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

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

The New York Times [5/24/2025 4:11 PM, Mattathias Schwartz, 153395K] reports a federal judge ordered the Trump administration late Friday night to facilitate the return of a Guatemalan man who had been deported to Mexico, despite fearing persecution and having told U.S. authorities about the violence he had experienced there. The man, known by the initials O.C.G., is gay and is now living in hiding in Guatemala, “in constant panic and constant fear,” according to a sworn declaration. “I can’t be gay here, which means I cannot be myself.” The ruling, by Judge Brian E. Murphy of the U.S. District Court in Boston, criticized the government for first claiming that O.C.G. had said he was not afraid of being sent to Mexico, where he said he was raped and held captive, but later admitting that it was “unable to identify” the officials to whom he had supposedly made that statement. Judge Murphy also found that O.C.G. was likely to “succeed in showing that his removal lacked any semblance of due process.” The decision added another flashpoint to the high-stakes battle over President Trump’s deportation policies playing out across the federal courts. A string of judges has faulted the administration for a lack of adequate due process or otherwise carrying out deportations in ways that exceed the president’s authority. Mr. Trump and his aides, in turn, have questioned the authority of courts to hear such cases and even called for the impeachment of judges who rule against them. O.C.G. is one of four pseudonymous plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit that seeks to limit the Trump administration’s ability to deport immigrants without giving them an opportunity to contest their removal on the grounds that they might be at risk of persecution or torture. That opportunity is required by an international treaty to which the United States is a party. Lawyers for the class are also seeking the return of eight men, all convicted of serious crimes in the United States, who apparently arrived at an American base in Djibouti on Wednesday and are believed to have been held there since. The administration had sought to deport them to South Sudan, which is on the brink of civil war, but Judge Murphy ordered the U.S. government to retain custody of them for now. Little is known about the conditions that the men are being held in. The White House has called the men “monsters” and Judge Murphy, who was appointed by President Joseph R. Biden Jr. last year, a “far-left activist judge.” CBS News [5/24/2025 3:14 PM, Staff, 51860K] reports "No one has ever suggested that O.C.G. poses any sort of security threat," Murphy wrote. "In general, this case presents no special facts or legal circumstances, only the banal horror of a man being wrongfully loaded onto a bus and sent back to a country where he was allegedly just raped and kidnapped." The Washington Post [5/24/2025 5:27 PM, Vivian Ho, 31735K] reports that in his ruling Friday, Murphy characterized the deportation of O.C.G. as “the banal horror of a man being wrongfully loaded onto a bus and sent back to a country where he was allegedly just raped and kidnapped.” He ordered the defendants to “take all immediate steps, including coordinating with Plaintiffs’ counsel, to facilitate the return of O.C.G. to the United States.” Attorneys for the government had previously argued that the court lacked jurisdiction to order O.C.G.’s return and that O.C.G. had the ability to dispute his removal after he was sent back to Mexico. “The person in question was an illegally present alien who was granted withholding of removal to Guatemala,” said Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at DHS. “He was instead removed to Mexico, a safe third option for him, pending his asylum claim. Yet, this federal activist judge is ordering us to bring him back, so he can have an opportunity to prove why he should be granted asylum to a country that he has had no past connection to.” “We expect a higher court to vindicate us in this,” she added.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [5/24/2025 10:00 AM, Zach Schonfeld, 18649K]
AP [5/24/2025 5:59 PM, Julie Carr Smyth, 48304K]
Washington Times [5/24/2025 10:06 AM, Stephen Dinan, 2106K]
Telemundo [5/24/2025 9:40 AM, Staff, 3352K]
Univision [5/24/2025 12:04 PM, Staff, 4992K]

FOX News [5/24/2025 7:05 PM, Brie Stimson, 46878K] reports Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that a federal court order requiring the U.S. government to maintain custody of deportees on a flight meant for South Sudan will cause "significant and irreparable harm to U.S. foreign policy." The Trump administration late Friday filed two court documents after U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy of Massachusetts said the deportation flight violated his previous April injunction that allows deportees time to challenge an order to be sent to a country other than their own. "This Department of Justice believes that this situation urgently requires judicial intervention to restore President Trump’s full Article II authority to conduct foreign policy," a U.S. Department of Justice official told Fox News Digital. Rubio noted the order has already complicated U.S. diplomacy with Libya, South Sudan and Djibouti and presents a serious threat to the president’s Article II authority to conduct foreign policy. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reported similarly:
Washington Times [5/24/2025 10:20 AM, Stephen Dinan, 2106K]

Wall Street Journal [5/25/2025 5:00 AM, Jess Bravin, 646K] reports President Trump’s conflict with the federal courts is rapidly crystallizing over one of the administration’s most dramatic initiatives: lightning operations that deport migrants to some of the harshest destinations on earth before they have a chance to raise legal objections. After last week, the White House has played a game of chess against the judiciary in at least six different instances over migrants who either were whisked away on planes or imminently slated to be removed from the country. A federal judge in Boston found the administration violated his orders by removing a number of men with just hours notice to a country some of them might never have heard of: South Sudan, an impoverished African nation. A State Department advisory instructs Americans to avoid it “due to crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict.” The men received notice after 5:45 p.m. this past Monday and were sent overseas the following morning, an “obviously insufficient” time to raise objections under federal laws that forbid deporting individuals to countries where they are likely to be persecuted, tortured or killed, said Judge Brian Murphy, who was nominated by President Joe Biden. A government lawyer gave a response emblematic of the administration’s playbook, making technical arguments that court orders don’t mean what the judges who issued them think they do. “The preliminary injunction that you issued didn’t delineate a specific time period where notice had to be given,” a Justice Department attorney, Elianis Perez, said in the administration’s defense. On social media, the administration was more emphatic: “It is absurd that an activist judge is trying to force the United States to bring back these uniquely barbaric monsters who are a clear and present threat to the safety of the American people,” said Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security. The department said the men, only one of whom is from South Sudan, have been convicted of crimes including murder.

Univision [5/24/2025 1:10 PM, Staff, 4992K] reports the Trump administration continues to send undocumented immigrants to shelters on the southern border through ICE, despite having warned these groups that offering them temporary housing and assistance could violate an anti- human trafficking law. In March, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a formal warning to these shelters. The agency alleged that providing housing and other services to immigrants could constitute a violation of the law used to prosecute human traffickers. The document notes that these actions may violate federal laws on the illegal transportation of people within the country; however, the Trump administration has not stopped the release of immigrants from these shelters.

Breitbart [5/24/2025 5:10 PM, Neil Munro, 3077K] reports the Department of Justice is expanding a whistleblower program to reward corporate insiders who expose hidden white-collar migration crimes. "Today, we have added the following priority areas for tips: procurement and federal program fraud; trade, tariff, and customs fraud; violations of federal immigration law," said a department official, Matthew Galeotti, chief of the department’s Criminal Division. The news created concern among companies that sideline American graduates in favor of hiring cheap, and subordinate foreign white-collar workers, often via the mixed-skill H-1B, J-1, H4EAD, B-1/B-2, CPT, and OPT programs. Those programs are heavily used by clannish Indian managers and their subordinate workers, with the strong backing of India’s government. "New DOJ Whistleblower Policy Bad News For Employers Of Immigrants And H-1B Visa Holders," wrote Stuart Anderson, a pro-migration consultant. He added: The policy would allow the DOJ to expand efforts to prosecute employers of immigrants and H-1B visa holders. A Department of Justice memo issued in February 2025 directed federal prosecutors to prioritize immigration-related cases. The new whistleblower policy confirms that the Trump administration’s top issue remains immigration enforcement. But the news was applauded by Americans who see blatant and continuous discrimination against American graduates, usually by the Indian-born hiring managers and recruiters who now dominate many hiring and recruitment offices across the nation.

Wall Street Journal [5/24/2025 9:00 PM, Sara Rabdazzo, Douglas Belkin, and Emily Glazer, 646K] reports as President Trump escalated his attacks against Harvard University, its board resolved to fight. Trustees discussed whether to sue or pursue deal talks after Trump first targeted the university in March. But as the president lobbed bomb after bomb at the school—pulling billions in federal funds, threatening its tax-exempt status, and now trying to block it from enrolling international students—the group stood firm. By Friday, the school had filed two lawsuits against the administration, the latest to regain its foreign students. Trump on Friday showed no signs of softening. “Harvard’s going to have to change its ways,” he said in the Oval Office. The administration’s latest move is the effort to bar Harvard from enrolling international students, by revoking the school’s certification in the government program that allows noncitizens to study in the U.S. under student visas. That decision started with a letter that arrived at Harvard’s international office on April 16 from the federal government. It was like nothing university officials had seen in over 70 years of hosting foreign students, Harvard said in a court filing. In it, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said enrolling foreign students is a privilege, not a guarantee. The university was at risk of losing that privilege, she said, because it had created a hostile learning environment for Jewish students. She requested Harvard send eight detailed pieces of information on all its students on visas. Among them: any examples of “known deprivation of rights of other classmates or university personnel” by visa holders, and whether any had left Harvard “due to dangerous or violent activity.” Noem asked about threats and illegal activity made by students and whether foreign students had ever obstructed the school’s learning environment. Harvard had 10 business days to come up with the information, Noem said, or the government would revoke the university’s ability to enroll international students. On the day of the deadline, Harvard sent DHS thousands of pages of documents, including enrollment records and any visa cancellations from its foreign students. On May 7, a Homeland Security lawyer told Harvard the information it provided on visa holders wasn’t enough. The lawyer reiterated four of the original eight categories of information DHS had requested, including any known illegal activity, threats to other students and deprivation of others’ rights by international students. This time, Harvard had a week to respond. On the deadline day, Harvard sent information on three students under visas who had faced disciplinary action for drinking or other violations. A week of uneasy silence followed. Then, Thursday’s missive dropped, telling Harvard that its ability to enroll foreign students had been revoked immediately. “This action should not surprise you and is the unfortunate result of Harvard’s failure to comply with simple reporting requirements,” Noem wrote. Harvard had refused to supply required information and ignored a follow-up request, DHS said. The move, Noem explained, would “send a clear signal to Harvard and all universities that want to enjoy the privilege of enrolling foreign students, that the Trump Administration will enforce the law and root out the evils of anti-Americanism and antisemitism in society and campuses.”

Bloomberg [5/24/2025 10:19 AM, David Voreacos and Janet Lorin, 19320K] reports Harvard University can continue to enroll international students – for now. A federal judge’s reprieve on Friday was quickly hailed as a victory for the country’s wealthiest university in its battle with the Trump administration. But the respite is temporary. The government’s move a day earlier to bar Harvard from enrolling foreign students remains a real threat, laying bare how far President Donald Trump is willing to push his fight with the university. If the school’s 6,800 international students lose their visa status — as the Department of Homeland Security directed on Thursday — it would have an “immediate and devastating effect,” lawyers for the university told the court. Harvard’s president, Alan Garber, said the move “imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars.” Within hours of Harvard suing on Friday, Allison Burroughs, the federal judge, agreed to temporarily halt the action while she considers Harvard’s bid to overturn the ban. She’ll hold a hearing in the coming days on extending the pause. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Thursday that Harvard’s responses to government’s requests to provide information about misconduct by foreign students were insufficient. In suspending the university’s certification to enroll foreign students, the government said it would require existing international students to transfer or lose their legal status under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. To regain its program certification, Harvard was given 72 hours to provide six categories of information about foreign students dating back five years, including disciplinary records and video of those engaged in protests.

The Hill [5/24/2025 5:00 PM, Lexi Lonas Cochran, 18649K] reports the Trump administration’s efforts to block international students from Harvard could come at a hefty price — and not just for the university. Harvard students are top innovators in the country, with foreign-born alumni leading dozens of successful startups. Besides their business contributions, international students more broadly make up a sizeable portion of spending in their areas, throwing almost $44 billion into the U.S. economy. "We turn global talent away at our own expense. Losing international students’ contributions will negatively impact domestic students’ understanding of the world and have dire consequences for the country’s economic strength, security, and global competitiveness," said Fanta Aw, executive director and CEO of the Association of International Educators, or NAFSA, in a statement. "These outcomes run counter to the administration’s stated goal of making America safer, stronger, and more prosperous," Aw added. Along with saying new international talent cannot come to Harvard, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week demanded that current foreign students leave the school for other colleges. A judge on Friday temporarily blocked the move and scheduled a hearing for Thursday to consider a longer pause. District Judge Allison Burroughs noted Harvard’s concern "it will sustain immediate and irreparable injury before there is an opportunity to hear from all parties." According to NAFSA data, international students at Harvard contribute approximately $383.6 million annually to the area economy, supporting around 3,910 jobs. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made clear in her announcement of the Harvard ban that other colleges that displease the Trump administration could follow suit, calling it "a warning to every other university to get your act together."

NPR [5/24/2025 11:55 AM, Jaclyn Diaz, 37958K] reports a judge quickly blocked the Trump administration’s effort on Friday, and issued a temporary restraining order. The ruling comes as the number of international students at U.S. colleges and universities reached a record high. In November, Open Doors® 2024 Report on International Educational Exchange announced that the total number of international students at U.S. colleges and universities reached an all-time high of more than 1.1 million students for the 2023 and 2024 year. This represented a 7% increase from the previous academic year. Harvard has hosted international students under the F-1 visa program for 70 consecutive years, the university said in its federal lawsuit against the Trump administration. This program, provided by the U.S. government under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) and overseen by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, allows international students to pursue their education at Harvard. The university has also long been designated as an exchange program sponsor to host J-1 nonimmigrants. Both programs allowed students from other countries to get an education at Harvard. Thousands of high schools, colleges and universities have similarly hosted international students through these visa programs.

The Hill [5/24/2025 1:18 PM, Filip Timotija, 18649K] reports Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said during a recent interview that President Trump is looking to "exact vengeance" on Harvard University after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) blocked the Ivy League institution from enrolling foreign students. Raskin said on Friday night that the administration’s move to rescind Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification is "definitely unconstitutional because it was in retaliation for Harvard rejecting the last round of unconstitutional attacks on its autonomy." The White House slammed Raskin on Saturday, stating Harvard is "facing the consequences" for its actions. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, when announcing the foreign student ban, said the administration was holding the elite school accountable for "fostering violence," not doing enough to combat antisemitism and "coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus."

FOX News [5/24/2025 9:08 AM, Elizabeth Elkind, 46878K] reports there’s a provision tucked into President Donald Trump’s broadly ranging "big, beautiful bill" that could see Texas get billions of dollars in funds that it spent on the state’s border security under the Biden administration. The legislation earmarked $12 billion for a grant program allowing states to be reimbursed for costs they incurred trying to stem the flow of illegal immigration during the Democratic administration. The measure was added to the bill hours before the final vote – but Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, the former chairman of the House Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs Committees, told Fox News Digital it was a product of months of negotiation. "Early on, [Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green, R-Tenn., and I were discussing reconciliation going through the Homeland Security Committee. And, you know, there was about $70 billion for the border," McCaul said. "Texas bore the brunt of the federal mission the last four years and deserves to be reimbursed. And so he agreed, had a conversation with Governor Abbott, and he agreed." While the text does not name Texas specifically, Fox News Digital was told that the measure’s inclusion was primarily sought by the Lone Star state’s congressional delegation. The state of Texas, Fox News Digital was told, had incurred just over $11 billion in costs from Gov. Greg Abbott’s efforts to keep the border in his state secure.

Los Angeles Times [5/25/2025 6:00 AM, Rachel Uranga, 14672K] reports the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles is ratcheting up immigration enforcement in jails as the Trump administration looks for more ways to remove more immigrants from sanctuary cities. U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli announced this week a pilot program dubbed "Operation Guardian Angel" intended to "neutralize" sanctuary state laws. The office identifies individuals with criminal records who have been deported and charges them with illegally reentering the United States, a federal crime. The tactic focuses federal resources at the main place sanctuary rules have impeded the work of immigration agents — county jails and state prisons. "Under the Trump Administration we will not allow sanctuary jurisdictions to stand in the way of keeping the American People safe," Essayli posted on X in announcing the program. State officials say they already cooperate with federal officials in regards to immigrants who have committed crimes. "While the Trump Administration may seek to blame California as it grows desperate to deliver on its misguided, inhumane mass deportation agenda, immigration enforcement is and always has been the federal government’s job," said a spokesperson for California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta. The practice of prosecuting individuals for illegal entry was widely employed under the Obama and second Bush administrations, but fell out of use in recent years. The resumption of it could increase the number of immigration arrests in the region, experts say. Essayli, former state assemblyman and the son of Lebanese immigrants, was appointed last month. He told Fox News he created a dedicated group of federal officials to comb through databases to identify jailed immigrants who had been deported. The new effort could yield dozens of charges every week. The administration has been frustrated with California’s policy that prohibits local law enforcement from arresting someone solely for a deportation order or holding someone in jail for extra time so immigration agents can detain them. Immigration officials in the past relied on local police to help them with enforcement, but over the last decade California and other states have increased protections for immigrants. The state scaled back its involvement in immigration enforcement on the streets and in jails, culminating in a 2018 law that ended the use of 287(g) agreements, which allowed local jailers to screen suspects for immigration violations. Immigration activists argued those agreements eroded trust with the community and punished immigrants with minor infractions.

NewsMax.com [5/24/2025 12:08 PM, Nick Koutsobinas, 4622K] reports Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified intelligence records on Friday, first obtained by Public, showing how the Biden administration gave a designation of "domestic violent extremists" to those in opposition to COVID-19 mandates, such as vaccinations and masking. Gabbard released a report from the Biden administration published in December 2021, which was co-authored by the FBI, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). Riding under the headline "DVEs and Foreign Analogues May React Violently to COVID-19 Mitigation Mandates," the 7-page report gave a vague view of instances that might trigger someone to become a DVE, such as they have been motivated by "QAnon" conspiracies, or they may simply have been opposed to mRNA gene therapy.

NewsMax [5/24/2025 6:30 PM, Jim Morley, 4622K] reports the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is on a collision course with the Trump administration over competing views on immigration and the role the government should play in caring for at-risk migrants, according to a statement the conference released this week. This USCCB chastised the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) for rescinding a policy that gave guidance on the care, custody and documentation of pregnant women they encounter. Bishop Mark J. Seitz, of El Paso, Texas, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration wrote, "It is deeply troubling and inexcusable that measures intended to ensure the basic safety of pregnant mothers and their young children while in government custody could be rescinded with such indifference toward the vulnerability of those involved." In early May, CPB Acting Commissioner Pete Flores issued an internal memo that declared four previous policies had been declared "either obsolete or misaligned with current Agency guidance and immigration enforcement priorities." One such policy was a 2022 mandate called the "Processing of Pregnant, and Postpartum Noncitizens and Infants," which set forth instructions for CPB, which included offering a medical assessment to all pregnant women and making sure breast-feeding mothers have access to privacy and rest facilities." "This decision is all the more concerning as the [Trump] administration simultaneously ramps up family detention in place of safer, more cost-effective alternatives to detention," Seitz said.Time will tell how much a of conflict the Catholic church generally and Pope Leo XIV specifically will have with the Trump administration over the issue of illegal immigration. Vice President JD Vance and Border Czar Tom Homan had politely debated Pope Francis over immigration just prior to his passing.

Wall Street Journal [5/24/2025 9:00 PM, Katherine Long, James Fanelli, and C. Ryan Barber, 646K] reports amid rising tensions between the Trump administration and the judiciary, some federal judges are beginning to discuss the idea of managing their own armed security force. The notion came up in a series of closed-door meetings in early March, when a group of roughly 50 judges met in Washington for a semiannual meeting of the Judicial Conference, a policymaking body for the federal judiciary. There, members of a security committee spoke about threats emerging as President Trump stepped up criticism of those who rule against his policies. Dozens of judges and their relatives have received anonymous pizza deliveries to their homes—which they perceived as a “we know where you live” message. In March, five days after the Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s ruling that the administration must pay USAID contractors, Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s sister was targeted with a bomb threat, according to police records. Another judge had a SWAT team called on him after he overturned an executive order restricting birthright citizenship. The Supreme Court has its own dedicated police force, but other federal judges are protected by the U.S. Marshals Service, which reports to Attorney General Pam Bondi. Security committee members worried that Trump could order the marshals to stand down in retaliation for a decision that didn’t go his way. They weighed one potential, provocative solution—what if they commanded their own security force? Their concerns even reached Chief Justice John Roberts, who fielded anxieties from judges over a breakfast in a meeting room in the Supreme Court that their current protection may be insufficient. On Thursday, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey introduced legislation that would allow the Chief Justice and Judicial Conference to appoint the head of the Marshals, placing the courts in charge of their own security. In a statement, Booker said the legislation was necessary because Trump “has made it abundantly clear through his words and actions that he does not respect the law, court orders, the safety of our judges, or our institutions.” The Marshals’ “dual accountability to the executive branch and the judicial branch paves the way toward a constitutional crisis,” Booker said.

CNN [5/24/2025 8:15 PM, Staff, 875K] reports that, Jorge Humberto Figueroa Benítez, identified by the United States government as a key member of the “Los Chapitos” criminal organization, died during an operation aimed at capturing him in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, the country’s Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection Omar García Harfuch said Saturday. The operation against Figueroa Benitez, known by the nickname “El Perris,” took place in Navolato, 32 kilometers (19 miles) from Culiacán, the state’s capital, according to local media. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was offering up to $1 million for Figueroa Benitez, who was wanted for alleged federal crimes, including conspiracy to import and traffic fentanyl, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and money laundering conspiracy. In 2019, the city of Culiacán was the scene of a violent episode known as the “Culiacanazo,” which involved violent armed clashes following the temporary capture of Ovidio Guzmán Lopez, one of the sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. Ovidio was later released by Mexican authorities, arguing that it was to “save lives.” After being extradited to the US in 2023, Ovidio Guzmán pleaded not guilty to charges of drug trafficking and money laundering, although now, according to court documents reviewed by CNN, he is expected to change that plea. In early May, a US government source told CNN that several of his relatives crossed the border from Mexico into the United States at the San Ysidro port of entry, reportedly as part of an agreement with the US Department of Justice. CNN does not know the whereabouts of these people or whether they entered any witness protection program. CNN has requested comment from US Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Justice.

Reported similarly:
CBS News [5/24/2025 5:57 PM, Staff, 51860K]

Bloomberg [5/24/2025 8:00 AM, Patricia Lopez, 19320K] reports nearly 1 million people who entered the US legally, under temporary protections, have nevertheless become ripe targets for deportation under President Donald Trump. His goal of mass deportations came into sharper view earlier this month, when the US Supreme Court lifted a federal injunction that had barred Trump from removing 350,000 Venezuelans in the US under a program known as Temporary Protected Status. The brief, unsigned court decision strips deportation protections and work permits from the Venezuelans and paves the way for their removal. It also bodes ill for an for a larger group who came under a 2023 Biden executive order that expedited entry for 530,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Close to 900,000 people entered under those programs, providing the very information that now could be used against them in speeding their deportation. That makes Trump’s deportation efforts easier, but also threatens to upend communities, rob employee sponsors of workers, and further the “Get out and stay out” tone being set by this administration. Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin hailed the TPS decision as “a win for the American people.”

USA Today [5/25/2025 6:02 AM, Josh Stein, 75552K] reports that, when Hurricane Helene ripped their homes from them, thousands of North Carolina families used FEMA vouchers to stay in hotels until they could find a place to stay. In early January, many of those families found out that they would be evicted from their hotel rooms on January 11, right when a snowstorm was due to hit North Carolina. As soon as we found out about the situation, our senators, representatives, and I hit the phones, and we were able to secure an extension for people’s temporary shelter in hotels. But it shouldn’t have taken those calls. The snowstorm was only one example of countless times that, in the wake of a horrible natural disaster, FEMA has shown up too late or not enough. We’re seeing this pattern play out again in real time as tornadoes wreak havoc on our neighbors in Kentucky, Missouri and more. We need a federal response to natural disasters, but FEMA isn’t working. It’s time for real change. FEMA isn’t working. North Carolina knows this all too well. First of all, we need to get FEMA started right away on the most important work after a storm: permanently rebuilding homes and businesses. Right now, FEMA focuses on temporary housing solutions after a storm hits, while states wait on HUD, usually for well over a year, to fund permanent housing repairs. This costs the federal government thousands of dollars in temporary housing payments and makes homeowners wait even longer to move back home. Let’s shrink that time and cost by charging FEMA with getting people’s homes permanently repaired so they can move back in faster. That’d be better for both homeowners and taxpayers. Second, applying for federal help is way too complicated. People have to fill out complex applications for support from FEMA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Small Business Administration – all after experiencing a life-changing disaster. We could make FEMA a single front door to people who need a federal disaster response, using a single application form. FEMA experts can then work with disaster survivors to get them the support they need. Third, we need to do better by local governments. There’s no time to waste in disaster recovery, so currently, local governments pay for debris removal and repairs upfront. Then they have to wait for reimbursement from FEMA. These towns are already facing cash flow issues from the disaster, and having spent their own dollars on cleanup, they still have to figure out how to keep essential services going, whether paying teachers or picking up trash.

Univision [5/24/2025 8:50 PM, Staff, 4992K] reports the U.S. government is sending letters to immigrants with deportation orders, notifying them that they must pay fines of up to $998 per day to remain in the country. Although many believe this is a new measure, this provision already existed in immigration law. However, this immigration policy was rarely applied in previous years, and its massive application is recent. “The collection of fines from people with removal orders exists in the law and has always existed,” explains Armando Olmedo, immigration legal counsel for TelevisaUnivision. The difference is that, in May, the federal government began sending collection letters to those who did not leave the country after receiving a deportation order. In the first week of enforcement alone, more than 4,500 people received notices, and many of them could face amounts in excess of $1 million. For example, if the government applies this fine retroactively for five years, the amount amounts to about $1.8 million per person. These sanctions target undocumented individuals who already have a removal order in effect, issued by an immigration court, but who never left the country as required by law. The government has warned that, if the fine is not paid, it can legally proceed to seize assets. Houses, vehicles and bank accounts can be withheld as a form of collection.

Univision [5/24/2025 2:38 PM, Staff, 4992K] reports when an immigrant is detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or other immigration agencies, he or she is not always held incommunicado because of lack of access, but because he or she does not know the phone number of his or her family members. “Try to memorize one or two numbers,” recommends Laura Moreno, director of Migrant Rights at POC. “Especially if you are going out a lot, if you are going to look for work or simply if you are on the street, write the number somewhere on your body. In detention situations, knowing and memorizing personal information such as a family member’s full name, date of birth and especially a telephone number can make the difference between rapid communication or prolonged isolation. In many cases, detainees are allowed to make calls or contact the consulate, but if they do not have the necessary information, these resources cannot be tapped and they remain in limbo.

New York Post [5/24/2025 8:30 AM, Georgia Worrell, 49956K] reports "Tiger King" Joe Exotic’s husband says he’s been tossed from one cage into another — and now fears for his life in cartel-infested Mexico after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials booted him from the US. Maldonado, 33, was deported by ICE May 17 after getting busted in August for allegedly driving a car loaded with six other undocumented immigrants across the US-Mexican border. Maldonado is now pleading for a miracle – and a pardon.

Univision [5/24/2025 9:01 PM, Staff, 4992K] reports an immigrant from Denmark who had a green card after living legally for more than 12 years in the United States was detained by ICE during his final naturalization hearing because a document was missing from his citizenship application, according to reports on the case. Kasper Eriksen, 32, of Aalborg, Denmark, was detained April 15 as he arrived for what was to be his final hearing to become a U.S. citizen in Memphis, Tennessee, according to reports. The man has lived in the United States since at least 2013 and has four children with his wife, Savannah Hobart Eriksen, who is a U.S. citizen and is expecting the immigrant’s fifth child. Eriksen lived with his family in Sturgis, Mississippi, where he worked as a foreman in a metal factory. Hobart Eriksen, the immigrant’s wife, told Newsweek that despite her husband’s good record, he was detained by ICE agents when he arrived for his final naturalization hearing on April 15 without explanation. “Kasper has a long history of lawful behavior, both personal and immigration. Illegal behavior is not in his character. Arresting Kasper seems vindictive and is not morally right or rational,” said the immigrant’s wife. Following his arrest, the man was sent to LaSalle Detention Center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Louisiana, although his family was not informed where he was sent until much later. Eriksen’s case adds to a long list of similar detentions carried out by ICE without explanation. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently admitted that it is arresting immigrants outside of courthouses to expedite their deportation.

CBS News [5/24/2025 5:19 PM, Kiki Intarasuwan, 51860K] reports the Georgia police officer whose traffic arrest of a 19-year-old undocumented college student led to her detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has resigned from the department, a spokesperson for the city of Dalton confirmed to CBS News on Saturday. City of Dalton spokesperson Bruce Frazier wrote in an email that the Dalton Police Department had "no statement" on the officer’s "resignation," and added that "I also don’t have info on his reason for resigning." Frazier’s statement did not name the officer. The resignation comes after Dalton police said the officer had mistakenly pulled over Ximena Arias Cristobal on May 5. He cited Arias-Cristobal for making an improper turn and driving without a license before booking her into the Whitfield County Jail in Dalton, where she was picked up by ICE officers. After officials reviewed dashboard camera footage of the traffic stop, they found the vehicle that actually made the improper turn was similar to the truck Arias Cristobal was driving, and on May 12, dismissed traffic charges against her. ICE released her from detention on May 22 when an immigration judge granted her bond. Her father — who was detained by ICE in April, also after a traffic stop — was being held in Lumpkin as well, but he was granted bond and released last week. Both will continue to face deportation to Mexico, the Department of Homeland Security previously said. ICE started a deportation case against Arias Cristobal in immigration court. DHS said Arias Cristobal and her father should face "consequences" for being in the U.S. illegally.

Newsweek [5/24/2025 5:47 PM, Mandy Taheri, 52220K] reports Leonardo García Venegas, a Florida-born U.S. citizen with a REAL ID, was forcibly arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at an Alabama construction site after agents claimed his identification was "fake," Venegas told Noticias Telemundo in Spanish on Friday. A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson told Newsweek on Saturday morning that "there was no mistake" during the encounter, stating that Venegas "attempted to obstruct and prevent the lawful arrest of an illegal alien," thereby leading to his arrest. Newsweek reached out to ICE for comment via email on Sunday. Newsweek also reached out to Venegas’ cousin, Shelah Venegas, via Facebook Messenger for comment on Saturday. Venegas’ arrest comes amid an immigration crackdown under the Trump administration, during which people with valid documentation—including green cards or visas—have been detained and face legal jeopardy. In April, President Donald Trump floated the idea of deporting U.S. citizens with violent criminal records to El Salvador. On May 21, Venegas, 25, was wrestled down at a construction site in Foley, Alabama, by ICE agents. The video of the arrest was aired by Noticias Telemundo, and shows officers physically restraining him. His cousin, Shelah Venegas, posted the video of his arrest on Facebook, writing, "These federal agents without a single cause completely harassed a family member who is a US CITIZEN!!" Venegas provided the agents with his identification. The officials took it, told him it was fake, and then handcuffed him, he told Noticias Telemundo. "Apparently a REAL ID is not valid anymore. He has a REAL ID," Shelah Venegas told NBC News. "We all made sure we have the REAL ID and went through the protocols the administration is asking for....He has his REAL ID and then they see him and I guess because his English isn’t fluent and/or because he’s brown it’s fake, it’s not real." A DHS spokesperson told Newsweek in an email Saturday: "During a targeted worksite operation, this individual attempted to obstruct and prevent the lawful arrest of an illegal alien. He physically got in between agents and the subject they were attempting to arrest and refused to comply with numerous verbal commands. Anyone who actively obstructs law enforcement in the performance of their sworn duties, including U.S. citizens, will of course face consequences which include arrest." RollingStone [5/24/2025 9:08 PM, Naomi LaChance, 12700K] reports Garcia Venegas "physically got in between agents and the subject they were attempting to arrest and refused to comply with numerous verbal commands," Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary, told NBC News. "Anyone who actively obstructs law enforcement in the performance of their sworn duties, including U.S. citizens, will of course face consequences which include arrest.".

NewsNation [5/24/2025 12:31 PM, Josh DuBose, 5801K] reports a 31-year-old Danish national who was going through the naturalization process after living in the U.S. for more than 10 years was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials during a routine appointment to finalize his citizenship, according to multiple media reports. Kasper Eriksen, a green card holder with no criminal record, works as a welder in Sturgis, Mississippi, where he lives with his wife and four children. On April 15, he was unexpectedly taken into custody and later transferred to the LaSalle Detention Center in Louisiana, Newsweek reported. ICE officials reportedly detained the 31-year-old for failing to file a single document, due in 2015, around the same time the couple lost their first child in a stillbirth. While grieving their loss, they forgot to file Form I-751, the Mississippi Free Press reported. More than a month later, the Danish national remains in a Louisiana detention center with dozens of other detainees, unsure about his future, where he might get sent, and without a date scheduled for a court to hear his case. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to Newsweek, "Kasper Eriksen, a Danish national, is in our country illegally. He failed to show up for his immigration hearing on April 2, 2019. He has a final order of removal from an immigration judge. This administration is not going to ignore the rule of law."

CBS Austin [5/24/2025 8:47 PM, Vincent Martorano, 558K] reports a conflicted debate among Texas lawmakers Saturday ended with the passage of Senate Bill 8, a bill that reshapes how the state enforces immigration laws. The bill, which passed the Texas Senate on April 1, mandated that sheriffs in cities with populations of at least 100,000 collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to enforce federal immigration laws. James Henson, Director of the Texas Politics Project, described Senate Bill 8 as "a slam dunk for Republicans," emphasizing its direction towards stricter immigration enforcement at both state and local levels. State Representative David Spiller introduced an amendment requiring every sheriff to participate in the warrant service model. The newly amended bill passed the Texas House with an 89 to 50 vote. The bill, if enacted, would require sheriff’s offices to collaborate with ICE through a program that authorizes local officers to serve federal immigration warrants at their jails. "Immigration concerns don’t just stop at county lines, and neither should our enforcement efforts," said Spiller. However, the bill has faced significant opposition. Representative Ramon Romero from Fort Worth expressed concerns about the potential negative impact. "And while I’m going to accept that this bill is probably going to pass today, I’m not going to accept the chilling effect that’s going to be created throughout this entire state of Texas," said Romero. Demonstrators inside the Capitol also voiced their opposition. Corban Dotson, an Austin resident, warned of the fear the bill could instill among Texans. "I think that especially people of color are going to feel fear in their workplace for fear of being raided. Fear of walking on the street. Fear of having any sort of encounter with law enforcement," said Dotson. The Texas House must pass Senate Bill 8 once more before it returns to the Texas Senate for approval of the amendment. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [5/25/2025 4:42 AM, Landon Mion, 46878K] reports the Texas House gave initial approval on Saturday to a bill that would require sheriffs to collaborate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement by serving federal immigration warrants at local jails. Senate Bill 8 received preliminary approval with an 89-50 vote in the lower chamber after GOP state Rep. David Spiller, a sponsor of the legislation, amended the bill so it applies to all counties rather than just counties with populations over 100,000 as was the case in the original version, according to FOX 7 and The Texas Tribune. "This bill is not immigration reform," Spiller said Saturday. "This bill is the strongest border security bill — indirectly — that we could have this session.". The measure needs another House vote before it can return to the Senate, where the upper chamber must agree to the changes or both chambers must straighten out their differences before the bill can be sent to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. "Gov. Abbott has made it clear that cities and counties across Texas must fully cooperate with the federal government efforts to arrest, jail, and deport illegal immigrants," Abbott’s Deputy Press Secretary Eduardo Leal said in a statement to The Texas Tribune. "The Governor will review this legislation, as he does with any legislation sent to his desk that helps achieve that goal.". Under the bill, sheriffs would be required to request partnerships with ICE, known as 287(g) agreements. The agreements allow ICE to authorize local authorities to perform certain types of immigration enforcement in local jails, including allowing local law enforcement to question inmates about their immigration status and serve administrative warrants. Local officers could also be authorized by ICE to question people about their immigration status during "routine police duties," including DUI checkpoints, through a model the Trump administration has revived after it stopped being used over allegations that it led to racial profiling. The bill would also allow the Texas attorney general to sue sheriffs who do not adhere to the agreement. Sheriffs would need to at least enter the "warrant service" agreement. They can choose to enter into other agreements to meet the requirement.

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Yahoo News [5/24/2025 8:08 PM, Steven Ardart, 59943K]

Breitbart.com [5/24/2025 9:23 AM, John Nolte, 3077K] reports according to the lawyer defending Raul Benitez-Santana, the car accident that resulted in the death of a Washington State Patrol trooper in March 2024 was not a crime. It was just a car accident. According to various reports, last March, 27-year-old Trooper Christopher M. Gadd was parked in his cruiser on the shoulder of the interstate at around 3 a.m. when an illegal alien, shielded from deportation by Democrat-run Washington state’s insane sanctuary laws, swerved and struck the trooper’s cruiser from behind at 107 MPH. Santana’s car bounced back into the traffic lane, where he was then struck by a van carrying six people. The van’s driver suffered a broken wrist. Incredibly, the 33-year-old illegal alien’s defense team previously sought to get the entire case dismissed with the claim that prosecutors had conspired with immigration officials in violation of Washington state’s sanctuary law. The defense argued that by revealing Santana’s illegal status, the law was broken, and the entire case should be tossed. A judge denied the request. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Santana has been in the country illegally for a decade. Benitez Santana also has multiple previous convictions for driving with a suspended license, multiple tickets for speeding (including going 49 mph over the speed limit), and multiple domestic violence protection orders.

SFGate [5/24/2025 5:36 PM, Snejana Farberov, 11859K] reports President Donald Trump’s proposal to sell "gold card" visas for $5 million apiece to wealthy foreigners might still be in the works—but it’s already fueling fresh interest in the immigrant investor program, which has been around for 35 years. Launched in 1990, the U.S. EB-5 visa program offers overseas investors a green card allowing them to legally live and work in the States, if they put at least $800,000 toward a new business and help either create or preserve at least 10 U.S. jobs. Although Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick previously lambasted the visa program as being "poorly executed" and "full of nonsense," since its inception, the EB-5 has generated over $55 billion in foreign direct investment, created some 1.4 million jobs, and contributed billions in tax revenues. Despite Lutnick’s low opinion of the visa program, interest in it has been growing, with inquiries from foreign nationals looking to obtain an EB-5 visa jumping 57% at the start of the year, compared with the same period in 2024, according to the USA Wealth Report 2025, released on Tuesday by investment consulting firm Henley & Partners. Under the president’s proposal, some of the world’s wealthiest individuals would be offered a fast-track pathway to U.S. citizenship in exchange for a $5 million investment or contribution. Unlike the current EB-5 visa, the gold card does not include a job creation requirement. In announcing the initiative at the start of his second term in the White House, Trump mused that gold-card visas could pull in enough cash to wipe out the national debt, which currently stands at $36.217 trillion.

USA Today [5/24/2025 4:12 PM, Eduardo Cuevas, 75552K] reports Mexican singer Julión Álvarez said his visa to enter the United States was revoked before a sold-out May 24 show at AT&T Stadium in Texas. His group, Julión Álvarez y su Norteño Banda, had to postpone the evening concert at the Dallas Cowboys’ Arlington stadium with nearly 50,000 tickets sold, according to a May 23 news release. In a video posted to Instagram, Álvarez said he was told the morning of May 23 his work visa was canceled. “It’s not possible for us to go to the United States to fulfill our commitment to you,” Álvarez, 42, said in Spanish. “It’s a situation that’s out of our hands.” In an email response to USA TODAY, the U.S. State Department declined to comment on Álvarez’s announcement, since visa records are confidential by law.

Reported similarly:
NBC News [5/24/2025 4:16 PM, Viola Flowers, 44540K]

Telemundo [5/24/2025 6:51 PM, Eduardo "Yusnaby" Rodríguez, 177K] reports what was supposed to be a reunion full of tears and hugs ended up becoming a bureaucratic wall difficult to climb. Andy Leal, a young Cuban resident in the United States, waited more than two years to bring his mother from the island through the family reunification program. However, instead of receiving the expected immigrant visa, his mother was turned away for alleged ties to the Communist Party. An accusation she says is not only false, but also humiliating. “I have never been a communist. I’m just a mother who wants to be with her son,” says Mayra Jimenez Garcia, still from Havana, her voice breaking. “This breaks my soul.” The official response she received at the U.S. embassy was clear and curt: “The issuance of a visa to a foreigner who is or has been a member or affiliate of the Communist Party or other totalitarian party is prohibited.” Andy and Mayra’s case is not isolated. In recent weeks, dozens of Cubans have reported receiving the same denial, many with no political background or ties to the regime. Some did not even formally belong to any organization, but consular authorities have tightened their criteria. For Andy, the blow was double. After years of waiting, legal proceedings, interviews and significant expenses, the process ended in a notification that offers no clear path to appeal and no concrete evidence. “We are separated by a lie. All we ask for is justice. That they hear our case,” he expressed indignantly.

FOX News [5/24/2025 5:02 PM, Brie Stimson, 46878K] reports suspected human smugglers were arrested this week while allegedly attempting to hide migrants inside modified hay bales, officials said. Deputies conducting a routine traffic stop on a pickup pulling a hay trailer Tuesday near Flatonia, Texas, noticed that the bales inside the trailer had been hollowed out to create compartments, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office said. After looking more closely, the deputies noticed there were people inside the bales in "dangerously confined spaces" below a metal framework and layers of hay. "This method of concealment is not only deceptive but incredibly dangerous to human life," the sheriff’s office said in a release. "Smugglers continue to use increasingly creative and hazardous techniques to transport individuals across Texas highways." U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said deputies did a closer inspection after reaching out to the Border Patrol’s Sector Intelligence Unit for assistance when inconsistencies emerged as they questioned the driver and passengers of the pickup. Twelve migrants were found hidden inside the hay bales. The migrants were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for processing.

Reuters [5/25/2025 6:04 AM, Nathan Layne and Ted Hesson, 51390K] reports that, before Cameron Hamilton headed to Capitol Hill on May 7 to testify about the Federal Emergency Management Agency he was leading, the former Navy SEAL cleaned out his desk, knowing that he would soon be fired. That morning officials with FEMA’s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, had called FEMA’s security team to order them to revoke Hamilton’s security pass and escort him from the building, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. A tense back-and-forth ensued, with FEMA officials warning that Hamilton, the agency’s acting administrator, would need to cancel his planned congressional testimony. That could fuel the perception of instability at the disaster relief agency, the FEMA officials cautioned, the three people said. DHS officials relented and Hamilton testified that afternoon, telling lawmakers he did not support the dismantling of the agency, contradicting the position of President Donald Trump, who had said he was considering abolishing FEMA altogether. Hamilton’s dismissal the following day was widely seen as punishment for his testimony, a view the White House did not contradict in its statements on his departure. But the sources familiar with the situation told Reuters that Trump’s allies already wanted him out for what they saw as insufficient action to strip down an agency where many staff increasingly viewed him as something of a protector despite being a Trump appointee. "Cameron wasn’t fired for his testimony at that congressional committee hearing. He knew well in advance," Matt Strickland, a longtime friend of Hamilton, told Reuters. Hamilton did not respond to requests for comment. "This is lazy gossip," a DHS spokesperson said in response to questions about Hamilton’s removal. The spokesperson said Hamilton was not fired and is now a senior adviser at the Department of Education. A spokesperson for the Education Department said Hamilton was working on school safety issues and foreign influence on university campuses. Strickland said Hamilton had clashed with long-time Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski, a key aide to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The tensions included the fallout over a disbursement of grants to New York City to cover the cost of housing migrants that FEMA later clawed back. Strickland said he was fired as a government contractor for DHS this month after he posted a message on social media defending Hamilton. In a response to his post, DHS said on X that Strickland could only be fired by the contractor who employed him. Lewandowski contested that clashes with Hamilton contributed to Hamilton’s ouster from FEMA. "None of this is true," Lewandowski said in a text message. "Cameron Hamilton chose to take a new opportunity at the Department of Education advising on school security.”

NBC News [5/24/2025 1:38 PM, Mirna Alsharif and Christine Rapp, 44540K] reports severe weather may put a damper on Memorial Day weekend travel plans for millions across the South, Plains and Mississippi Valley. Around 13 million people from Texas to Alabama are in the risk area, including Memphis, Tennessee and Oklahoma City and Tulsa in Oklahoma. Very large hail and damaging wind are the primary expectation this weekend, though a tornado or two cannot be ruled out. This setup will also bring the risk for flash flooding to the region, with four million in parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas under Flood Alerts through Monday. Total rainfall accumulation will range from 4 to 6 inches with localized amounts ranging from 8 to 10 inches. A spike in travel was recorded by the Transportation Security Administration this weekend, with over three million travelers screened on Friday. Friday was the third busiest travel day of all time, according to the TSA. Around three million people are expected to travel over this weekend, with airport authorities and airlines encouraging passengers to arrive to airports at least two hours in advance.

ABC News [5/24/2025 12:55 PM, Nadine El-Bawab, 31733K] reports temperatures will be spilt across the country over the holiday weekend with cool temperatures in the Northeast and Midwest and warm temperatures across the western and southern U.S. Meanwhile, rounds of severe weather and heavy rain are expected across the Plains and parts of the South. This pattern will also bring a nationwide temperature divide this weekend. In addition to the severe weather threat, heavy rain will set up across parts of the mid-South, presenting a flood threat for the holiday weekend. For the Northeast on Saturday, the nor’easter is beginning to part ways from the region.

San Diego Union Tribune [5/24/2025 10:23 PM, Kristina Davis, 1611K] reports neighborhoods on the San Diego-Poway border were under evacuation warning due to a brush fire, sheriff’s officials said. The blaze ignited around 5:15 p.m. Saturday off Springhurst Drive in the Sabre Springs area, burning in brush near Cobblestone Creek Road in Poway, sheriff’s officials said. Crews were able to stop the forward spread of the fire around 6:30 p.m., according to San Diego fire officials. The blaze was pegged at around 5 acres as of 6 p.m., with structures in the area threatened. An evacuation site was set up at a shopping center off Pomerado and Poway roads. Fire crews on the ground were being aided by aircraft.

SFGate [5/24/2025 5:32 PM, Sam Mauhay-Moore, 11859K] reports a California man is potentially facing life in prison after being found guilty of starting the Line Fire, a wildfire that burned 44,000 acres and forced thousands of people to evacuate from Southern California mountain towns and suburbs in September 2024. Justin Halstenberg of Norco was found guilty of seven counts related to the Line Fire, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office announced on Friday. He was also found guilty of two counts related to an ensuing fire. The charges included "aggravated arson of forest land, property, and possession of flammable materials," the announcement said. Halstenberg faces up to life in prison. The charges were first announced in the days following the fire, when the DA’s office wrote in a news release that it believed that Halstenberg had "attempted multiple times within an hour to ignite a fire" in the hills next to a suburban neighborhood in Highland. His first attempt was extinguished by firefighters, according to the news release, and his second was stomped out by a civilian. His third arson attempt, which took place on Baseline Street in Highland, resulted in the Line Fire, the release said.

New York Times [5/24/2025 3:28 PM, Maia Coleman, 153395K] reports a worker at a sewage treatment facility died on Saturday after an explosion onboard a barge in the Hudson River near Upper Manhattan, the Fire Department said. The worker was an employee at the North River Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility, a sewage treatment plant just off the Henry Hudson Parkway near 138th Street. He and two other plant employees were transporting raw sewage on the barge at around 10:30 a.m. on Saturday when a compartment holding some of the waste exploded, David Simms, a deputy assistant chief with the Fire Department, said at a news conference on Saturday. The force of the explosion pushed one of the workers into the water, pinning him between the vessel and the pier and ultimately killing him, Chief Simms said. The two other employees were taken to a nearby hospital and are in stable condition, the chief said. The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear on Saturday. According to preliminary information, the burst may have been linked to so-called hot work — construction that can produce flames or sparks — that was taking place aboard the boat, said a spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard, which responded to the explosion along with several city agencies. In addition to the death, the eruption left raw sewage on the deck of the barge, Chief Simms said. But a spokesman for the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the plant, said that operations were not affected and that there did not appear to be any environmental damage. In a statement on Saturday, Mayor Eric Adams said he was devastated to learn about the worker’s death and added that no criminal behavior was suspected in the accident.

Reported similarly:
AP [5/24/2025 7:57 PM, Staff, 48304K]
ABC News [5/24/2025 6:57 PM, Nadine El-Bawab, 31733K]
CBS News [5/24/2025 6:40 PM, Mark Prussin, Adi Guajardo, 51860K]

CBS New York [5/24/2025 1:06 PM, Staff, 51860K] reports Craig Johnson is the commanding officer of U.S. Coast Guard Station New York. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS New York [5/24/2025 10:36 AM, Staff, 51860K] reports U.S. Coast Guard member Michael Antonellis shares important safety tips that all boaters should know. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

USA Today [5/24/2025 1:27 PM, Evan Mealins, Jeanine Santucci, 75552K] reports the 17-year-old Tennessee school shooter said before the attack he was acting on behalf of the group MKY. The leader of MKY, a Georgian national, was extradited to the U.S. and arraigned in New York on May 23. The charges relate to Michail Chkhikvishvili’s alleged training of an undercover agent on how to carry out a mass poisoning. Chkhikvishvili targeted the U.S. as a site for more attacks because of the ease of accessing firearms, prosecutors said in court records. Chkhikvishvili has been indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on four counts including solicitation of violent felonies. The charges stemmed from Chkhikvishvili’s communications with an undercover FBI employee in which he trained and encouraged the undercover agent to carry out a mass attack against Jewish people and minorities. Chkhikvishvili corresponded with the undercover agent between September 2023 and at least March 2024. The man’s arrest came before the deadly attack at Antioch High School on Jan. 22, 2025. However, prosecutors in the New York federal court linked the Antioch shooting to Chkhikvishvili’s solicitations of violence in a court filing on May 23, the Nashville Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported. According to the prosecutors, the 17-year-old attacker claimed he was taking action on behalf of MKY and at least one other group in an audio recording posted online before the shooting.

Washington Examiner [5/24/2025 1:29 PM, Jack Birle, 1934K] reports the Justice Department announced Michail Chkhikvishvili has been extradited to the U.S. from Moldova to face charges for plotting to distribute poisoned candy to Jewish and minority children. Chkhikvishvili, a Georgian national, is accused of being a leader of the "Maniac Murder Cult," a white supremacist group, and was charged with four counts for soliciting hate crimes and acts of mass violence in New York City last year. The alleged scheme would have been a "mass casualty attack" in the city on New Year’s Eve, where someone would dress up as Santa Claus and give poisonous candies to racial minorities, according to the Justice Department. The charges against Chkhikvishvili would amount to a maximum combined penalty of 50 years in prison, if he is found guilty of all four crimes he is accused of in federal court.

Reported similarly:
AP [5/24/2025 9:14 PM, Staff, 44540K]

Wall Street Journal [5/24/2025 12:00 PM, C. Ryan Barber and Sadie Gurman, 646K] reports two weeks ago, Jeanine Pirro signed off for the last time as a co-host of “The Five” on Fox News. On Thursday, she again stood opposite a bank of cameras, this time as the face of the Justice Department’s response to the deadly shooting of two Israeli Embassy staff members in the heart of Washington, D.C. The attack outside a Jewish museum poses an early test for Pirro, President Trump’s latest unconventional choice to serve as the interim top federal prosecutor in Washington. So far, she has met the moment with a serious and careful approach that has been received with a measure of relief from prosecutors within the U.S. attorney’s office she now leads. “Violence against anyone based on their religion is an act of cowardice. It is not an act of a hero,” Pirro said in a booming voice Thursday, announcing charges against suspected gunman Elias Rodriguez that carry a possible death sentence. More charges could follow, she said, as prosecutors investigate the attack as a hate crime and terrorism. Current and former prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office said Pirro has brought appropriate restraint to the initial investigation into the shooting deaths of Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, and Yaron Lischinsky, 30. When asked if the Justice Department would seek the death penalty, Pirro said it was “far too early” to decide. “It is of the greatest import that the evidence collected be assessed and analyzed in a sterile courtroom setting and not in a publicized political setting,” a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office said. Within the office, prosecutors said Pirro has presented as more professional and experienced than her predecessor, Trump loyalist Ed Martin, who had held the job since January but left this month after his nomination failed to garner enough Republican support. Martin had been a fierce advocate for those charged with storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, before taking over the prosecutor’s office that handled the wave of cases against those defendants. And at least for a time he had ties to one rioter known to espouse white supremacist and antisemitic views.

The Hill [5/24/2025 2:33 PM, Filip Timotija, 18649K] reports President Trump is slashing half of the National Security Council (NSC) staff as part of a restructuring process under Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also serving as the acting national security adviser. The administration is downsizing the NSC, made up of top advisers and experts tasked with advising the president on national security and foreign policy matters, by gutting around half of the current 350-person workforce, who will be transferred to other posts with the government, a White House official confirmed to The Hill on Saturday. The shrinking of the NSC, which was made official Friday, is seen by the administration as a way to streamline the process within the agency and allow for national security decision-making to accelerate. "The right-sizing of the NSC is in line with its original purpose and the president’s vision. The NSC will now be better positioned to collaborate with agencies," Rubio said in a statement to Axios, which first reported on the shake-up. As part of the overhaul, Andy Baker and Robert Gabriel will now work as deputy national security advisers, another source familiar with the matter told The Hill on Saturday. Gabriel was an assistant to the president for policy. Baker will keep working in his post as Vice President Vance’s national security adviser while adding the NSC to his portfolio.

NPR [5/24/2025 8:03 AM, Greg Myre, Scott Simon, 37958K] Audio: HERE reports President Trump is drastically reducing the number of national security and foreign policy experts employed by the National Security Council.

New York Post [5/24/2025 3:22 PM, Gabrielle Fahmy, 49956K] reports Ukraine and Russia exchanged 307 prisoners Saturday in the second stage of a massive prisoner swap, a rare moment of cooperation between the warring nations — that came hours after air strikes killed more than a dozen Ukrainian civilians. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia’s defense ministry confirmed the exchange of soldiers on Saturday, just a day after each side released a total of 390 combatants and civilians. Kyiv and Moscow have agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war each, the outcome of failed ceasefire talks earlier this month in Istanbul, Turkey — the first time the two sides met for direct peace talks since Russia’s 2022 invasion.

AP [5/24/2025 10:41 PM, Hyung-Jin Kim, 48304K] reports North Korea authorities have detained three shipyard officials over the recent failed launch of a naval destroyer, an incident that leader Kim Jong Un said was caused by criminal negligence, state media said Sunday. The 5,000-ton-class destroyer was damaged Wednesday when a transport cradle on the ship’s stern detached early during a launch ceremony attended by Kim at the northeastern port of Chongjin. Satellite imagery on the site showed the vessel lying on its side and draped in blue covers, with parts of the ship submerged. The vessel is North Korea’s second known destroyer. The failed launch was subsequently an embarrassment to Kim, who is eager to build greater naval forces to deal with what he calls U.S.-led military threats. North Korea launched its first destroyer, also a 5,000-ton-class ship, with massive fanfare last month. The ship is North Korea’s largest and most advanced warship and state media reported it is designed to carry various weapons including nuclear missiles. Law enforcement authorities detained the chief engineer, head of the hull construction workshop and deputy manager for administrative affairs at Chongjin Shipyard, who they said were responsible for Wednesday’s failed launch, the official Korean Central News Agency said. Hong Kil Ho, the shipyard manager, also was summoned for questioning, KCNA previously reported. Kim blamed military officials, scientists and shipyard operators for what he called a “criminal act caused by absolute carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism.”

Reported similarly:
FOX News [5/25/2025 5:17 AM, Landon Mion, 46878K]

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