. Army has expressed interest in operating its Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF), which hosts the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) and the midrange Capability (MRC) missile systems, out of Japan. An MRC is currently deployed in the Philippines. Japan, which has signed a security treaty with the U.S. and hosted American forces, is part of the first island chain, a U.S. defense concept that seeks to leverage allied and friendly territories to constrain military activities by adversaries in the Western Pacific Ocean. General Yasunori Morishita, the chief of staff of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, visited the U.S. from February 21 to 28. He discussed security in the Indo-Pacific region and defense cooperation with General Randy George, the chief of staff of the U.S. Army. The Japanese general also visited America’s First Corps, which serves as the U.S. Army’s operational headquarters for the Indo-Pacific region. Two ground-based missile launchers were displayed during the visit, a photo released on Saturday by the Japanese army shows. According to Masashi Murano, senior fellow with the Hudson Institute’s Japan Chair, one of the launchers was the MRC, also known as Typhon. It is capable of firing the 290-mile range of the Standard Missile-6 and the 1,000-mile range of the Tomahawk cruise missile. The other launcher was the 1,725-mile range of the LRHW, also known as Dark Eagle. It is armed with two hypersonic missiles, which are capable of flying more than 3,800 miles per hour and being maneuverable, making it difficult for enemies to detect and intercept. Both the Typhon and Dark Eagle would play an important role in regional security if they were deployed in Japan, Murano told Newsweek. They would be a complement to Japan’s improved Type 12 anti-ship missile and Hyper Velocity Gliding Projectile missile as well. "Ship attack-capable cruise missiles could threaten Chinese naval vessels," said Murano, while hypersonic missiles could threaten "critical command centers and communication nodes" in China or valuable, specialized Chinese aircraft parked on runways or in shelters. In the early stages of a conflict over Taiwan, a self-governed island claimed by China, it is highly likely that airfields in Japan would be under heavy Chinese attacks, while U.S. and Japanese destroyers would focus on air and missile defense missions, Murano explained. "Therefore, a launch option other than air-launched or sea-launched, i.e, a survivable, mobile ground-launched missile, is needed," he added. Japanese media reported last year that the U.S. and Japan drew up a joint operation plan for a possible Taiwan emergency. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

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