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.

NBC News [10/13/2025 9:02 PM, Raquel Coronell Uribe, 34509K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday evening that despite the government shutdown, Coast Guard service members will get their paychecks this week. Noem said the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Coast Guard, found an "innovative" way to provide the money. The announcement came two days after President Donald Trump said he would direct the Defense Department to pay military members Wednesday, even though the majority of government workers are not getting paid during the federal funding lapse. "President Trump did not want any of our military to go without pay as a result of Democrats’ political theater, and we at DHS worked out an innovative solution to make sure that didn’t happen," Noem said on X. Asked for details about the "innovative solution" or where the funding would come from, a DHS spokesperson did not provide any new information and instead referred NBC News to the text of Noem’s social media post. The White House Office of Management and Budget said over the weekend that it plans to use research and development funds to deliver paychecks to military service members this week. The administration began laying off more than 4,000 federal workers across seven departments last week. Of those, 176 were DHS employees, according to a Justice Department court filing Friday. The layoffs are being challenged in court. The moves to pay some uniformed service members who would otherwise not be paid during the shutdown are the latest efforts by the administration to offset some of the less popular aspects of the funding lapse, which is about to hit the two-week mark. Congress does not appear to have a plan to reopen the government. The Senate has repeatedly voted and failed to pass Republican and Democratic versions of a temporary funding bill. The chamber is back in session Tuesday, but Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said he won’t bring House back until the Senate passes a funding bill. Breitbart [10/14/2025 1:56 AM, Staff, 2416K] reports "The brave men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard will not miss a paycheck this week as they continue to carry out their critical homeland security and military missions," Noem said in a Monday statement. The federal government shut down on Oct. 1 as Congress failed to pass an appropriations bill to keep it funded into the new year. Democrats said they will only support a bill that extends and restores Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, arguing that failing to do so would raise healthcare costs for some 20 million Americans. Republicans, who control the House, Senate and the presidency, are seeking a so-called clean funding bill that includes no changes. They argue that the Democrats are fighting to provide undocumented migrants with taxpayer-funded healthcare, even though federal law does not permit them from receiving Medicaid or ACA premium tax credits. Coast Guard paychecks are paid by the Department of Homeland Security, while military troops are paid by the Department of Defense. On Saturday, President Donald Trump said he was directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to "use all available funds to get our Troops PAID" on time. "We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS," he said in a statement on his Truth Social platform, while blaming the Democrats for the government shutdown.

The New York Times [10/13/2025 12:22 PM, Bernard Mokam, 135475K] reports emergency crews rescued dozens of people in western Alaska on Sunday as flooding from the remnants of Typhoon Halong battered remote coastal communities and tore houses off their foundations, officials said. The Coast Guard and the Alaska National Guard, along with state law enforcement officers, used C-130 planes and Blackhawk helicopters to assist the low-lying villages of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok, said Jeremy Zidek, a spokesman for the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. No fatalities were reported on Sunday evening, but three people were unaccounted for in Kwigillingok and there were reports of people missing in Kipnuk, officials said. Some residents in the villages were injured by flying debris, said Amy Hendricks, a program manager for the Association of Village Council Presidents, a tribal consortium in western Alaska. Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in a statement that “every effort will be made to help those hit by this storm.” The conditions were forecast to dissipate into Monday, though a flood advisory remains in effect. Another storm system is expected to arrive by Tuesday night, raisin The New York Times [10/14/2025 12:11 AM, Patricia Mazzei and Pooja Salhotra, 153395K] reports that at least 51 other people were rescued from Kwigillingok and the village of Kipnuk after the storm by the U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska Army National Guard and Alaska Air National Guard. At least three people were medically evacuated from Kipnuk to the city of Bethel. Some survivors had been swimming or trying to hold onto debris in the water to keep from floating away, according to Captain Christopher Culpepper of the Coast Guard. “It is absolutely devastating,” he said in a news conference on Monday. “This is an all-hands-on-deck operation,” Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in the news conference. Senator Dan Sullivan, who spoke in the news conference via telephone from Washington, said Trump administration officials had assured him the government shutdown would not hamper federal assistance.g the risk of more flooding in Kwigillingok and the adjacent village of Kongiganak. ABC News [10/13/2025 3:03 PM, Julia Jacobo, 30493K] reports Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan has been in contact with acting FEMA Director David Richardson, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and local, tribal and state officials since Saturday, in anticipation of the storm, he said. The U.S. Coast Guard and Alaska Air National Guard have also deployed choppers to the region to provide medical support, search-and-rescue operations and to deliver supplies, Sullivan said. The impacted regions are among the most remote in the country. The Daily Caller [10/12/2025 9:39 PM, Andrew Powell, 835K] reports that it’s being reported by Alaska Public Media that some residents in the area of Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta are missing or stuck in their houses because of the high waters. For a week, storm surge has been causing flooding. Reaching 6.71 feet, which is over 5 feet the normal level, the Kotzebue Sound Tide Gauge eclipsed major flood stage Thursday, according to FOX Weather. The State Emergency Operations Center was activated by Alaska following major storm surge that resulted in flooding widespread. To help with search and rescue, the U.S. Coast Guard was deployed to Kwigillingok and Kipnuk. The American Red Cross also responded following the damage done in the Kipnuk, Kwigillingok, Kotzebue, Nome and Bethel villages. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy expanded his state disaster declaration Sunday to add Pribilof Island, Yupiit and Lower Kuskokwim Regional Education Attendance Areas.

Reported similarly:
AP [10/13/2025 1:48 AM, Staff, 31753K]
AP [10/13/2025 2:04 PM, Sarah Brumfield, 31753K
CNN [10/14/2025 1:05 AM, Hanna Park, 18595K]

The Hill [10/13/2025 6:20 PM, Filip Timotija, 12595K] reports President Trump directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday to pay service members by utilizing previously appropriated funds during the ongoing government shutdown, seeking to sidestep gridlock in Congress. The move also takes some pressure off House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who was facing growing demands to call the House back to vote on Republican-sponsored legislation that would ensure troops are paid during the shutdown. Some Democrats and policy analysts say the move is likely illegal. Romina Boccia, the director of budget and entitlement policy at the libertarian Cato Institute, told The Hill on Monday that “technically speaking, Congress can rescind unobligated balances and repurpose them,” but “for the administration to repurpose funds unilaterally is likely illegal.” “An unobligated balance does not give the administration the right to use the money as it wishes,” Boccia said. “If Congress wants to ensure that America’s troops will be paid during the ongoing government shutdown, Congress should pass a bill that authorizes funding to pay the troops.” Trump announced the move on Truth Social after Johnson had teased executive action, just days before the Oct. 15 deadline when service members were set to start missing paychecks. “We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. A Defense official said Saturday that the department identified “approximately $8 billion of unobligated research development testing and evaluation funds (RDTE) from the prior fiscal year that will be used to issue mid-month paychecks to service members” if the government is not reopened by Oct. 15. Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) was asked Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” whether the administration’s plan was legal. “Well, probably not. Again, we just had a little conversation about the White House’s understanding of United States law, which is pretty tentative to say the best,” he said. “I think to pay the military during a shutdown would require legislation; the Speaker of the House has taken that off the table,” Himes added. “So, I mean, is Donald Trump going to say a bunch of stuff? Yes, he’s going to say a bunch of stuff. But I don’t see anything moving.” Still, there was little public pushback against the move Monday, and it’s unclear if Democrats will try to stop a maneuver to pay military members, regardless of their views on its legality. Johnson has argued that the stand-alone military pay bill, which was introduced last month by Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.), would allow Democrats to avoid accountability for their votes opposing the Republican proposal to fund the government at current levels through mid-November. “We’re now on Day 13 of the Democrats’ [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer [N.Y.] shutdown. This marks the third week that Democrats have blocked paychecks to our troops. They blocked pay for 2.2 million federal workers, and they held critical services that the American people rely upon in limbo. At least they’ve tried to block those checks,” Johnson said during a Monday morning press conference at the Capitol.

The Hill [10/13/2025 9:05 AM, Lee Ann Anderson, 12595K] reports Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said Sunday it is "probably not" legal for President Trump to repurpose Defense Department funding in order to pay members of the military during the shutdown. The shutdown began Oct. 1, and members of the military are set to miss their first check on Wednesday. Trump on Saturday directed Hegseth to reallocate funds to ensure members of the military are paid. A Defense Department official told The Hill on Saturday that the department identified "approximately $8 billion of unobligated research development testing and evaluation funds (RDTE) from the prior fiscal year that will be used to issue mid-month paychecks to service members in the event the funding lapse continues past Oct. 15." It’s unclear if those in the U.S. Coast Guard are eligible for pay. The Coast Guard is a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, but during peacetime it’s overseen by the Department of Homeland Security.

FOX News [10/13/2025 9:59 PM, Staff, 40621K] reports DHS assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin slams former President Barack Obama and his comments about the Trump administration activating the National Guard to combat crime on ‘Hannity.’ [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Politico [10/13/2025 12:00 PM, Sophia Cai] reports the Trump administration is moving to fortify U.S. skies against potential drone threats ahead of next summer’s World Cup and other marquee mega-events, casting the technology as necessary both to bolster security and to help outpace foreign competition for aviation technology. The administration plans to launch a $500 million effort to support state and local governments as they develop anti-drone security strategies ahead of the soccer tournament being played across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, along with the United States’ 250th anniversary and 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, according to Andrew Giuliani, director of the White House’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Task Force. The White House says the money will be available to all 50 states but put to particular use to secure the 104 soccer matches that will be played in American stadiums. Officials envision urban police departments using handheld tools to detect aircraft, then either disabling them via jamming technology or ordering them to return to their points of origin. The program, which comes out of funds budgeted to the Department of Homeland Security by the One Big Beautiful Bill enacted in July, reflects growing concern within the White House and national security agencies about uncrewed aerial threats, especially at major events — from well-organized terrorists, criminal mischief-makers or just overeager amateurs unaware that the airspace has been closed. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who has described drones as part of a "weapons-technology revolution," has warned that they "are being used to smuggle deadly drugs, target our infrastructure and spy on U.S. defenses."

NewsMax [10/12/2025 11:04 AM, Eric Mack, 4109K] reports while the leftist media and antifa protesters in Democratic-run cities are decrying President Donald Trump’s consideration of invoking the Insurrection Act to defend America and keep citizens safe, Vice President JD Vance called it a deflection from the harsh realities on the ground. "The problem is not the Insurrection Act," Vance told NBC News’ "Meet the Press" on Sunday. "The problem is that the entire media in this country, cheered on by a few far-left lunatics, have made it OK to tee off on American law enforcement.” Vance told NBC’s Kristen Welker that Trump is "looking at all of the options," including the Insurrection Act of 1807, as violent attacks against immigration enforcement officers rise. U.S. immigration agents have faced a "1,000% increase in violent attacks," Vance told Welker, including a recent shooting at an ICE office in Dallas. It is all being egged on by the "far left" movement and sympathetic media coverage for creating a climate of hostility toward law enforcement, according to Vance. Welker countered that crime is reportedly down in cities like Chicago and Portland and that local and federal authorities have been able to manage protests without invoking the Insurrection Act. Vance dismissed her, noting local governments are "so overwhelmed" they are not tracking crime accurately. In fact, if crimes are not reported, they do not become statistics, but that does not mean crime is not running rampant.

NPR [10/12/2025 2:14 PM, Joe Hernandez, 28013K] reports after an appeals court again blocked the government’s attempt to deploy the National Guard in the Chicago area, Vice President JD Vance says the Trump administration will "litigate this as much as we can.” His comments came one day after a federal appeals court in Illinois ruled that the Trump administration can keep federalized National Guard members in the state of Illinois but cannot deploy them for now. "We’re obviously going to litigate this as much as we can," Vance said on ABC’s This Week Sunday. "We think that we have the authority to provide proper safety to our citizens all over the United States, but particularly in Chicago.” The ruling Saturday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is the latest development in the administration’s ongoing push to deploy National Guard members to a number of Democratic cities and states across the U.S., including Chicago and Portland, Oregon. Trump and other administration officials have claimed that federal forces are necessary to control crime and protect federal agents, while leaders in those cities and others say there is no need for National Guard troops and accuse the Trump administration of overstepping its authority. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat who’s sparred with Trump over the National Guard deployment, said no troops are on the streets of Chicago thanks to the multiple judicial rulings. "We’ve got to rely on the courts to do the right thing," he told ABC’s This Week. Most of the 500 National Guard members from Texas and Illinois were based at a U.S. Army Reserve Center in Elwood, Illinois, while a smaller group was sent to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Broadview, according to the Associated Press. The legal back-and-forth rolls on as the country’s third-largest city hosts the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday, which organizers say will draw more than 53,000 runners and 1.7 million spectators to city streets. There had been some question about whether the race would be a target of the Trump administration’s ramped-up immigration enforcement efforts in the Chicago area, also known as "Operation Midway Blitz.” But ICE told the Chicago Sun-Times in a statement that it "does not conduct operations at sensitive locations, such as public events, unless there are exigent circumstances." The Chicago Park District said in a social media post that it had not received any information about ICE agents at the marathon, "contrary to a post circulating on social media.”

The Hill [10/12/2025 1:29 PM, Sarah Fortinsky, 12595K] reports Vice President Vance said on Sunday that Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) should "suffer some consequences" after President Trump called for the outspoken governor to be jailed for failing to protect federal immigration enforcement. In an interview on ABC News’s "This Week," host George Stephanopoulos noted Trump’s call for Pritzker to be jailed and repeatedly asked the vice president whether the Democratic governor had committed a crime. "I think Governor Pritzker has certainly failed to keep the people of Illinois safe," Vance responded when first asked, pointing to the high murder rate in Chicago. "Why is he so mad at Donald Trump for trying to keep Chicagoans safe? He should be mad at the criminals that he has failed to keep at bay," he added. "We’re trying to help him, and we’re trying to help the residents of his biggest city. I wish that he would let us because he certainly isn’t doing the job himself.” Stephanopoulos continued to press Vance directly on whether "you agree with President Trump that Governor Pritzker has committed a crime.” The vice president sidestepped the question but said he thinks Pritzker should suffer consequences for his alleged failures as governor. "Well, I think that Governor Pritzker has allowed a lot of people to be killed in the city of Chicago and elsewhere, George. I think that it’s disgraceful, and I think that he absolutely should suffer some consequences for the fact that there are thousands of innocent Chicagoans who are dead because he failed to do his job," Vance said. When Stephanopoulos asked once more, Vance said he thinks Pritzker "violated his fundamental oath of office" but that it’s up to the court to decide whether the governor committed a crime. "It’s really a yes or no question," Stephanopoulos said. "Do you believe he’s committed a crime?". "George, you are going to keep on asking this question, I’m going to keep on telling you that Governor Pritzker has failed to do his job. He should suffer some consequences," Vance said.

Reported similarly:
FOX News [10/12/2025 5:00 PM, David Spector, 40621K] Video: HERE

FOX News [10/12/2025 8:16 AM, Staff, 40621K] reports Chief Border Patrol agent Gregory Bovino joins ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to discuss escalating anti-ICE protests in Illinois, growing threats against agents and the launch of Operation Midway Blitz [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Chicago Tribune [10/13/2025 3:43 PM, Steve Sadin, 4829K] reports federal immigration enforcement efforts increased in the Waukegan and North Chicago area over the weekend and Monday morning, with the apprehension of at least 20 people. Though arrests have occurred in the Waukegan and North Chicago areas since early September — when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began Operation Midway Blitz — local officials say federal immigration enforcement activity has increased significantly in the past few weeks. Agents of the U.S. Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) apprehended eight people in Waukegan, three in North Chicago and two in Gurnee on Monday, in addition to seven arrests over the weekend as part of President Donald Trump’s deportation efforts. "This is unprecedented," North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham Jr. said. "We’ve never seen anything like this in our country, not here in the United States of America. ICE and DHS are coming into our city and taking people just doing their job, trying to make a living. They’re trying to live the ultimate dream.” State Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Buffalo Grove, likened the action of the federal agents to kidnapping and thuggery, calling them unconstitutional and un-American because they are "not following current immigration law.” "The Trump administration’s intentions in terms of kidnapping 20 residents from Waukegan, North Chicago, Park City and Gurnee are unmistakably clear that he wants to intimidate people and create chaos in our community," Johnson said in a text.

Chicago Tribune [10/13/2025 1:31 PM, Charles Selle, 4829K] reports that, now that portions of Lake County are under siege by federal henchmen, some are wondering when the withdrawal will occur. If ever. Are agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, who have been scouring the county for undocumented residents these past weeks, here indefinitely? That’s what U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem hinted last week. She indicated the agency will expand the number of ICE and Border Patrol agents throughout the region. To do that, she said, President Donald Trump has approved buying additional buildings across the Chicago area for ICE use. Currently, the government operates an ICE holding facility in west suburban Broadview which has been the site of protests from those opposed to rounding up the usual suspects. Noem, the former South Dakota governor and Trump loyalist, said the protesters are trying to, "distract us and keep us from going after those murderers and rapists that are out in the streets.” In fact, most of the estimated 1,000 or so caught in the federal dragnet and being held for eventual deportation have been living peacefully, yet illegally, in the U.S. That is of little consolation to those in federal custody. "We’re not going to back off. In fact, we’re doubling down, and we’re going to be in more parts of Chicago in response to the people there," Noem promised during a briefing last week during a presidential Cabinet meeting. "I was there a few days ago, and looked at some facilities that we can deploy more law enforcement out of.” Unsure if any of those real estate moves could be in Lake County, but federal agents have been using Naval Station Great Lakes as their headquarters since Operation Midway Blitz began on Sept. 8 in Illinois, which happens to be a sanctuary state. "We’re not just here, we’re here to stay, and we’re expanding and we’re going to make this city safe again," Noem pledged. The DHS czarina and other federal officials last week toured a number of locales, mainly vacant warehouses, in the Chicago region for possible future ICE garrisons, several media outlets reported. Long-term plans and the mission for the agents remain unclear. But if the reception area officials have greeted ICE activity — targeting mainly members of the Hispanic community — a facility located in Lake County would not be welcomed. Officials are quite icy when it comes to DHS’s use of the Navy base. Residents, too, have been outspoken in support of area immigrants, and in opposition to the growing federal presence. Those numbers now include about 500 members of the Illinois and Texas National Guard cooling their heels in south suburban Elwood after a federal judge last week issued a temporary restraining order keeping them from hitting area streets. Trump and his minions have said the troops would be "directly confronting the sinister threat of left-wing domestic terrorism and violence." Haven’t seen much terrorism, unless one considers challenges to ICE and Trumpian practices. Two peaceful demonstrations in Lake County are set for Saturday. The No Kings rallies are planned for Gurnee and Highland Park, both known hotbeds of civil disobedience and lawlessness. The Gurnee gathering is slated between 10 a.m. and noon at Grand Avenue and Hunt Club Road; the one in Highland Park is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Highland Park City Hall, 1707 St. Johns Ave. Others are planned across the region, from Evanston’s Fountain Square to the Naperville Municipal Center. All of the rallies mesh with hundreds of similar events planned for Oct. 18 during a national day of action throughout the U.S.

Chicago Tribune [10/13/2025 7:30 PM, Dan Petrella, 4829K] reports with the Trump administration’s ramped-up immigration enforcement efforts continuing to rile the Chicago area, officials in west suburban Broadview took steps on Monday to insulate residents from flare-ups between protesters and police as state lawmakers returning to Springfield this week look to strengthen legal safeguards for people swept up in "Operation Midway Blitz.” With the Democratic-controlled legislature reconvening Tuesday for its scheduled six-day fall session, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch said lawmakers will explore whether the state can restrict U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and other immigration agency personnel from taking people into custody at sensitive facilities such as hospitals and courthouses, among other measures. "If we can find a way to keep ICE from going into hospitals while people are recovering from injuries and surgeries, we want to keep them out of hospitals," Welch said Monday. "If we can keep them out of courts and the areas around the courts, if we can do that properly, I would love to do that. ICE is disrupting and causing fear. They’re intimidating and antagonizing everywhere." Welch, a lead sponsor of the 2017 state law signed by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner that restricts Illinois law enforcement from coordinating with federal immigration authorities, said he wants to ensure the state can enforce any measure lawmakers approve.

NBC News [10/13/2025 4:46 PM, Natasha Korecki, 34509K] reports Derrick Nash stood on his front porch, lit a cigarette and shook his head. It was a drizzly Friday afternoon and a now familiar chaos spilled out just feet before him. Beside his home on 25th Avenue, a main traffic artery in this small town, demonstrators shouted profanities through bullhorns, antagonizing local police officers positioned outside the federal facility where Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been bringing newly arrested immigrants. Law enforcement officers wearing bulletproof vests stood in the street. Others were positioned in SUVs, blocking intersections and keeping people on the sidewalks. TV cameras set up steps away and reporters delivered their live shots. The ICE facility is across the street from Nash’s house, and a throng of people were protesting there until some broke through a barricade. Illinois State Police troopers rushed in, batons in hand, and held back the crowd. A pair of officers re-emerged, now directing two new arrestees. “It’s been a month,” Nash said. “This isn’t going to stop.” Before this, Broadview, a village of 8,000 residents that stretches just over 2 miles, was all but incognito. Its quiet streets, where some neighbors say they don’t even lock their car doors, have drawn a diverse mix of middle- and working-class families, including Hispanic, Black and white people. Now, after the Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Midway Blitz, an intensive series of immigrant arrests ordered by President Donald Trump, this Chicago suburb has been dramatically transformed into the beating hot center of the resistance. Over the last several weeks, it has drawn DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, the state’s two U.S. senators, both Democrats, Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, and a host of congressional hopefuls, including one who said she was thrown to the ground by an ICE agent. Helicopters constantly whir overhead and the demonstrations often force traffic to come to a stop or to slow at major thoroughfares. Outsiders jam up street parking, leaving their cars there all day. Echoes of those shouting through bullhorns can be heard by those mowing their yards or working on their cars outside. Violent clashes have resulted in plumes of tear gas that send children and parents running inside even blocks away. On Saturday night over a week ago, a group of protesters blocked a nearby expressway. That’s when Mayor Katrina Thompson issued an executive order: Protesters could only demonstrate from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. “It’s just a disruption of people’s lives. We deserve a quality of life. This is our quality of life. Our people need their peace after working all day. They need to be able to rest at night,” Thompson told NBC News. “We have families that have children that have developmental disabilities. The emotional stress that they have to endure — because of the helicopters, the blaring lights from our public safety teams, whether it’s fire or police.”

Breitbart [10/13/2025 8:00 AM, Brian Lonergan, 2416K] reports that, on a recent episode of CNN’s "State of the Union" with Jake Tapper, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker showed again why sanctuary policies are about as popular as paying taxes or getting a root canal. Pritzker accused U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents of indiscriminately "picking up people who are brown and black" and detaining elderly individuals during the agency’s "Operation Midway Blitz" operation in Chicago. "They need to get the heck out," the governor proclaimed of the federal government’s immigration enforcement arm. It was pure political theater from someone widely believed to have ambitions for higher office. Pritzker’s sensational accusations, however, ignore the giant elephant in the room. Chicago’s sanctuary policies, which bar local police from cooperating with ICE on detainers for illegal aliens charged with crimes, are the root cause of these operations. This lack of coordination forces federal agents into high-risk, at-large arrests in communities, exposing officers and community members alike to unnecessary risk that could be avoided by direct transfers from state to federal custody. Operation Midway Blitz has apprehended over 800 individuals, including gang members, murderers, and rapists—criminals who flocked to Chicago knowing sanctuary policies would shield them. Pritzker’s narrative casts ICE as the aggressor, but the obstruction from his administration and Chicago city government is the true source of the disorder. Pritzker further inflamed tensions by accusing federal agents of "making it a war zone" in Chicago, conjuring images of militarized oppression. However, anyone familiar with Chicago knows it has resembled a war zone since well before ICE arrived. The city has earned the nickname "Chiraq" for its entrenched violence, where shootings and homicides have long plagued neighborhoods. Mayor Brandon Johnson would respond that through the first half of 2025, Chicago recorded 188 homicides and 665 shootings—an alleged 32 percent and 39 percent drop from 2024. However, a recent investigation into police record-keeping in Washington, D.C. found that police leadership allegedly manipulated crime statistics to make their jurisdiction appear safer than it really is. This kind of statistical legerdemain casts significant doubt on the accuracy of crime data in other large cities that show double-digit reductions in crime when residents say their neighborhoods are as dangerous as ever. Pritzker’s claim that residents were "booing" DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and federal agents further distorts public opinion. While protests have occurred, Noem has noted many locals applauded the arrests of dangerous criminals. Moreover, many of the protesters are not spontaneous community voices. They are paid agitators, tied to groups like Antifa, reportedly funded by shadowy, radical left interests aiming to disrupt enforcement and sow division. These organized activists, often bussed in and equipped with professionally printed signs, inflate the appearance of grassroots opposition, drowning out residents who support removing criminal elements. The agenda-driven, anti-borders establishment media is happy to do its part to frame these protests to the nation as legitimate and organic. This orchestrated dissent, backed by opaque funding, allows Pritzker and Johnson to spin a narrative of mass opposition to ICE, masking the broader community dissatisfaction with local leadership that has guided the city to its current decrepit condition.

Chicago Tribune [10/13/2025 8:30 AM, Jeremy Gorner and Rick Pearson, 4829K] reports Gov. JB Pritzker called out the Trump administration on Sunday for defending its decision to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago as necessary to fight violent crime in the city, even though the federal government has emphasized in court and Pentagon memos that the mission is mainly to protect federal immigration enforcement agents and federal property. Appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” Pritzker said President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance’s ultimate goal is to bring in the National Guard to cities like Chicago and Portland, Oregon, to militarize the country’s Democratic-controlled enclaves as a form of political payback. “They’re claiming in court that this is about protecting (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) facilities and ICE agents and not about crime on the streets,” the governor told the program’s host, George Stephanopoulos. “But then you hear Vice President Vance and the president of the United States contravening that and saying exactly what they actually think. They just want troops on the ground because they want to militarize, especially blue cities and blue states.” Appearing on the same program in advance of Pritzker, Vance maintained the theme of the National Guard fighting crime, saying: “Chicago has been given over to lawlessness and gangs for too long.” “If you look at the murder rates in Chicago, the violent crime rates, you have women who have young families, they’re terrified their kids are going to get killed in a drive-by shooting. We have accepted this for far too long in the United States of America in some of our biggest cities, and Chicago unfortunately is the worst,” Vance told Stephanopoulos. “Why shouldn’t federal troops empower the people in Chicago to live safe lives when the governor and the local mayor (Brandon Johnson) just simply refuse to do their job?” While Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city by population, leads all U.S. cities in the sheer number of homicides every year, the city has far from the country’s highest homicide rate. Also, official Chicago police statistics show that through Oct. 5, the city had 331 homicides, down 49% from the same period in 2021 when the country was in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Total shootings were also down 57% in Chicago over the same four-year period. In court proceedings and federal deployment memos, the Trump administration has said the National Guard was needed because of threats and violence against federal agents enforcing immigration law. Memos issued last weekend by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also said nothing specifically about whether troops would be used to help fight underlying violence in U.S. cities, unrelated to their assistance of federal government personnel. Instead, the memos said the troops, including 300 from the Illinois National Guard, would be used to protect the agents and other federal government personnel “performing Federal functions, including the enforcement of Federal law, and to protect Federal property, at locations where violent demonstrations against these functions are occurring or are likely to occur based on current threat assessments and planned operations.”

ABC News [10/12/2025 1:24 PM, Staff, 30493K] reports Vice President JD Vance, appearing on ABC’s "This Week," did not go as far as President Donald Trump who has said Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker "should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers!" as Pritzker and Chicago Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson oppose Trump’s stated effort to deploy National Guard troops to the city to crack down on crime -- and aid ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) in immigration policing. In an interview with co-anchor George Stephanopoulos, Vance wouldn’t say flatly whether Pritzker had committed a crime but said he had failed to protect the safety of Chicagoans and "has violated his fundamental oath of office" which "seems pretty criminal.” "He should suffer some consequences," Vance told Stephanopoulos. "Whether he’s violated a crime -- ultimately, I would leave to the courts, but I certainly think that he has violated his fundamental oath of office. That seems pretty criminal to me. I’d leave it to a judge and juries to decide whether he’s actually violated the crime," Vance said. Appearing on "This Week" after Vance, Pritzker told Stephanopoulos that he was "not afraid" of Trump’s threats, which have ramped up recently against many of the president’s political foes, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. "Come and get me," Pritzker said, responding to Trump. "They’re making things up to go after people," Pritzker said. "I’m going to stand up for the people of my state. And we’ve got to all stand together because that there is truly unconstitutional actions that are coming out of this administration, coming at the states and the people of the United States and all of us, Democrats and Republicans, need to speak out about it.” "It’s true that the president says things and sometimes he follows through on those threats, and he certainly has the power of the presidency," Pritzker further said. "He does not have the power to overcome the Constitution. And so, am I afraid? I am not afraid. Do I think that he could do it? He might. But as I’ve said before, come and get me.” Repeatedly asked if he agreed with Trump’s claims that Pritzker committed a crime, Vance focused on crime in Chicago.

Chicago Tribune [10/13/2025 4:23 PM, Gregory Royal Pratt, 4829K] reports Rueben Antonio Cruz was sitting with a friend in Rogers Park when ICE agents pulled up onto the street. The immigration officers stopped their truck and went straight after them on Oct. 9, Cruz told the Tribune. “They asked us if we have papers. I said I do but I don’t have them on me,” Cruz, a 60-year old man with heart problems originally from El Salvador, recalled in Spanish. The agents stood Cruz up, put him in their truck, drove around in circles, and asked questions, he said. Where was he born? What is his name? Who is his mother? Who is his father? “I told them, they are dead,” Cruz said. The agents said they needed the information anyway so they could look him up in their databases. Eventually, the agents verified that he is, in fact, legally in the country. And they let him go. But not before writing him a $130 ticket for not having his papers. Cruz’s friend, who is homeless, did not have legal status and was taken away by the feds. Under federal law, registered foreign nationals must carry proof of registration with them at all times. But prior to a second Trump administration, it was rarely enforced. As President Donald Trump escalates his immigration crackdown in Chicago and its suburbs, “Operation Midway Blitz,” agents are using broad federal authority when targeting suspected immigrants, legal experts say. The Department of Homeland Security announced Oct. 1 that it had made 800 arrests in the area since the mission began at the beginning of September. While federal officials claim they are targeting the “worst of the worst,” bystanders have been swept up and people across the Chicagoland region have accused the government of widespread civil rights violations. In blocking the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops in Illinois last week, U.S. District Judge April Perry said the federal government had a credibility problem that made many of their claims “unreliable.” The National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago told the Tribune it has not yet seen any of its clients receive this sort of citation. But it’s part of a recent push by the Trump administration to ensure immigrants register with authorities and maintain their documentation to them at all times or face potential penalties. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center calls it a “hateful tactic” meant to “cause panic and fear throughout the country.” “America has never been a place where people need to ‘show one’s papers.’ Ticketing a lawful permanent resident — and forcing him to appear in court and pay a fine for not carrying their papers — is unnecessary and cruel,” said Ed Yohnka, communications director for the ACLU of Illinois. “It does not make our communities stronger or more safe. It is simply part of the Trump Administration’s attempt to make life uncomfortable for all immigrants. It is just awful.” A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not return messages seeking comment.

AP [10/13/2025 6:58 PM, Staff, 1538K] reports latino leaders expressed dismay Saturday over recent immigration enforcement operations in Chicago that resulted in a fatal shooting during a traffic stop, the arrest of an immigrant at a barbershop and a tense standoff between protesters and agents at an immigration processing facility. An Immigration, Customs and Enforcement officer fatally shot a man who tried to evade arrest Friday by driving his car at officers and dragging one of them, officials said. The man, Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, was pronounced dead at a hospital. On the same day, Willian Gimenez was pulled over while driving in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood and detained by ICE agents. Kevin Herrera, Gimenez’s attorney, said he believes it was retaliation for his involvement in a lawsuit against Chicago leaders, Home Depot and an off-duty police officer for their actions toward immigrant workers. Herrera said Gimenez has a work permit and is going through the process of pursuing an asylum claim. In a statement Saturday, immigration authorities said Gimenez was arrested for being in the country illegally. "No one is above the law. Gimenez Gonzalez is an illegal alien with charges for criminal trespassing and a history of not showing up to court, including when he failed to appear in immigration court in April of last year, after which an immigration judge ordered him removed from the country," the statement said. During a morning news conference outside an ICE facility in the Chicago suburb of Broadview, Rep. Chuy Garcia, a Democrat, said the incidents are troubling. "These incidents make us all ask, if ICE can kill one of our neighbors in broad daylight … if they can arrest someone for joining a lawsuit or simply for being Latino, what’s to stop them from getting any one of us?" Garcia said. A planned 12-hour protest Friday outside the facility included several clashes between participants and officers wearing face coverings, helmets and later gas masks. The facility has seen regular demonstrations in response to increased immigration enforcement. Rep. Delia Ramirez, also a Democrat, said she will demand a thorough investigation of the traffic stop that led to Villegas-Gonzalez’s fatal shooting and called for community unity. The Department of Homeland Security’s campaign, labeled " Operation Midway Blitz," targets so-called sanctuary laws in the state. "This ICE operation will target the criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois because they knew Governor Pritzker and his sanctuary policies would protect them and allow them to roam free on American streets," DHS said in a statement. Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker has been one of the most vocal opponents of the Trump administration’s immigration operations in Chicago. The recent incidents have also raised fears in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods about celebrations for Mexican Independence Day on Sept. 16.

Los Angeles Times [10/12/2025 12:26 PM, Susanne Rust, 14862K] reports as a court battle continued over whether President Trump can legally deploy the National Guard in Illinois, a brawl broke out Saturday night between protesters and state police at an immigration detention facility near Chicago. The protest, which had largely been a peaceful gathering of a few hundred people at the facility in Broadview, quickly turned chaotic as protesters jumped a line of concrete barriers, stopping traffic and violating police orders to stay off the street. By 8 p.m., 15 people had been arrested, according to Matthew Waldberg, a spokesperson for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and the unified command for the protests, which includes local and state police. Eight of the arrests occurred during the evening chaos, while seven were made earlier that day. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility has been a hot spot for weeks as protesters have expressed their anger and frustration at Trump’s immigration crackdown with chants, signs and fist shaking. In the last two weeks, law enforcement officers have responded with tear gas and rubber pellets on several occasions. Last week, officers pelted a pastor in the head with a rubber pepper ball. Tensions increased last week as Trump announced his intention to deploy federalized National Guard troops from Illinois and Texas to protect ICE and its facility.

Breitbart [10/12/2025 5:28 PM, Elizabeth Weibel, 2416K] reports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed that New York issued a commercial driver’s license to an illegal alien under the name "no name given.” "Want to know how CORRUPT sanctuary New York City is?" DHS wrote in a post on X. "They handed out a COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S LICENSE to an illegal alien and actually issued it to ‘No Name Given.’". "Our brave @ICEgov officers are working to PREVENT this kind of threat to public safety," DHS added. Fox News reported that DHS has reportedly "been working in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Transportation" and local law enforcement officials to ensure that illegal aliens are not able to drive semi trucks on the highways. The individual with a "New York commercial driver’s license" with the name "NO NAME GIVEN" is called Anmol Anmol and was arrested by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials: The agency said that it has been working in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Transportation as well as state and local law enforcement to get illegal truck drivers off American highways following the high-profile accident involving Indian illegal Harjinder Singh. Working with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, ICE arrested another Indian illegal alien named Anmol Anmol. DHS said that Anmol was carrying a New York commercial driver’s license on which his first name was listed as "NO NAME GIVEN.” Anmol, an illegal alien from India who entered the United States in 2023, "was arrested by ICE on Sept. 23, 2025, during a routine inspection at a truck scale on I-40," according to the outlet. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated that "allowing illegal aliens to obtain commercial driver’s licenses to operate 18-wheelers and transport hazardous materials on America’s roads is reckless and incredibly dangerous.” The arrest of the Indian illegal alien comes after Harjinder Singh, another illegal alien from India, was responsible for the deaths of three Americans after an accident in August. Singh had been driving a semi truck and tried to make a U-turn using an "official use only" turn on the highway.

New York Post [10/12/2025 9:59 AM, Eric Todisco, 42219K] reports the dynamic duo is back. Amy Poehler hosted "Saturday Night Live" this weekend and welcomed her bestie Tina Fey for a surprise appearance during the episode’s cold open, where they spoofed Attorney General Pam Bondi’s recent Senate hearing. Poehler, 54, portrayed Bondi, 59, and fielded questions about the Jeffrey Epstein case and other matters, before Fey, 55, made her entrance as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, 53. Fey’s Noem held a large gun in her hand as she flashed a mean mugging look to the camera alongside Poehler’s Bondi. "Hold my gun," Fey’s Noem said, as she tossed her weapon and introduced herself at the Senate hearing. "That’s right, it’s me. Kristi Noem. I spell my name with an ‘I’ cause that’s how i though it was spelt," she said. "I’m the rarest type of person in Washington D.C., a brunette that Donald Trump listens to," Fey’s Noem continued, before demanding that "this Democrat government shutdown needs to end now.” When one of the Senators told Fey’s Noem that the Democrats are more eager to end the shutdown than the Republicans, she said that statement "makes me laugh more than the end of ‘Old Yeller.’". "Dogs don’t just get shot," Fey’s Noem added. "Heroes shoot them.”

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New York Times [10/12/2025 10:13 AM, Dave Itzkoff, 135475K]
Washington Examiner [10/12/2025 9:50 AM, Jenny Goldsberry, 1394K]

FOX News [10/12/2025 7:00 PM, Lindsay Kornick Fox, 40621K] reports U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi gave a playful response to actress Amy Poehler’s parody of her on NBC’s "Saturday Night Live." Poehler, who hosted Saturday’s episode, appeared in the cold open as Bondi during her testimony at a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing last week. Though the show took many jabs at Bondi’s demeanor during the hearing, Bondi appeared to enjoy the parody on Sunday morning and invited Noem to respond on X. In a comment to Fox News Digital, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin simply responded, "SNL is absolutely right—the Democrats’ shutdown does need to end!" USA Today [10/13/2025 9:35 AM, Brendan Morrow, 67103K] reports that in an X post, the Department of Homeland Security used a clip of Fey in the sketch to promote ICE recruitment, editing the clip to remove the jokes poking fun at the agency.

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The Hill [10/13/2025 10:57 AM, Lee Ann Anderson, 12595K]
Daily Caller [10/13/2025 1:41 PM, Mary Rooke, 835K] r

Breitbart [10/13/2025 1:01 PM, Alana Mastrangelo, 2416K] reports the U.S. Department of Homeland Security roasted NBC’s Saturday Night Live after the show tried to poke fun at its Secretary, Kristi Noem during its cold open, sharing a clip from the skit, saying "Thanks for the free advertisement.” "Thanks for the free advertisement [Saturday Night Live]. Get Criminals Out. Make History. Save America," the Homeland Security Department wrote in a Sunday X post, sharing footage from SNL, before cutting to its own recruitment ad. The video shows a Saturday Night Live clip in which Tina Fey, portraying Noem, states, "Our government agents are working without pay. Luckily, my boys at ICE don’t mind. They’re in it for the love of the game. And how did I find them? By running ads like this.” The Department of Homeland Security then segued to a video montage of federal agents breaking down doors and arresting criminals while the song "Count Your Blessings" by the hip hop duo $uicideboy$ played over the footage. "We’re hiring. Defend the Homeland," a message displayed on the Department’s video showed, before adding, "join.ICE.gov.” In the original Saturday Night Live clip, Fey’s Noem character runs her own recruitment advertisement by speaking directly into the camera, asking, "Do you need a job now? Are you a big tough guy? Tough enough for the army or police?". Amy Poehler, portraying U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, then interjects, replying, "No.” "But do you take supplements that you bought at a gas station?" Fey’s Noem continues, adding, "Do you like to use zip ties because people in your life don’t trust you with keys? Then buckle up and slap on some Oakley’s, big boy, welcome to ICE.” Notably, President Donald Trump’s administration has been replacing status quo government posts on social media with more cultural, unapologetic trolling and gibes and memes that have caused leftists to have a collective meltdown. "As an overall communications strategy, trolling the libs has proven to be more politically, culturally, and economically successful than NOT trolling the libs," Whitney Phillips, an associate professor at the University of Oregon, told New York Times. Phillips, who has reportedly written extensively about the practice of putting down one’s opponents, added that President Trump "built his brand on top of those dynamics.” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told the newspaper that the success of the Trump administration’s social media pages "speak for itself.” "Through engaging posts and banger memes, we are successfully communicating the President’s extremely popular agenda," Jackson said, adding, "There’s a reason so many people try to copy our style — our message resonates.”

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Daily Wire [10/13/2025 1:32 PM, Jennie Taer, 2494K]

Washington Examiner [10/13/2025 5:00 AM, Anna Giaritelli, 1394K] reports other cities, including Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tennessee, have seen federal law enforcement and military move in to quell general crime, not for immigration purposes. "President Trump and Secretary Noem are delivering on the American people’s mandate to deport illegal aliens, and the latest polls show that support for the America First agenda has not wavered," Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. In June, federal police from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Border Patrol, and Department of Justice agencies descended on Southern California to accelerate the White House’s deportation operation. In early August, Trump federalized the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, which gave him the authority to put someone else in charge of the department for 30 days. National Guard from Illinois and Texas were sent to Chicago as part of crime-fighting and immigration efforts by the White House. In the Northwest, Trump has tried to send in National Guard from Oregon and California to safeguard another ICE detention facility in downtown Portland

Blaze [10/13/2025 3:30 PM, Julio Rosas, 1442K] reports the chaotic protests outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland, Oregon, took a different turn over the weekend when hundreds of nude cyclists appeared at the federal property. The naked cyclists temporarily blocked the ICE facility’s driveway, according to NewsNation correspondent Jorge Ventura. A large crowd showed up on Sunday despite the heavy rain. As has become common during these rowdy demonstrations, agents with the Federal Protective Service, Border Patrol, ICE, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons had to move the crowd back from the driveway and street to allow vehicles to access the facility. Several arrests were made after some in the crowd refused to move away from the driveway when ordered. Video from Sunday shows some in the crowd fighting against the federal agents and trying to prevent people from being arrested. [Editorial note: consult video at source link] The AP [10/13/2025 5:06 PM, Jenny Kane and Christopher Weber, 31753K] reports protesters rallying against the Trump administration in Portland put the city’s quirky and irreverent reputation on display Sunday by pedaling through the streets wearing absolutely nothing — or close to it — in an "emergency" edition of the annual World Naked Bike Ride. Crowds that have gathered daily and nightly outside the immigration facility in Oregon’s largest city in recent days have embraced the absurd, donning inflatable frog, unicorn, axolotl and banana costumes as they face off with federal law enforcement who often deploy tear gas and pepper balls. The bike ride is an annual tradition that usually happens in the summer, but organizers of this weekend’s hastily called event said another nude ride was necessary to speak out against President Donald Trump’s attempts to mobilize the National Guard to quell protests. Rider Janene King called the nude ride a "quintessentially Portland way to protest.” The 51-year-old was naked except for wool socks, a wig and a hat. She sipped hot tea and said she was unbothered by the steady rain and temperatures in the mid-50s (about 12 Celsius). "We definitely do not want troops coming into our city," King said. Bike riders made their way through the streets and to the city’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building. Authorities there ordered people to stay out of the street and protest only on sidewalks or risk being arrested.

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USA Today [10/12/2025 10:56 PM, Suzette Hackney, 67103K]

Daily Wire [10/13/2025 6:44 AM, Jennie Taer, 2494K] reports hundreds of naked protesters in Portland participated in a nude "die-in" on Sunday in a bid to stop President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign. The nude bikers paraded their bodies around the city before dropping to the ground on a bridge, where they pretended to be dead. At one point, armed federal agents could be seen on the roof of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement building looking down at the unsightly spectacle. Emergency World Naked Bike Ride participants normally ride around in their birthday suits in the summer in the name of saving the climate. But the group decided there was an urgent need to demonstrate against Trump’s plan to deploy troops to Portland to quell anti-ICE agitators, according to the Associated Press. "We’re here today because we strongly believe that we do not need federal troops in Portland or in Oregon at all," Ashley, a participant in the stripped-down event, said, according to Fox 12.

Daily Caller [10/13/2025 8:31 AM, Emily Kopp, 835K] reports Oregon will spend more in its current budget period on free health care for immigrants regardless of legal status than on state police by $500 million or more, according to state officials and budget documents. Oregon officials expect to spend $1.5 billion in combined state and federal taxpayer dollars on a program that offers health benefits to illegal aliens from 2025 to 2027. They expect to spend $717 million on Oregon State Police over the same period, the documents indicate. The state’s health agency, the Oregon Health Authority, said in an email to the Daily Caller News Foundation that the state expects to allocate $1.2 billion to the program — originally named "Cover All People" and now called the "Healthier Oregon Program" (HOP). Oregon lays out budgets in two-year "bienniums." The federal government will supply 25% of the funding to provide health benefits to illegal aliens in Oregon, the OHA told the DCNF. The data emblematizes some of the Democratic stronghold’s policy priorities — facilitating illegal immigrants’ access to health care and reducing criminal crackdowns. These very policies have touched off a government shutdown in Washington, D.C., and protests in Portland.

NewsMax [10/12/2025 8:55 AM, Eric Mack, 4109K] reports an anarchist threat, posted online, targeting federal aircraft with lasers reportedly forced emergency medical helicopters to divert from Oregon Health & Science University Hospital in Portland on Saturday night, putting lives at risk. "Every night for weeks we are forced to listen to the threatening rhythm of helicopter blades as the federal regime spies on us," the Rose City Counter-Info website flyer read. "The only limit power knows is our refusal to submit. "This Saturday, October 11th, you are invited to fight back. All you need is a laser. Leave home – they can see where the laser is coming from. "Go to a park, a field, or some other public place, and once the clock strikes 9 unleash your beam at the cop copter. Mask up. Coordinate with friends to throw a laser party! "Let’s take back the night together! It won’t take many of us to ground the helicopters!". The antifa activism went further than merely taunting federal officials, it forced medical helicopters to divert on trips to the hospital, making the activity potentially deadly. Several air ambulance operators refused to land at the hospital’s helipad in South Portland, rerouting flights to nearby airports and delaying patient transfers by up to an hour, the New York Post reported. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security condemned the threats, warning that aiming lasers at aircraft is a federal crime. "Aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft is a federal crime," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement this week. "This is incredibly dangerous for the aircraft personnel and for the public’s safety. "Antifa domestic terrorists WILL NOT overrun our cities. We will bust their networks and bring every one of them to justice.” Oregon Democrat Gov. Tina Kotek suggested her local law enforcement was in charge of the situation, claiming there is "no insurrection," despite the hospital, police, DHS, and federal officers warning of the dangers.

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Washington Examiner [10/13/2025 5:58 PM, Anna Giaritelli, 1394K] reports Republicans are optimistic that the protests being held by left-wing activists outside Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in Chicago and Portland will do more to drum up support for the Trump administration than Democrats’ progressive agenda. Since the start of October, protesters have spent days and nights outside ICE detention facilities in Chicago and Portland to call attention to President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement tactics. However, some GOP operatives believe the protests, in which demonstrators have shown up naked or costumed, have done more to help Republicans than their counterparts. "If you think this is crazy, congratulations, you’re a Republican!" White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote in an X post late Sunday, referring to a nude bicycle rally outside an ICE facility in downtown Portland over the weekend. If you think this is crazy, congratulations, you’re a Republican! https://t.co/9oX5p3Sk0g. — Karoline Leavitt (@karolineleavitt) October 13, 2025. The bicyclists paraded through the city Sunday afternoon, only slowing down in front of an ICE facility to flip off nearby ICE officers and Border Patrol agents who stood atop the building’s roof as security. Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin characterized the recent procession of nudists as "bizarre.” "In a bizarre effort to obstruct ICE law enforcement, agitators are now laying in the street naked to stage ‘die-ins’ to block roads in front of ICE facilities," McLaughlin said in a statement. "These unsightly tactics won’t stop us or slow us down — our law enforcement will continue to remove murderers, pedophiles, rapists, gang members, and terrorists out of our country.” Although protests outside this particular site have largely been peaceful, with protest organizers saying they hope to contrast the "joy" of the movement with Trump’s depictions of the city as crime-ridden, their demonstrations have been unorthodox, with people dressing up as unicorns, frogs, and dinosaurs. At other times, there have been altercations with law enforcement that have led to dozens of arrests. The protests are taking place as the Trump administration has sent in federal law enforcement and the National Guard to multiple cities. Axiom Strategies GOP operative Matt Wolking contended that "Republicans should absolutely take advantage" of the moment they find themselves in. "Crime and the consequences of illegal immigration are top concerns for voters, and Republicans have a clear advantage on these issues," Wolking wrote in an email. "The left’s weird protests, violence, and pro-crime policies are seen as chaos, which voters are repelled by.”

FOX News [10/13/2025 8:07 AM, Alex Nitzberg, 40621K] reports GOP Rep. Chip Roy of Texas and several other House Republicans are pushing a bill to prohibit Sharia-law-adherent aliens from entering the U.S. and remove any such individuals who are present within the country. "America is facing an existential threat - the spread of Sharia Law. From Texas to every state in the union, instances of Sharia Law adherents have threatened the American way of life, seeking to replace our legal system and Constitution with an incompatible ideology that diminishes the rights of women, children, and individuals of different faiths," Roy said, according to a press release. "Europe should be a wakeup call to America, showing what the spread of Sharia law looks like - the erosion of the West. America’s immigration system must be fortified to counter the importation of Sharia adherents – the preservation of our constitutional republic and its people depend on it," he asserted. "The Secretary of State, Secretary of Homeland Security, and Attorney General, as applicable, shall deny any immigration benefit, visa, immigration relief, or admission to the United States to any alien who adheres to Sharia law," the text of the measure declares. "Any alien in the United States found to be an adherent of Sharia law by the Secretary of State, Secretary of Homeland Security, or Attorney General shall have any immigration benefit, immigration relief, or visa revoked, be considered inadmissible or deportable, and shall be removed from the United States." "Any alien who provides false statements under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 to the Secretary of State, Secretary of Homeland Security, Attorney General, or any Federal agency, or in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, about the alien’s adherence to Sharia Law shall have the alien’s immigration benefit, immigration relief, or visa revoked, be considered inadmissible or deportable, and shall be removed from the United States," the proposal declares.

Daily Caller [10/13/2025 5:47 PM, Jason Hopkins, 835K] reports law enforcement agencies across Los Angeles are fielding lawsuits as questions mount over how this summer’s anti-immigration enforcement riots first sparked. The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a Washington, D.C.,-based group that advocates for lower levels of illegal immigration, sued the LA Police Department (LAPD), the LA County Sheriff’s Department (LACSD) and the the California Highway Patrol (CHP), the group announced Monday. FAIR is demanding these agencies comply with their records requests, which seek documentation related to the chaotic anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protests that swept LA in June, resulting in hundreds of arrests and millions of dollars worth of damages. "These lawsuits are crucial to bring transparency to local law enforcement’s role in the LA anti-ICE riots," Dale Wilcox, FAIR’s executive director and general counsel, said in a public statement. "California agencies are shielding information that could expose how sanctuary policies enabled violence against federal officers," Wilcox continued. "These lawsuits are essential to hold riot organizers accountable and prevent future sabotage of immigration enforcement." A spokesperson for the LAPD told the Daily Caller News Foundation that their office does not comment on pending litigation. Spokespeople for LACSD and CHP did not respond to requests for comment.

AP [10/14/2025 3:50 AM, Staff, 1538K] reports personnel from a U.S. warship boarded a Venezuelan tuna boat with nine fishermen while it was sailing in Venezuelan waters, Venezuela’s foreign minister said on Saturday, underlining strained relations with the United States. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Tensions between the two nations escalated after U.S. President Donald Trump in August ordered the deployment of warships in the Caribbean, off the coast of the South American country, citing the fight against Latin American drug cartels. While reading a statement on Saturday, Foreign Minister Yván Gil told journalists the Venezuelan tuna boat was “illegally and hostilely boarded by a United States Navy destroyer” and 18 armed personnel who remained on the vessel for eight hours, preventing communication and the fishermen’s normal activities. They were then released under escort by the Venezuelan navy. The fishing boat had authorization from the Ministry of Fisheries to carry out its work, Gil said at a press conference, during which he presented photos of the incident. Along with the statement, Venezuela’s foreign affairs ministry distributed a short video, taken, according to the ministry, by the Venezuelan fishermen. In the video, it is alleged that part of the fishing boat, U.S. Navy personnel and the U.S. warship can be seen. “Those who give the order to carry out such provocations are seeking an incident that would justify a military escalation in the Caribbean,” Gil said, adding that the objective is to “persist in their failed policy” of regime change in Venezuela. Gil said the incident was “illegal” and “illegitimate” and warned that Venezuela will defend its sovereignty against any “provocation.” The Venezuelan foreign minister’s complaint comes days after Trump said that his country had attacked a drug-laden vessel and killed 11 people on board. Trump said the vessel had departed from Venezuela and was carrying members of the Tren de Aragua gang, but his administration has not presented any evidence to support that claim. Venezuela accused the United States of committing extrajudicial killings. The South American country’s interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, said Washington’s version is “a tremendous lie” and suggested that, according to Venezuelan government investigations, the incident could be linked to the disappearance of some individuals in a coastal region of the country who had no ties to drug trafficking. The Trump administration has accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of leading a cartel to flood the U.S. with drugs, and doubled the reward for his capture from $25 million to $50 million. The U.S. government has given no indication that it plans to carry out a ground incursion with the more than 4,000 troops being deployed in the area. But the Venezuelan government has nonetheless called on its citizens to enlist in the militias - armed volunteers - in support of its security forces in the event of a potential incursion. On Saturday, it urged them to go to military barracks for training sessions.

New York Times [10/13/2025 6:23 PM, David C. Adams, 135475K] reports one of Cuba’s most prominent dissidents, José Daniel Ferrer, who has challenged his country’s Communist regime for years, was released from prison on Monday and immediately left the island for exile in the United States with his family. The Cuban foreign ministry said Mr. Ferrer had been freed because of a formal request from the U.S. government following a letter made public this month in which Mr. Ferrer said he wanted to leave the country because of harsh prison conditions and threats against his family. “The dictatorship’s cruelty against me has surpassed all limits,” he wrote last month. “I have suffered beatings, torture, humiliation, threats and extreme conditions.” Mr. Ferrer’s departure represents a blow to Cuba’s opposition at a time when the country is enduring its worst economic crisis in decades and many younger Cubans are abandoning the country. But his arrival in Miami was welcomed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is the son of Cuban exile parents. Mr. Ferrer’s “leadership and tireless advocacy for the Cuban people was a threat to the regime, which repeatedly imprisoned and tortured him,’’ Mr. Rubio said in a statement. “We are glad that Ferrer is now free from the regime’s oppression.’’ Mr. Ferrer, 55, has been at the forefront of the Cuban opposition movement for two decades. While most opposition leaders were based in Havana, the capital, Mr. Ferrer’s movement was centered in Santiago de Cuba, the country’s second-largest city, in the eastern part of the country. He was arrested during a protest there that was part of island-wide demonstrations in July 2021 that rattled the government and were brutally put down. Mr. Ferrer had been in prison before, one of a group of 75 dissidents arrested in 2003 and considered “prisoners of conscience” by international human rights groups. Cuba denies that it holds political prisoners, citing laws that prohibit anti-government activities. Mr. Ferrer was released in 2015 along with 52 other prisoners as part of a landmark agreement between Cuba and the United States under President Barack Obama. That agreement led to a fleeting moment of hope that the relations between the two countries might be on the mend after decades of hostility. But the détente was short-lived and hostilities have ratcheted back up. After Mr. Ferrer joined mass anti-government protests in 2021, he was quickly arrested and ordered to prison for four years. He was released in January in a deal brokered by the Vatican, as part of a last-minute agreement in the final days of the Biden administration to remove Cuba from the U.S. list of countries that sponsor terrorism. That deal was torn up immediately after Mr. Trump took office. Cuba was put back on the terrorism list and Mr. Ferrer was sent back to prison, where his health is reported to have suffered. Mr. Ferrer had been one of the few remaining opposition figures not in exile. “It is a sad day for all Cubans when the only solution to political problems is exiting the country,” said Joe Garcia, a Cuban American and former member of Congress from Miami.

Axios [10/12/2025 6:36 PM, Brittany Gibson, 12972K] reports the Trump administration is asking the public to trust its math on what it promised would be the largest mass deportation campaign in U.S. history. The Department of Homeland Security has used a highly unorthodox approach to reach its stunning figure of 2 million undocumented immigrants "removed or self-deported" since Inauguration Day. "The numbers don’t lie: 2 million illegal aliens have been removed or self-deported in just 250 days," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a Sept. 23 press release. 80% of that total (1.6 million) is on the "self-deported" side, based on government survey data that experts warn should be viewed with skepticism. "Remember what matters are ICE removals and deportations, way more than these other funny numbers," said Trump supporter Mike Howell, who is president of the Oversight Project, formerly part of the Heritage Foundation. "I see the 1.6 million as a pretty shaky estimate, and one that could be explained away by fewer immigrants feeling comfortable answering a government survey," said Julia Gelatt of the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan, migration-focused think tank. DHS cites an analysis of government survey data, known as the Current Population Survey (CPS), which the Census Bureau says shouldn’t be used to determine the size of the foreign-born population as it’s based on a sample size of roughly 60,000 households. The Center for Immigration Studies, a conservative think-tank that published the analysis in August, noted "important caveats" — including an expected reluctance for immigrants to respond to the survey or admit they’re foreign-born. It also noted a lack of other data from the administration to support the estimate. The CIS authors called the numbers "preliminary," but co-author Steven Camarota said that he thinks, at a minimum, it’s accurately showing a declining trend in the population. "We can’t say 100% but boy, it’s the best data we have, and I think it’s telling us that the decline is very large and real," Caramota said. DHS has stopped regularly publishing statistics on its website that previous administrations used to share data on deportations. Typically deportations are measured by the number of "removals" by ICE, which manages the immigrant detention system and facilitates travel, and faster "returns" at the border by Customs and Border Protection. In fiscal 2024, DHS carried out almost 330,000 removals and 447,600 returns, according to the DHS statistics database. But the number of attempted border crossings was much higher in 2024 than in recent months, juicing the number of returns. Voluntary survey data on the foreign-born population isn’t usually a metric for deportations, and isn’t included in the past statistics database. Since Trump took office, DHS says it’s deported 400,000 people. The agency hasn’t shared specifically how many are removals and border returns. Attempted border crossings have plummeted, reducing the number of returns by CBP. But ICE officers have drastically increased the immigrant detention population — whose deportations are counted as "removals" — through more enforcement across the country. The agency will soon provide its end-of-year report to Congress with concrete immigration enforcement data through September of 2025 — including roughly the last four months of Biden’s term and the start of Trump’s. If you use the Trump administration’s "self-deportation" app, CBP Home, the government pays for your travel and gives you $1,000 when you arrive at your destination country. McLaughlin said most of the 1.6 million voluntary departures are not using the app, but declined to say how many people have used it. Axios previously reported that the first "self-deportation" flight using the app transported 65 people. Howell, who supports Trump’s agenda, questions the efficacy of the push for self-deportation with the CBP Home app. "We’re supposed to suspend the laws of economics. All these people who are poor and coming here for economic purposes, upon leaving don’t take a free $1,000," he said.

Reuters [10/12/2025 1:44 PM, Staff, 19051K] reports three workers have died since Hyundai Motor started construction of its $7.6 billion auto plant in Georgia in 2022, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing a review of federal records. Apart from the deaths, more than a dozen workers have suffered serious injuries, including from falling without wearing harnesses and getting crushed by forklifts, according to the WSJ. "We conducted a comprehensive audit and strengthened safety oversight across the site. We have enhanced contractor vetting, training, and accountability to ensure all partners meet Hyundai’s standards and legal requirements," a spokesperson for Hyundai Motor North America told Reuters in an emailed statement. Dozens of the company’s current and former workers, many of them safety coordinators who helped oversee construction, told the newspaper in interviews that the work environment involved many inexperienced immigrant laborers, often lax safety standards and frequent accidents. The plant, which is operated through a joint venture between Hyundai and South Korea’s LG Energy Solution, has been in the limelight since an immigration raid last month that detained hundreds of South Korean workers in the largest single-site enforcement operation in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s history. The workers interviewed by the WSJ said Hyundai did not ensure that people were properly trained, and safety regulators did little to prevent worksite violations, the report added. "We acted immediately and comprehensively to prevent anything like this from happening again," Hyundai CEO Jose Munoz told the newspaper. "I traveled to Georgia to tell our team directly: Their safety comes before production schedules, before costs, before profits, before everything.”

FOX News [10/12/2025 8:00 AM, Michael Ruiz, 40621K] reports state and local officials are investigating a Seattle-area corrections department after a whistleblower alleged the county was hiring unqualified immigrants as guards, according to a complaint filed with Washington state authorities. "Individuals have been hired while holding only temporary work visas, and in some cases, with expired work authorization altogether," the unnamed whistleblower wrote to the state’s Criminal Justice Training Commission (WSCJTC), regarding hirings in King County. "These hires are in direct violation of the statutory requirements set forth by state law.” The whistleblower was identified only as an officer from the King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention. The department said in a statement that it is actively investigating the complaint and denied that any of the guards were illegal immigrants, even though some appear to have failed to meet the legal eligibility requirements. At the time of the filing on Aug. 27, the whistleblower alleged the violations had been happening for "several years" and remained ongoing. The complaint was first reported by SeattleRed host Jason Rantz this week. Washington law requires all peace officers in the state have their immigration status verified and must be American citizens, lawful permanent residents or beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA. The law does not allow for the hiring of people with temporary visas or illegal immigrants who do not fall under DACA. "The officers in question are all authorized to work in the United States, are highly trained for their roles, have undergone an extensive criminal background check process, and are in good standing with King County," the King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention said in a statement.

AP [10/12/2025 11:29 AM, David A. Lieb, 2416K] reports immigrants selling food, flowers and other merchandise along the sidewalks of California will have new privacy protections intended to keep their identities secret from federal immigration agents. The measure, signed into law this past week by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, comes on the heels of other recently enacted state laws meant to shield students in schools and patients at health care facilities from the reach of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement actions. Democratic-led states are adding laws resisting Trump even as he intensifies his deportation campaign by seeking to deploy National Guard troops to Democratic-led cities to reinforce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who are arresting people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally. By contrast, some Republican-led states are requiring local law enforcement agencies to cooperate with ICE agents. "The actions of the states really reflect the polarization of the country on this issue," said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports immigration restrictions. "We have seen some states move to cooperate to the greatest extent that they possibly can" with Trump’s administration and others "doing what they can to try to thwart immigration enforcement in their state." Across the U.S, state lawmakers this year have passed more than 100 bills relating to immigration, according to an Associated Press analysis aided by the bill tracking software Plural. The measures are divided almost evenly between those providing and denying protections to immigrants.

AP [10/14/2025 12:09 AM, Christopher Weber, 31753K] reports Los Angeles County officials will vote Tuesday on whether to declare a state of emergency that would give them power to provide assistance for residents they say have suffered financially from ongoing federal immigration raids. The move would allow the LA County Board of Supervisors to provide rent relief for tenants who have fallen behind as a result of the crackdown on immigrants. A local state of emergency can also funnel state money for legal aid and other services. Funds for rent would be available to people who apply via an online portal that would be launched within two months, Supervisor Lindsey Horvath’s office said. The motion could also be a first step toward an eviction moratorium, but that would require a separate action by the supervisors. Landlords worried it could be another financial hit after an extended ban on evictions and rental increases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since June, the Los Angeles region has been a battleground in the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration strategy that spurred protests and the deployment of the National Guards and Marines for more than a month. Federal agents have rounded up immigrants without legal status to be in the U.S. from Home Depots, car washes, bus stops, and farms. Some U.S. citizens have also been detained. Horvath and Janice Hahn said the raids have spread fear and destabilized households and businesses.

Breitbart [10/12/2025 2:37 PM, Ildefonso Ortiz and Brandon Darby, 2416K] reports a group of migrants in southern Mexico clashed with immigration officials as they tried to round up women and children and take them to a shelter instead of having them spend the night in a park. The members of the caravan claim not to be headed for the U.S.-Mexico border but to Mexico City instead, with hopes of getting legal status to stay in that country. The incident occurred this week in Tapachula, Chiapas, where the National Migration Institute and Mexican National Guard soldiers conducted a series of operations targeting women and children who were sleeping in parks and public places, and relocated them to shelters. During the roundup, some migrants refused to go with the agents, claiming that the move was in fact a harassment measure to keep them in Chiapas and not allow them to move to other parts of Mexico. Other migrants contended that it was a roundup aimed at deporting them. They began assaulting the agents and calling for help. Male migrants nearby rushed to help them, escalating the situation into a riot of sorts that went on for several minutes until Mexican National Guard troops arrived to disperse the crowd. No arrests were reported in the incident, even though some INM agents reported minor injuries during the assault.

Wall Street Journal [10/13/2025 11:33 AM, Jamie Dimon, 646K] reports the brutal invasion of Ukraine, the indescribable terrorist attack on Israel and other major conflicts should dispel any illusion that the world is safe. The U.S. has allowed itself to become too reliant on unreliable sources of critical minerals, products and manufacturing—all of which are essential for our national security. America remains the bastion of freedom and, equally important, the arsenal of democracy. Our own security is predicated on a strong and resilient domestic economy, which guarantees our ability to build, innovate and to maintain the most capable military in the world. Global peace and world order depend on it. Our adversaries and potential adversaries aren’t waiting—we no longer have the luxury of time. America needs more speed and investment. It also needs to remove obstacles that stand in the way: excessive regulation, bureaucratic delay, partisan gridlock and an education system misaligned with the skills we need. That is why JPMorganChase is launching the Security and Resiliency Initiative, a 10-year, $1.5 trillion effort to facilitate, finance and invest in industries crucial to national security and economic resilience, from critical medications and minerals to military equipment and semiconductors. This will also help create economic growth, innovation and jobs in America. It will include direct equity investments of up to $10 billion of our own capital in select companies. This effort will cut across investment banking, middle-market banking and commercial banking. It will include special research on private industries and important issues like supply-chain weaknesses on rare-earth metals. It will also include trying to design policies that can accelerate these efforts, including training, research and development, permitting, and regulations conducive to growth.

San Diego Union Tribune [10/13/2025 2:53 PM, Sal Rodriguez, 1538K] reports that, last Wednesday, President Donald Trump convened a roundtable discussion about the apparent problem that is antifa (which stands for anti-fascist). A description by the White House explains, ​​"Antifa is a militarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law.” In September, the administration declared antifa a terrorist organization and so the Wednesday roundtable was meant to show how seriously the White House is taking this apparent terrorist threat. "They are just as sophisticated as MS-13, as TDA [Tren de Aragua], as ISIS, as Hezbollah, as Hamas, as all of them, they are just as dangerous," explained Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. That sounds really serious. Just as dangerous as ISIS, the Islamist terrorist organization that controlled as much as 41,000 square miles across multiple countries and beheaded people by the thousands? Just as sophisticated as Hamas, which built hundreds of miles of underground tunnels as part of its preparations for war with Israel? It’s an interesting way of explaining antifa, which is more of a loosely held together political ideology than anything. For the past couple of decades, it’s been a banner for socialist/anarchist/communist protesters to rally behind to signal they’re definitely not fascists and not boring moderate liberals or something like that. You don’t have to take my word for it. Then-FBI Director Chris Wray explained this to Congress in 2020. "It’s not a group or an organization," he said. "It’s a movement or an ideology.” Have people, under the banner of "antifa," committed acts of violence? Of course. Activists literally or figuratively flying the antifa flag have long been among the subset of people who go to protests to destroy property and get into violent skirmishes with far-right protestors (like the Proud Boys). Is any of that acceptable? Of course not. But does this in any way make them "as sophisticated as" or "as dangerous" as ISIS or Hamas? We can use some common sense here and treat different problems differently. Meanwhile, contrast the Trump administration’s treatment of Antifa with how Trump handles the aforementioned Proud Boys. For the uninitiated, the Proud Boys is a far-right organization with considerably more structure than antifa. Proud Boys have engaged in street fights with left-wing activists like people claiming antifa affiliation at protests across the country. Their activity was so well-known in 2020 that when asked during a debate with Joe Biden to condemn them, Trump refused to do so. "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by," responded Trump. "But I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about Antifa and the left, because this is not a right-wing problem, this is a left-wing [problem].” The group’s signature action was probably their role in storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, with Proud Boy leader Enrique Tarrio later convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the attack.

San Francisco Chronicle [10/13/2025 7:00 AM, Hannah Brown-Lopes, 4722K] reports that, last month, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation announcing that foreign-born workers or their sponsors will now need to pay an astronomical $100,000 fee in order to obtain an H-1B visa, despite that program’s history of helping to lure much-needed talent to the United States. While Trump’s proclamation and much of the media coverage of it has focused on the impact the fee will have on the tech sector, small to mid-sized design and engineering firms won’t come close to being able to afford it. Talented foreign workers, many of whom earned degrees in the United States, will also have much more limited access to work in the U.S., worsening a brain drain as other countries look to welcome new talent. I work as a human resources consultant for about 100 architecture, landscape architecture and interior design firms in the Bay Area, many of which have relied on H-1B visas to help staff their companies with the most talented employees available. For the bulk of these firms, turning a $100,000 profit in a single year is difficult, and many of them struggled to afford the $6,500+ fees paid to lawyers and the federal government for an H1B visa prior to this change. Yet, until now, our country has worked to build a pipeline in which foreign nationals are granted student visas to earn degrees at U.S. universities. Those students can then apply for an Optional Practical Training employment benefit that allows them to extend their visa and work in the U.S. for at least one year so long as they are working in the field in which they studied. For nearly 10 years, I taught at California College of the Arts as an adjunct faculty member in the Architecture and Interiors department. During my tenure with CCA, the student body in our departments became increasingly international so that in a 2014 class of 23 interior design students, only two students hailed from the United States. While the economy was booming and U.S. residents opted out of college or for other areas of study, eager, talented students from around the world filled our universities and then our workplaces. U.S. employers have greatly benefited from the OPT program, which has minimal paperwork requirements and no fees. It has helped companies build up teams made up of talent from all over the world, and that broad range of experiences has brought broad, new perspectives into design and engineering projects. After two-to-three years with a firm, these talented OPT recipients often become integral to the companies that hire them. We then placed their names into the H-1B lottery and crossed our fingers. Until now, the H-1B visa offered the most affordable and least cumbersome process for foreign nationals to work in the U.S. for another three years. But with Trump’s new policy, in addition to his attempts at scaling back foreign student visas, the pipeline will be broken.

ABC’s This Week With George Stephanopoulos [10/12/2025 12:00 PM, Staff, 2143K] reports Vice President Vance didn’t directly answer whether he agreed with President Trump that Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has committed crimes. Vance did say that Pritzker seems pretty criminal to him. "Well, you just heard a tidal wave of lies from the vice president of the United States. It’s a bit shocking, and you heard over and over again him just making things up on national television with you. You know, there’s a reason why the judge here in federal court said that the administration lacks credibility and why the -- even the Nobel Prize Committee chair said that the administration lacks integrity. This administration, led by a 34-time convicted felon, is threatening to jail people that are their political opponents. They’re making things up to go after people. We’re seeing it day in and day out. And the fact that he’s made a threat against me, I’m not afraid. I’m going to stand up for the people of my state. And we’ve got to all stand together because that there is truly unconstitutional actions that are coming out of this administration, coming at the states and the people of the United States and all of us, Democrats and Republicans, need to speak out about it." Pritzker states.

CNN’s State of the Union With Jake Tapper and Dana Bash [10/12/2025 12:29 PM, Staff, 452K] reports recently a flood of videos on social media are showing immigration officers across the U.S. using pretty aggressive tactics. There was one from Friday showing agents pinning a Chicago TV station employee to the ground. She was later released without charges. Another shows ICE agents shooting an unarmed pastor in the head with pepper balls. There were countless more showing agents tackling people, pulling them from cars, shoving journalists, detaining U.S. citizens, questioning their citizenship. Representative Jim Jordan is asked if he has any concerns as he sees all this about how ICE and other immigration agencies are conducting themselves? " I don’t know the specifics of those examples you gave. What I do know is, these ICE agents are under tremendous pressure. Many times -- you talk about some people have raised a concern about them wearing masks and different things, many times, the Antifa people who are protesting against them in these in Chicago, in these ICE-free zones, according to the mayor of Chicago. I think they’re functioning and working under extreme pressure. I think they’re doing a good job, by and large. I don’t know the specifics of the examples you just cited." Jordan comments. Jordan is asked if he plans on looking into the way ICE is conducting themselves and he would not give a distinct answer.

ABC’s This Week With George Stephanopoulos [10/12/2025 12:00 PM, Staff, 2143K] reports “The Wall Street Journal” is reporting that Hamas has confirmed they are holding 20 living hostages and that those hostages are going to be released in the next 24 hours, early as today perhaps. Have 20 living hostages been confirmed? When do we expect to see them? Vice President JD Vance says that that 20 living hostages have been confirmed but they wont really know until you see the people alive. "Of course, you don’t know until you see these people alive, but thank God we expect to see them alive here in the next 24 hours, probably early tomorrow morning, U.S. time, which will be later in the day, of course, in Israel. The president of the United States instructed Marco Rubio, Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff, he said, "Get a deal done. Talk to the Gulf Arab states. Talk to Israel. Find where there’s common ground here and actually let’s go and find a way to get it done. And because of that, we are on the cusp of true peace in the Middle East, really for the first time in my lifetime. Certainly, these 20 hostages are going to come home to their families. " Vance stats. Two hundred U.S. troops are being sent to Israel to monitor the agreement. What exactly will they be doing? Will they actually go into Gaza? And are is Vance concerned they could get caught in some crossfire? Vance says that the story is misreported. "We already have troops at Central Command. We’ve had them for decades in this country. They are going to monitor the terms of the ceasefire. And that’s everything from ensuring that the Israeli troops are at the agreed upon line, ensuring that Hamas is not attacking innocent Israelis, doing everything that they can to ensure the peace that we’ve created actually sustains and endures. But the idea that we’re going to have troops on the ground in Gaza, in Israel, that is not our intention. That is not our plan. There was a bit of a misreporting there. But we are going to monitor this piece to ensure that it endures." Vance states.

ABC’s This Week With George Stephanopoulos [10/12/2025 12:00 PM, Staff, 2143K] reports we saw the indictment this week of Letitia James on questions of mortgage fraud, also Lisa Cook has been accused by the Trump administration of committing mortgage fraud as well. The journalism outlet, “ProPublica” has actually published a story, and I want to show it up on the screen right now, that says that several members of the Trump administration have faced similar questions. “Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer entered into two primary-residence mortgages in quick succession. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has primary-residence mortgages in New Jersey and Washington, D.C. Lee Zeldin, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, has one primary-residence mortgage in Long Island and another in Washington, D.C.” How will Vice President JD Vance respond to critics who say that the Trump administration is engaging in a double standard here? Vance criticized the journalism outlet, “ProPublica” calling it a left wing blog and wasn’t surprised it would be used to attack members of the Trump Administration. " Letitia James was indicted in a left-leaning part of our country, a part that voted very heavily against Donald J. Trump, for the crime of mortgage fraud. When I read the indictment, when I read the facts in the case, I see a person who committed mortgage fraud. Now, of course, the jury is going to decide whether she ultimately committed a crime. We don’t try her. The administration doesn’t try her. A judge tries the case, and a jury decides whether she’s ultimately guilty. That is what is going to determine whether she goes to prison. I think we let the facts drive this." Vance states.

CBS’ Face The Nation [10/12/2025 11:39 AM, Staff, 5000K] reports we are getting very close to that 72-hour deadline for the hostage release. The world seems to be holding it’s breath. Is the administration seeing signs that Hamas and Israel are complying with everything they need to and that this will go ahead? Vice President Vance says they feel very confident that the hostages will be released and that President Trump is traveling to the Middle East so that he can meet and greet them in person. "It’s a big day for their families, but I think, more importantly, it’s a big day for the entire world. Now, the president of the United States said to his entire diplomatic team, especially Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, to go and get a deal done, to stop the war in Gaza, to begin to rebuild Gaza so the population could live there in peace and prosperity, to actually eliminate the threat of terrorism to our friends in Israel – which is very, very important, and also to bring the hostages home alive." Vance states.

CBS’ Face The Nation [10/12/2025 11:39 AM, Staff, 5000K] reports there were more than 4,000 layoff notices, called RIFs, or reduction in force, announcements, that went out Friday to workers across seven different agencies, including Treasury and Health and Human Services. Take a listen to how the president described this. A video clip of President Trump is shown, he states: "We’ll be cutting some very popular Democrat programs that aren’t popular with Republicans, frankly, because that’s the way it works. They wanted to do this, so we’ll give them a little taste of their own medicine." Vice President Vance is asked how the lay off decisions are being made. Vance says the main thing that they are focused on is ensuring essential services remain open. "Obviously, in a government shutdown, we have limited funds to work with, because the appropriations that keep the government running have not been made. That’s thanks to Chuck Schumer and the Democrats. So we’re trying to do everything that we can to ensure that low-income women and children get the food services that they need. We’re trying to make sure that we pay our troops, because that matters for national security. We also want our people to get their paychecks. That’s where we’ve been focused. And, unfortunately, what that does mean Margaret is that some federal bureaucrats are going to have to get laid off. This is not a situation that we’re excited about. We want the government to reopen, but Chuck Schumer and the Democrats decided to shut down the government, and we have to deal with the consequences in the administration, so that’s what we’re doing. " Vance states. Hostess Margaret points out the lay offs aren’t furloughs and that people are getting notifications of being laid of/losing their jobs. "The government shutdown inevitably leads to some chaos. We are figuring out how to take money from some areas and give it to other areas. That chaos is because Schumer and the far left Democrats shut down the government. We have to remember, Margaret, that the vast majority of Republicans and – and, to their great credit, a number of moderate Democrats have consistently voted to reopen the government. But if Chuck Schumer and the far left Senate Democrats are going to shut down the government, that is going to lead to some chaos." Vance states.

NBC’s Meet the Press [10/12/2025 10:59 AM, Staff, 2062K] reports President Trump said this week, quote, "We have ended the war in Gaza." This is a monumental Sunday, does Vice President Vance see this moment as an end to the war in Gaza. "This was very hard. This was a long time coming. It required a lot of work. But yes, I believe that we are on the cusp of peace in Gaza for the first time, not just in a couple of years, but really in a very long time because the president of the United States has done something that no other world leader has been able to do: unite the Israelis with the Gulf Arab states for a common objective and that is to bring the hostages home, to stop the war, and to build the kind of long-term settlement that we really do believe can lead to a lasting peace." Vance states.

NBC’s Meet the Press [10/12/2025 10:59 AM, Staff, 2062K] reports the administration has begun layoffs of thousands of federal workers. And yet during the 2019 shutdown under the first Trump administration, which lasted 35 days, no federal workers were laid off. Why are these firings necessary? "Well, I just think it shows the different priorities of Democrats and Republicans in the midst of these shutdowns. You really have to ask yourself, "Who do we care more about? Federal bureaucrats in Washington D.C. or low-income women getting the food benefits they deserve, our troops getting the payment they need, flood insurance across the Southeast in the midst of hurricane season?" Vance states. President Vance is asked if laying off people is a priority. "We have to lay off some federal workers in the midst of this shutdown to preserve the essential benefits for the American people that the government does provide. So we don’t want to be in this situation. We don’t want to be laying off federal workers. But the Democrats have shut down the government. They have forced us to choose between American citizens and federal bureaucrats. We’re choosing the benefits, the critical services that benefit our American citizens." Vance states.

FOX News Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo [10/12/2025 10:59 AM, Staff]
Vice President JD Vance discusses the Gaza peace deal, its potential ramifications in the Middle East, the government shutdown and more on ‘Sunday Morning Futures.’

NPR [10/13/2025 12:57 PM, Meg Anderson, 28013K] reports there are countless videos on social media showing similar scenes. One, filmed by a photographer in Hyattsville, Md., shows a man pinned to the ground by two ICE officers. He pleads in Spanish and English for someone to help him. During the incident, one of the officers drops his gun and fumbles for it. Then, he appears to point it at bystanders. Emily Covington, an assistant director in ICE’s Office of Public Affairs, told NPR in a statement that drawing a weapon can be used as a de-escalation tactic. Another video, from Broadview, Ill., near Chicago, appears to show a man outside an ICE facility getting shot in the head with a pepper ball, a projectile filled with chemical irritants. That man, Pastor David Black, has sued the Trump administration. Late last month, a local CBS reporter said a masked ICE agent fired a pepper ball at her car at that same facility, causing her to vomit for hours. The reporter, Asal Rezaei, said there was no protest happening at the time. Broadview Police are now investigating. "These are just the tip of the iceberg," says Fred Tsao, senior policy counsel at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. "People being tackled, people getting pepper sprayed or tear gassed. We’ve seen people getting threatened. And we’ve seen at least two incidents involving gunfire." A majority of Americans do not approve of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics, according to a recent survey from The New York Times and Siena University. Yet in Chicago, immigrant advocate groups say federal immigration officers are escalating those tactics and becoming more violent. In Covington’s statement to NPR, she said ICE officers are "highly trained and act accordingly with law and policy." The statement also cited a sharp increase in assaults against ICE officers, though reporting from Colorado Public Radio suggests those claims are overblown.

The Hill [10/12/2025 10:17 AM, Tara Suter, 12595K] reports Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said on Sunday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are “doing the Lord’s work” as the agency faces criticism over its tactics. “I think the ICE agents are doing the Lord’s work. They’re doing what the president promised the American people he was going to do when he ran for the job and was elected in a big way,” Jordan told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.” “So, I think they’re doing their duty. What’s interesting is the pushback they’re getting in these sanctuary jurisdictions and these ICE-free zones, where many times they’re coming to — they’ve sent a detainer to the facility, and they will release the person to the streets, the bad guy to the streets, and won’t work with ICE at all.” In the first several months of his second term, President Trump’s administration has heavily cracked down on immigration, using tactics and methods that have drawn a lot of criticism from Democrats. On Wednesday, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin supported an ICE officer who shot a pastor with a pepper ball in the wake of a video of the incident going viral. Videos of the late September incident, which spread widely this week on social media, featured the Rev. David Black of the First Presbyterian Church getting hit in the head by an officer outside an ICE processing facility in a suburb of Chicago. It resulted in anger toward federal officers who have been deployed to the Windy City by Trump. “What this clipped video doesn’t show is that these agitators were blocking an ICE vehicle from leaving the federal facility—impeding operations,” McLaughlin said on the social platform X.

Univision [10/12/2025 7:15 PM, Marcos Martínez Chacón, 5004K] reports people thrown to the ground and handcuffed. Families terrorized by masked agents and unmarked government vehicles. A nine-months-pregnant U.S. citizen was handcuffed because government agents thought she was undocumented, in part because of her skin color, according to her legal defense. These situations are part of a complaint filed by a group of lawyers, American citizens, and a Democratic lawmaker with the United Nations Human Rights Council. This comes amid an increasingly aggressive arrest system by the Donald Trump administration that sometimes flouts due process.

Daily Wire [10/13/2025 8:30 AM, Jennie Taer, 2494K] reports a Haitian migrant who raped a young disabled girl in Massachusetts after he entered the United States under a Biden-era parole program will now spend more than a decade in jail for his crime. Cory Alvarez, 27, entered the United States on June 26, 2023, as part of the Biden administration’s CHNV scheme to allow 30,000 Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan migrants to fly into the country and receive a two-year permission to stay and work, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Alvarez then raped the helpless 15-year-old girl last year at the Comfort Inn on Hingham Street, which was temporarily housing migrants as part of a government program. The young victim told investigators that Alvarez lured her to his room by offering to help put apps on her tablet before he sexually assaulted her, according to NBC10 Boston. Alvarez was found guilty last month and has a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in state prison, according to Boston 10. Prosecutors, however, sought to keep him behind bars for 15 to 18 years. Alvarez was initially arrested by the Rockland Police Department on March 14, 2024, the day after he raped the young girl, according to ICE. Later that day, ICE lodged a detainer with the local authorities, asking them to hand him over if he was to be released. The Plymouth County Superior Court of Brockton, however, flouted the detainer on June 27, 2024, and allowed Alvarez to go free on a $500 bond. ICE was able to track him down and arrested him on August 13, 2024, near his home in Brockton. Federal officers eventually handed Alvarez back to local police to face local prosecution. "The Biden Administration lied to America. They allowed more than half a million poorly vetted aliens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela and their immediate family members to enter the United States through these disastrous parole programs; granted them opportunities to compete for American jobs and undercut American workers; forced career civil servants to promote the programs even when fraud was identified; and then blamed Republicans in Congress for the chaos that ensued and the crime that followed," Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said at the time.

MassLive [10/13/2025 9:01 AM, Adam Bass] reports a 13-year-old boy from Everett who was arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been transferred to a juvenile facility in Virginia. Andrew Lattarulo, of Georges Cotes Law, said his firm received an email from the U.S. Attorney’s Office confirming the child was transferred on Friday at 9:30 a.m. He forwarded the email to MassLive. The boy is still in custody, Lattarulo said. The transfer occurred on the same day Judge Richard G. Stearns of the Boston federal court ordered the boy’s release by Tuesday unless ICE and the Department of Homeland Security could provide grounds for continued detention, according to court documents. ICE arrested the boy, whose family is from Brazil, after an interaction with the Everett Police Department, the Boston Globe reported. The boy’s mother received a call on Thursday to pick her son up from the department; however, an hour and a half later, she was told ICE had taken her son, the Globe reported. ICE and the Everett Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comments on Monday. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin previously told MassLive that ICE had no idea that the teenager was a minor and that he was detained “to determine his identity and if he was a potential safety threat.” “ICE does NOT target juveniles or children,” DHS Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to MassLive. “At the time of the detainment, ICE had no knowledge of the individual’s age.”

Telemundo Washington DC [10/13/2025 1:59 PM, Rosbelis Quiñonez, 61K] reports a father reported that he was allegedly run over by immigration agents in Washington, DC, and then detained. Sebastián Ceballos, a 28-year-old Colombian, said he was working as a delivery driver on October 1 when he apparently noticed several vehicles following him. The woman insisted that her husband suffered several injuries, including a broken arm, back injuries, and one of his leg wounds that became infected because, apparently, he didn’t receive treatment in time. Because of this, Ceballos is unable to walk, according to his wife. Telemundo 44 has not been able to independently confirm these allegations. Ceballos, his wife, and their son entered the United States in 2022, according to information confirmed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The family apparently fled the armed conflict in Colombia and is in the process of seeking asylum in the United States. ICE told Telemundo 44 via email that Ceballos’s allegations are false. The agency added that the Hispanic man was taken to a medical center for a minor arm wound. However, they have not provided details about what happened during Ceballos’s arrest, whether he was run over by ICE agents, or his current medical condition.

Breitbart [10/13/2025 8:00 PM, John Binder, 2416K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested an illegal alien pedophile in the state of Virginia who has an extensive criminal record. Last month, ICE agents arrested 36-year-old illegal alien David Ambrosio-Herrera of Mexico in Charlottesville, Virginia. Ambrosio-Herrera is a registered sex offender after having been convicted of indecent liberties with a child under 15 years old. In October 2024, Ambrosio-Herrera was arrested by the Albemarle County Police Department after he exposed himself to a child at a school bus stop. Last month, Ambrosio-Herrera was convicted of those charges and sentenced to six years in prison, but the court suspended all six years of the sentence. As Ambrosio-Herrera was exiting the courthouse, ICE agents arrested him. He attempted to flee the scene but was apprehended and will remain in federal custody pending deportation. "David Ambrosio-Herrera is a serial criminal illegal alien and a convicted child sex offender. He is exactly the kind of person we aim to remove from the United States," ICE’s Joseph Simon said in a statement: “He has illegally reentered the country multiple times, has prior criminal convictions and should have never been here to traumatize this child. ICE Washington D.C. will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing criminal alien threats from our Washington D.C. and Virginia neighborhoods.”

Blaze [10/13/2025 2:55 PM, Carlos Garcia, 1442K] reports after some public outrage, the Department of Homeland Security released details about the criminal accusations against a minor who was arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The mother of the teenager told the media that she didn’t know why he was arrested. She also claimed that when she went to pick him up from the Everett Police Department, she was told he was being detained by ICE and then transported to a detainment center in Winchester, Virginia. Critics pounced on the story to criticize the administration. "This makes NO SENSE. A 13-year-old was arrested by local police for unknown reasons, and then turned over to ICE, which is detaining him far away from his mother — who is going through immigration court, has an asylum application on file, and is legally authorized to work," claimed Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, who heads an immigration activist group. On Monday, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin released information about the teen’s legal troubles. "Here are the facts: he posed a public safety threat with an extensive rap sheet including violent assault with a dangerous weapon, battery, breaking and entering, destruction of property," she wrote on social media. "He was in possession of a firearm and 5-7 inch knife when arrested." On Sunday, Judge Richard Stearns told ICE and the Department of Homeland Security that they must release the boy unless they produce a legitimate justification for his detainment. He also ordered that they must have a hearing no later than Oct. 17 for bail.

Chicago Tribune [10/13/2025 10:48 PM, Tess Kenny, 4829K] reports Daniel Greer is having trouble sleeping these days. The 49-year-old Berwyn resident keeps dreaming of federal immigration officers showing up where he works at Concordia Cemetery in the west suburban village of Forest Park. Again. Last week, Greer was one of four cemetery workers, all U.S. citizens, arrested during a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation that crossed over onto the private Christian cemetery property. They were ultimately released without charges, but that was after they were hit with pepper balls and pepper spray unleashed by agents and then detained for hours, Greer recalled. Greer, alongside two of the other three workers detained and Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins, stood together Monday evening at Constitution Court, a public square in the village’s downtown about three-quarters of a mile west of the cemetery. Hoskins called on the federal government to uphold the Constitution and demanded an end to the ongoing immigration crackdown pervading the Chicago area. "We respect federal authority, but what we’re seeing here has been an overreach," Hoskins said to members of the media. "So we ask for the immediate end of Operation Midway Blitz. This initiative has caused irreparable harm in our communities." In response to questions about the cemetery workers’ detainment, Department of Homeland Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a written statement they were arrested during an active ICE pursuit. "On October 7, ICE encountered two illegal aliens who attempted to flee arrest by crossing the Des Plaines River," McLaughlin stated. "The river was fast flowing, and the illegal aliens were up to their necks with water and at risk of drowning." McLaughlin accused "four U.S. citizens" of trying to "impede officers’ efforts to rescue the illegal aliens by blocking them from the embankment." Officers ultimately brought those in the river to shore and arrested them, according to McLaughlin. "Despite the agitation and lack of help from local government, ICE successfully arrested both illegal aliens, including Martin Martinez Guereca, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, previously convicted of assault in 2004, and Jaime Arturo Martinez Rojas, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico with previous arrests for drug possession and driving under the influence," McLaughlin’s statement read.

Reported similarly:
FOX 32 Chicago [10/13/2025 10:53 PM, Joanie Lum, 40019K]

Washington Post [10/13/2025 6:00 AM, Marianne LeVine, 24149K] reports that fight is between President Donald Trump, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. And over the last month, the feud has often played out in Broadview, a quiet suburb that is home to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility where most of those detained in “Operation Midway Blitz” are initially taken. Since the Department of Homeland Security’s operation began in early September, Broadview has been the sight of weekly protests and clashes. For the leaders and residents in this village of 8,000 people, the chaos has taken a toll. The Broadview Police Department has opened three criminal investigations into ICE’s alleged conduct over the last month.

Univision Chicago WGBO [10/13/2025 1:37 PM, Staff, 5004K] reports about 250 people were inside a Catholic church ready to attend the 8:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday, October 12, when they were alerted by first responders about the presence of several Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vehicles parked in front of the church. Despite the tension, the community and support groups remained on alert, even during the 6 p.m. Mass. Additionally, neighbors reported that ICE agents were present at various locations in Rogers Park, not just the church. According to residents and videos posted on social media, some arrests were reported in other areas. Throughout the afternoon, several community members, who were not part of rapid response groups, continued to monitor the area surrounding the church for the safety of the community and to alert anyone if ICE returned.

Houston Chronicle [10/13/2025 6:29 PM, Staff, 2983K] reports a Houston teenager with autism who was placed with immigration agents after his mom reported him missing is still in federal custody and will undergo surgery to remove his appendix, advocates said Monday. Emmanuel Gonzalez-Garcia went missing Oct. 4 after wandering off from the corner of Clay and Hempstead Road in northwest Houston, where he was selling fruit with his mother. "He is safe. He is scheduled to have emergency surgery sometime today to remove his appendix," said Cesar Espinosa, the executive director of FIEL Houston, an immigrant0aid organization that is assisting the family. Gonzalez-Garcia is 15 but has the cognitive ability of a 5-year-old child, Espinosa said. "He is very concerned. He is pretty scared about being at the hospital," he added. Maria Garcia, Gonzalez-Garcia’s mother, said she was able to speak with her son Monday, though he is still in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. She hopes that she’ll be able to see him after the hospital procedure, but is unsure if her son will be placed back in her care. The case has advocates fuming over the Houston Police Department’s decision to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement after they encountered the teenager. Officials with the Houston Police Department said that they contacted the agency after coming into contact with Gonzalez-Garcia, who said he was homeless and from another country. Police worked for more than four hours to confirm the child’s identity and find an acceptable person to leave him with, but couldn’t find anyone, officials said. After exhausting other options, Houston police worked with immigration officials to place the child with the Office of Refugee Resettlement inside the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, officials said. A spokesperson for ICE told the Houston Chronicle that at no point was the teen in the agency’s custody. Instead, he was transferred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which takes custody of unaccompanied migrant children.

FOX News [10/12/2025 2:00 PM, Stepheny Price, 40621K] reports federal and local authorities rescued more than 30 missing children and uncovered multiple trafficking operations targeting vulnerable youth during a coordinated crackdown across Texas. The effort, centered in San Antonio, led to arrests, felony warrants and several new investigations under a joint mission known as "Operation Lightning Bug.” Teams from the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) out of San Antonio, Del Rio, Midland, and Pecos joined forces with San Antonio Police Department’s Missing Persons Unit, Special Victims Unit, Street Crimes Unit and covert operatives. Together, they combed through Texas and national crime databases to identify at-risk juveniles and coordinate recovery efforts. Six sex trafficking survivors rescued and connected with support services. More than 120 additional juveniles voluntarily returned home, clearing their names from missing persons databases. Each recovered child was interviewed by SAPD’s Special Victims Unit to determine whether they had been victimized. Survivors were referred to support services provided by agencies such as Health and Human Services to ensure long-term care and protection. U.S. Marshal Susan Pamerleau, for the Western District of Texas, said in a statement that protecting children remains central to the Marshals Service’s mission. "The safety of our children is the safety of our communities, and justice demands that we protect those who cannot protect themselves," Pamerleau said. "Through Operation Lightning Bug, we reaffirm our promise to safeguard the most vulnerable and strengthen the safety of our communities.” San Antonio Police Chief William McManus echoed those sentiments, praising the effort as an example of law enforcement unity. "Every suspect arrested, juvenile returned home and survivor taken out of harm’s way matters," McManus said. "This operation demonstrates what can be achieved when law enforcement agencies unite to protect children.”

Blaze [10/13/2025 1:20 PM, Candace Hathaway, 1442K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement claims to have arrested an illegal alien truck driver who was issued a commercial driver’s license by New York State, reading, "NO NAME GIVEN.” ‘Allowing illegal aliens to obtain commercial driver’s licenses to operate 18-wheelers and transport hazardous materials on America’s roads is reckless and incredibly dangerous to public safety.’. In September, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) shared a photo of a New York State CDL belonging to "NO NAME GIVEN," whom he described as an illegal immigrant. Much of the identifying information on the Real ID was redacted. Stitt indicated that the individual was apprehended as part of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol’s enforcement actions, adding that troopers had captured 125 illegal immigrants. ICE announced Friday that it had arrested Anmol Anmol, an alleged illegal alien from India who had been issued a CDL by New York State. A photo of the license reads, "Anmol NO NAME GIVEN.” The CDL appeared to match the one previously posted by Stitt, as both displayed the same issue and expiration date. Blaze News contacted ICE to determine whether the license previously shared by Stitt belonged to Anmol. A search of the online ICE database confirmed that as of Monday afternoon, an individual named Anmol Anmol from India is being held at an ICE detention facility in Oklahoma. ICE stated that OHP encountered Anmol during a routine inspection at a weigh station on I-40. Anmol reportedly unlawfully entered the country in 2023, amid the Biden administration’s open-border crisis. He was arrested as part of a three-day enforcement operation partnership with OHP and placed in removal proceedings. "Allowing illegal aliens to obtain commercial driver’s licenses to operate 18-wheelers and transport hazardous materials on America’s roads is reckless and incredibly dangerous to public safety. Thanks to the successful 287(g) partnership of ICE and Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Anmol Anmol is no longer posing a threat to drivers," Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated. "New York is not only failing to check if applicants applying to drive 18-wheelers are U.S. citizens but even failing to obtain the full legal names of individuals they are issuing commercial driver’s licenses to," McLaughlin continued. "DHS is working with our state and local partners to get illegal alien truck drivers who often don’t know basic traffic laws off our highways.” "To see that on a driver’s license issued by a state, ‘No name given,’ and the worst part, there’s a Real ID star right up there in the corner," acting ICE Director Todd Lyons stated during an interview with Fox News. "You have these sanctuary states that want to go ahead and try to just make it welcoming for these people that we don’t even know who they are," Lyons continued. New York State Department of Motor Vehicles told Blaze News last week that the license in Stitt’s social media post "was issued in accordance with all proper procedures, including verification of the individual’s identity through federally issued documentation.” "The individual has lawful status in the United States through a federal employment authorization and was issued a license consistent with federal guidelines," the DMV’s statement continued. "This document was not issued under the Green Light Law. It is not uncommon for individuals from other countries to have only one name. Procedures for that are clearly spelled out in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services policy manual, and it is important to note that federal documents also include a ‘no name given’ notation.”

AP [10/12/2025 9:24 AM, Martha Bellisle, 19051K] reports Ramón Rodriguez Vazquez was a farmworker for 16 years in southeast Washington state, where he and his wife of 40 years raised four children and 10 grandchildren. The 62-year-old was a part of a tight-knit community and never committed a crime. On Feb. 5, immigration officers who came to his house looking for someone else took him into custody. He was denied bond, despite letters of support from friends, family, his employer and a physician who said the family needed him. He was sent to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Tacoma, Washington, where his health rapidly declined in part because he was not always provided with his prescription medication for several medical conditions, including high blood pressure. Then there was the emotional toll of being unable to care for his family or sick granddaughter. Overwhelmed by it all, he finally gave up. At an appearance with an immigration judge, he asked to leave without a formal deportation mark on his record. The judge granted his request and he moved back to Mexico, alone. His case is an exemplar of the impact of the Trump administration’s aggressive efforts to deport millions of migrants on an accelerated timetable, casting aside years of procedure and legal process in favor of expedient results. Similar dramas are playing out at immigration courts across the country, accelerating since early July, when ICE began opposing bond for anyone detained regardless of their circumstances. "He was the head of the house, everything — the one who took care of everything," said Gloria Guizar, 58, Rodriguez’s wife. "Being separated from the family has been so hard. Even though our kids are grown, and we’ve got grandkids, everybody misses him.” Leaving the country was unthinkable before he was held in a jail cell. The deportation process broke him. It is impossible to know how many people left the U.S. voluntarily since President Donald Trump took office in January because many leave without telling authorities. But Trump and his allies are counting on "self-deportation," the idea that life can be made unbearable enough to make people leave voluntarily. The Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review, which oversees immigration courts, said judges granted "voluntary departure" in 15,241 cases in the 12-month period that ended Sept. 30, allowing them to leave without a formal deportation mark on their record or bar to re-entry. That compares with 8,663 voluntary departures for the previous fiscal year. ICE said it carried out 319,980 deportations from Oct. 1, 2024 to Sept. 20. Customs and Border Protection declined to disclose its number and directed the question to the Department of Homeland Security. Secretary Kristi Noem said in August that 1.6 million people have left the country voluntarily or involuntarily since Trump took office. The department cited a study by the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that advocates for immigration restrictions.

Telemundo [10/13/2025 8:44 PM, Miryam Villarreal, 20K] reports a new law in California promises to bring peace of mind to immigrant parents who fear being separated from their children. The measure, AB-495, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, would allow parents to designate someone to care for their children if they are unable to do so, either because they are detained or deported. "I think it will bring more unity, there will be more preparation," said Joaquín Fernández, a resident of San José. "The plan is very good. I think it will bring more unity." Celeste Rodriguez, assemblywoman and author of the law, said the measure creates joint guardianship through the courts. Rodriguez explained that the parent submits documents and forms to ensure that custody is temporary and that parents retain their rights to reunite with their children without issue. Greg Burt, vice president of the California Family Council, expressed concern about the caregiver’s affidavit of authorization. He said it is a form that anyone can print out and grant them the power to make educational and medical decisions for a child without the parents’ approval. "Parents are not delegating their rights to this other person. They will continue to have their parental rights and custody, but they are only giving this person the power to take the children to school and to the doctor," Portillo explained. Portillo emphasized that temporary authorization for the care of a child already existed, but that this law expands it. In other words, now people not only have to find someone related by blood, but it can also be an acquaintance. "The disadvantage could be a concern about what kind of adult is going to take care of this child. However, this law also includes a rule stating that the school must ensure that the child actually lives with this person and must also provide proof. Furthermore, if they see a case of negligence or lack of care for the child, they must report that adult," said Portillo. However, according to Portillo, the measure has a greater advantage, allowing families to have a plan and choose someone responsibly. For immigrant families in the midst of uncertainty, he recommends the following: "I would recommend that they start looking at who they could give this type of authorization to and also remind them that they are not giving their rights to this person and also make sure that the person they choose is really someone they know will take care of their children and that they start preparing for this right now," said Portillo. The measure goes into effect on January 1, 2026. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Telemundo52 [10/13/2025 9:35 PM, Raymond Mesa, 76K] reports residents and activists opposed to the current administration’s deportation policies held a march on Monday in the city of Pomona. Approximately 50 people gathered to call for an end to immigration raids and to ask local officials to do more to protect the immigrant community. "ICE out of Pomona" was the chant of members of a coalition of 20 pro-immigrant organizations on Monday on the sidewalk in front of Pomona City Hall. One of the protesters, who is married to an immigrant, explained the fear she lives with. "I can’t take it anymore. I want to be the voice for my husband and the people who can’t come forward to express how things are affecting people’s lives," said Teresa Hernandez, who is married to a Mexican immigrant. Pomona is considered a sanctuary city, meaning that its police officers are not required to assist federal agents in enforcing immigration laws or detaining individuals based solely on their immigration status. But the protesters are asking authorities to go further. "We want the city of Pomona to declare an emergency and give us resources to help us protect families who have been stolen from the streets or their homes," said Jaime Gutiérrez, a member of the "ICE Out of Pomona" coalition. In a paragraph of the letter that pro-immigrant groups say they sent to the mayor and city council of Pomona, it says: "Now more than ever, we need our city leaders to communicate clearly and reaffirm their support and protection for undocumented immigrants." But as of Monday, "there is no response, they are not telling us if they are going to help the community," Gutiérrez added. But the protesters will continue to insist. Telemundo 52 tried to contact Tim Sandoval, mayor of Pomona, but so far we have not received a response. On several occasions, federal agencies have said they will continue with the arrests, since under President Trump and Secretary Noem, if you violate the laws, you will face consequences. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Univision [10/12/2025 4:28 PM, Staff, 5004K] reports immigrants who sell food, flowers and other products on the sidewalks of California will have new privacy protections against federal immigration agents. The move, enacted last week by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, adds to other state laws seeking to protect students in schools and patients in health facilities from the scope of President Donald Trump’s immigration actions. Democratic-led states have embraced laws to resist Trump’s offensive. This even as he intensifies his deportation campaign by seeking to deploy National Guard troops in Democratic-run cities to allegedly support Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who are sometimes aggressively arresting people suspected of being in the United States without authorization. In contrast, some Republican-led states are demanding that local agencies cooperate with ICE agents. “The actions of states really reflect the polarization of the country on this issue,” said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies and who supports immigration restrictions. “We have seen some states move to cooperate to the fullest extent possible” with the Trump administration and others “doing what they can to try to prevent immigration laws from enforcing in their state.” Across the U.S., state lawmakers have approved more than 100 immigration-related bills this year, according to an Associated Press analysis with the help of Plural bill tracking software. The measures are divided almost equally among those who grant and deny protections to immigrants. Immigrants make up a significant part of California’s urban street vendors. Some have been detained in immigration operations, in part, because their outdoor work in public places makes them easier targets than the people behind closed doors. California street vendors usually need permits from cities or counties. The new law prohibits local governments from asking about sellers’ immigration status, requiring fingerprints, or disclosing personal information — name, address, date of birth, social media identifiers, and phone numbers and driver’s license, among other things — without a court subpoena.

San Diego Union Tribune [10/12/2025 7:07 PM, Alexandra Mendoza, 1538K] reports as the vehicle approached the Tijuana border, Etelvina Lázaro’s son, sitting behind the wheel, asked her again if she was sure. "I’ve already made up my mind," she recalled telling him in Spanish. "I’m leaving.” Lázaro, a 54-year-old grandmother, had lived with her family in San Diego for over 20 years. But after her husband, Margarito, was arrested by federal immigration agents in mid-July and then deported, she made the hard decision to leave her grown children and grandchildren behind and follow him to Mexico. She is one of several undocumented immigrants who have decided to leave the country on their own amid President Donald Trump’s intensified efforts to crack down on illegal immigration. The federal government launched a process in May dubbed Project Homecoming, urging undocumented immigrants to return to their native countries or face the consequences. Through the CBP Home mobile app, eligible individuals can register for voluntary departure and receive a $1,000 exit bonus, a flight home and an exemption from fines for failure to depart. "Leave on your own terms. Avoid the jail cell. Avoid the humiliation," reads an Immigration and Customs Enforcement post about "self-deportation" on the social media platform X. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Thursday that "tens of thousands" of undocumented immigrants have utilized the CBP Home app but didn’t provide a specific number. Data obtained by ProPublica from DHS indicates that there have been about 25,000 departures via the mobile app — and a little more than half of them returned with assistance from the federal agency, according to the news report.

Daily Wire [10/13/2025 8:56 AM, Amanda Harding, 2494K] reports the Department of Homeland Security clapped back at pop singer Chappell Roan for her anti-ICE remarks at one of her recent concerts. The 27-year-old singer initially made headlines on Friday following her sold-out show at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. "I’m so lucky to be able to live here and to play here, and this city has always taken care of me, and it’s only my duty to take care of it back, so I just want to thank you," the singer, whose legal name is Kayleigh Amstutz, said before adding, "And f*** ICE forever." Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, responded to Amstutz on Sunday via a statement issued to TMZ. "‘Pink Pony Club’ is good," she said, referencing the singer’s popular single. "Pedophiles are bad. That’s who we’re getting off of our streets. Get a grip." Chappell Roan is just one of many celebrities taking an openly anti-ICE stance, even as threats and instances of violence against these federal agents increase.

Reported similarly:
Breitbart [10/12/2025 11:38 AM, Warner Todd Huston, 2416K]

Reuters [10/13/2025 7:35 AM, Tiemoko Diallo and Fadimata Kontao, 19051K] reports Mali has announced it will require U.S. nationals to post bonds of up to $10,000 for business and tourist visas, after the Trump administration said the West African nation would be added to its visa bond programme. The U.S. embassy in Mali said on Friday it will require bonds of up to $10,000 for tourist and business visas under the pilot programme effective October 23. The funds will be returned to travellers if they depart in accordance with the terms of their visas, according to a U.S. government notice. In a statement on Sunday, Mali’s foreign ministry said the government "deplores the unilateral decision by the U.S. government", adding that it undermines an earlier bilateral agreement on long-stay multiple-entry visas. "In accordance with the principle of reciprocity, Mali has decided to introduce an identical visa program, imposing the same conditions and requirements on U.S. nationals as those applied to Malian citizens," the statement said. U.S. State Department figures for the period 2015-2024 show that fewer than 3,000 non-immigrant U.S. visas are issued to Malians each year. Figures for the number of visas issued by Mali to U.S. citizens were not immediately available.

NewsMax [10/13/2025 4:19 PM, Jim Mishler, 4109K] reports U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks posted over the weekend that the Trump administration is "BREAKING RECORDS.” Banks proclaimed, "FISCAL YEAR 2025 CLOSEOUT STATS HIT LOWEST IN 55 YEARS!". He went on to write, "Southwest Border apprehensions were 237,565 — the lowest since 1970 and 87% below the average of the last four years, which was at 1.86 million.” "Plus we had ZERO releases for the fifth month in a row," he added. Banks said the historic achievement "restored control and security at the border" and represents "the most secure border in DECADES!". The post adds some flavor to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s release last week of fiscal year statistics, which showed that 72% of illegal border crossing attempts in the last fiscal year happened during the administration of former President Joe Biden. CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said, "For too long, agents and officers were handcuffed by failed policies.” Now with strict border policies from President Donald Trump, agents "are empowered to do their jobs — and the result is the lowest apprehensions in more than five decades and the most secure border in modern history," boasted Scott. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Mexico Business News [10/13/2025 11:10 AM, Staff] reports the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have announced the award of 10 new construction contracts totaling about US$4.5 billion. The projects will add 370km of new Smart Wall and nearly 643km of advanced surveillance technology along the southwest border, marking a major expansion in US border security infrastructure. “The Smart Wall means more miles of barriers, more technology, and more capability for our agents on the ground,” says Rodney Scott, Commissioner, CBP. The Smart Wall integrates steel and waterborne barriers, patrol roads, lights, cameras, and advanced detection systems to provide real-time situational awareness and tactical advantage to US Border Patrol agents. These projects are the first to be funded through US President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB), supplemented by limited Fiscal Year 2021 wall appropriations that had been suspended in previous years. To accelerate construction, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued waivers for environmental and procurement regulations covering about 14.5km in San Diego and 48km in New Mexico’s El Paso Sector. In addition, CBP awarded over US$550 million in support contracts to facilitate Smart Wall construction, operations, and technology integration. More awards are expected in the coming months as part of the OBBB’s multi-phase border security initiative. According to DHS, this new wave of construction represents “a turning point in US border infrastructure modernization,” aimed at balancing physical deterrence with digital surveillance to strengthen national security along the southwest border.

The Washington Post [10/13/2025 12:17 PM, Shannon Najmabadi and Aaron Gregg, 24149K] reports airports in more than a half-dozen U.S. markets have declined to display a video in which Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem blames congressional Democrats for the government shutdown and any related travel delays, citing the political nature of its content, according to local authorities. Officials that oversee airports in Buffalo, Charlotte, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland and Seattle said the video could violate internal policies that bar political messaging or contravene state or federal laws that prohibit the use of public resources for political activity. Some airports have not been asked to air the videos, as they don’t have screens available to play them with sound, according to local officials. Noem’s latest message was unusual because of its overtly partisan tone, some airline industry experts said. The video could put airports and local TSA management in an uncomfortable position. Publicly owned airports, for example, might be worried about running afoul of federal or state laws, Britton said. On the other hand, some airports might feel the need to “play along” to avoid angering the federal government as airports receive significant funding from the Federal Aviation Administration for runways and other infrastructure, he said. In other cases, whether the video is being played at a given airport could depend on who owns the screens, said an industry official speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue. In some cases the TSA might own the televisions systems, the person said. CNN [10/14/2025 2:05 AM, Alexandra Skores and Hanna Park, 18595K] reports that the video, first obtained by Fox News, is intended to play at security lines, with Noem stating, “It is TSA’s top priority to make sure that you have the most pleasant and efficient airport experience as possible while we keep you safe.” She also says, “However, Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government, and because of this, many of our operations are impacted, and most of our TSA employees are working without pay.” In an email to CNN, a spokesperson for the Port of Portland, which operates Portland International Airport, Hillsboro Airport and Troutdale Airport, confirmed a request came from the Transportation Security Administration to display the video message. “We did not consent to playing the video in its current form, as we believe the Hatch Act clearly prohibits use of public assets for political purposes and messaging,” said Molly Prescott, spokesperson for the Port of Portland. NewsMax [10/13/2025 7:01 PM, Mark Swanson, 4779K] reports that thousands of TSA agents and other federal employees continue to work without pay as the government shutdown nears the end of its second week. The impact is being felt across major U.S. airports, where staffing shortages have caused widespread travel disruptions. According to the report, nearly 8,000 flights within, into, or out of the U.S. were delayed Sunday, with 271 canceled. By early Monday afternoon, those numbers had grown to more than 3,900 delays and 475 cancellations nationwide.

Reported similarly:
New York Post [10/13/2025 7:30 PM, Victor Nava, 43962K]
StateScoop [10/13/2025 3:33 PM, Sophia Fox-Sowell]

USA Today [10/13/2025 4:16 PM, Eve Chen, 67103K] reports a nor’easter is whipping parts of the Mid-Atlantic coast with strong winds and heavy rain as it pushes into New Jersey on Oct. 13, according to the National Weather Service, which refers to the phenomenon as a “coastal low." More than 4,800 U.S. flight have been delayed and more than 500 have been canceled as of 4:15 p.m. ET, according to FlightAware, which tracks flight status. Travelers whose flights are canceled are automatically entitled to a full refund or fee-free rebooking, according to Department of Transportation rules.

USA Today [10/13/2025 2:01 PM, Gabe Hauari, 67103K] reports a nor’easter along the Mid-Atlantic coast is expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds to a large chunk of the East Coast from northeastern North Carolina to southern New England on Monday, Oct. 13. The National Weather Service said in its Oct. 13 forecast that the storm will move northeastward along the coast to New Jersey on Monday and then move eastward out over the Atlantic Ocean by Tuesday, Oct. 14. "The system will produce moderate rain across the southern Mid-Atlantic and Southeast coasts, as well as inland areas, tapering off by Monday evening," NWS forecasters said. "Rain will also develop over the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic on Monday, slowly tapering off by Tuesday afternoon/evening." Forecasters said the combination of "persistent, strong onshore winds, high surf, and high astronomical tides" may lead to significant coastal flooding in some East Coast communities, generate strong rip currents and potentially cause beach erosion. "Furthermore, the storm is likely to bring wind gusts exceeding 45 mph and periods of heavy rain, primarily in coastal areas. The strong wind and heavy rain may bring additional flooding from rainfall outside of the immediate coastal zones, as well as the potential for scattered power outages," the NWS said in the forecast. All of New Jersey has been under a state of emergency since Saturday night, Oct. 11, and that is expected to last into Monday. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also issued an emergency declaration for eight southern counties in the state on Sunday night, Oct. 12. The NWS office in Boston said the storm will bring potential for heavy rain, strong winds and minor coastal flooding to the area into Monday night, with lighter winds and rain lingering into Tuesday, Oct. 14. Delaware, meanwhile, is under a coastal flood warning until 8 p.m. on Oct. 13, with moderate to major tidal flooding expected in the state’s coastal areas, including the Delaware Bay, according to reporting from the Delaware News Journal, also part of the USA TODAY Network. In North Carolina, a coastal flood warning was in effect for Hatteras Island from Saturday through Monday morning, as well as a high surf advisory.

Bloomberg [10/13/2025 2:21 PM, Brian K. Sullivan, 18207K] reports an early-season nor’easter swept across the US East Coast, killing at least one person as it triggered power outages and travel delays, while across the continent a massive storm wreaked havoc on Alaska. The eastern storm will reach its peak before winding down overnight, said Frank Pereira, a senior branch forecaster at the US Weather Prediction Center. A gust of 43 miles (69 kilometers) per hour was recorded in Midtown Manhattan, while 57 mph was clocked at Eatons Neck on the north shore of Long Island. A 76-year-old Brooklyn resident was killed when a solar panel was blown off a carport, striking her in the head, the New York Daily News reported, citing police and the city buildings department. The storm, more typical of a large winter system, caused coastal flooding and prompted high wind warnings and advisories stretching from Massachusetts to North Carolina. New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared an emergency for New York City, Westchester County and Long Island. New Jersey also issued a similar declaration.

SFGate [10/13/2025 11:13 AM, Dina Sartore-Bodo, 13945K] reports homeowners are in the thick of the hurricane season, but they may need to brace themselves for bigger storms to come. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center announced Thursday that "La Niña conditions emerged in September 2025," a shift expected to influence both the tail end of this year’s hurricane season and the broader fall and winter weather across the United States. La Niña is a recurring climate pattern that occurs when ocean waters near the equator in the central and eastern Pacific cool below historical averages, according to AccuWeather. NOAA said an "expansion of below-average sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean" signaled the arrival of La Niña. While typically, La Niña conditions need to persist for five consecutive three-month periods to be official, according to AccuWeather senior meteorologist and long-range expert Paul Pastelok, this year’s La Niña appears to be "weak.” So how should homeowners prepare? Depends on La Niña. AccuWeather lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva said in the site’s forecast that the emergence of La Niña "favors an active end to the hurricane season.” He explains that during a La Niña phase, wind shear in the parts of the Atlantic basin where tropical systems form becomes less frequent, increasing the potential for more storms. Because of that, the chances of La Niña conditions "greatly increase late in the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, especially in October and November," DaSilva adds. So far, 10 named storms have formed in the Atlantic, of which four were hurricanes. Tropical storm Jerry is poised to be the fifth hurricane of the season by this weekend, though it’s far enough out to sea that it’s not slated to make landfall. While the first day of winter doesn’t land until closer to Christmas this year, meteorological winter begins on Monday, Dec. 1. With that in mind, should La Niña conditions strengthen, the impact would be felt dramatically. But as the system seems to be weakening, the system could be less impactful. In fact, Emily Becker, the lead writer of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s ENSO blog, told Live Science, that she did not feel that La Niña "wouldn’t exert a strong influence over the winter.” This aligns with other forecasts that have indicated the winter months could prove uneventful, yet particularly cold in the more southern states. All the same, it’s important for homeowners to safeguard their homes-both during hurricane season and before the extreme cold of the winter months sets in. "Catastrophic issues tend to happen in the winter-and when those occur, nine times out of 10 it’s due to failing to plan," says Janet O’Dea, owner of Powers Plumbing in San Diego, told Realtor.com®. "Taking some time to anticipate and be ahead of maintenance issues throughout the year takes a lot of pressure off.”

New York Times [10/13/2025 3:23 PM, Mark Walker, 153395K] reports a slow-moving coastal storm was drenching the Mid-Atlantic early Monday, washing out roads, knocking out power and snarling travel. It was expected to bring heavy rain to New York City and the surrounding region on Monday as officials warned of potential flooding and power outages. The worst of the storm was expected to pass the New York City area by late afternoon, with intermittent rain expected through the evening. The storm drenched much of the East Coast over the weekend with heavy rain, strong wind and coastal flooding. Winds and waves battered the Carolinas as oceanfront residents were urged to protect their homes. In South Carolina, some people had to be rescued from their cars as waters overwhelmed roads and swept into buildings, The Post and Courier reported. More than seven inches of rain fell in the last 48 hours in Williamsburg County, S.C., according to the U.S. Geographical Survey. In New York, utility companies added more than 1,600 workers in the Hudson Valley, Long Island and New York City to respond to the storm, the governor’s office said. Early Monday, wind reached 50 m.p.h. in the New York City area, with the strongest along Long Island. The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services urged residents with aboveground power lines to prepare for outages Monday morning.

USA Today [10/13/2025 10:11 AM, Brandi D. Addison, 67103K] reports a powerful nor’easter may wreak havoc on the East Coast, slamming the Carolinas and prompting emergency declarations in New York and New Jersey. Marking the first nor’easter of the season, the coastal storm is known for strong and dangerous waves, high winds, and heavy rainfall. In previous nor’easter events, the Outer Banks experienced severe beach erosion, coastal flooding, and dangerous surf conditions — sometimes literally knocking down homes and washing away sections of roadway. As the storm tracks north, forecasters warn it could bring similar hazards to coastal communities from Virginia to Massachusetts, including power outages, travel disruptions, and marine dangers with seas topping 10 feet, according to the National Weather Service office. The exact track will determine which regions see the heaviest impacts, but residents along the East Coast should prepare for worsening conditions. A dry high-pressure system is expected to move in, bringing calmer weather and milder temperatures to North Carolina on Oct. 12 and Oct. 13. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a state of emergency for New York City, Long Island, and Westchester due to the ongoing storm, urging residents to prepare and stay vigilant. "We’re ready to assist local partners as damaging winds and heavy rain move in, with the potential for flooding and power outages," Hochul said on social media. Meanwhile, acting Gov. Tahesha Way declared a state of emergency for New Jersey due to the impending nor’easter, making available a wide array of state resources to help local communities cope with extreme weather events.

CBS New York [10/13/2025 9:03 AM, Lisa Rozner, Christina Fan, Elijah Westbrook, Andrew Ramos, Katie Houlis, 39474K] reports New York City, Long Island and Westchester County are under a state of emergency due to a powerful nor’easter that’s impacting the region through Monday. The National Weather Service has issued Coastal Flood Warnings for Long Island, New York City and Westchester County through 8 p.m. Monday. The governor said the state had been working closely with county and city partners on storm preparations. New Jersey has also declared a state of emergency, as the storm is causing high surf and coastal flooding along the Jersey Shore. Coastal communities on Long Island are bracing for a one-two punch of high winds and flooding. Emergency officials warn portions of the Garden State are forecasted to experience moderate to major coastal flooding, along with sustained winds of up to 60 mph and high surf, potentially causing significant beach erosion and dune breaching.

CBS New York [10/13/2025 1:46 PM, Jesse Zanger, 39474K] reports there has been at least one storm-related death in New York City. A 76-year-old woman was struck and killed by a solar panel in Brooklyn, officials said. It happened just after 10:30 a.m. Sunday at 3100 Ocean Parkway. According to the Department of Buildings, a solar panel from the top of a carport structure in an outdoor parking lot flew about 20 feet through the air before hitting the woman. She was rushed to the hospital, where she later died. The incident is under investigation, but it took place while a wind advisory was in effect throughout New York City due to the nor’easter that’s been impacting our area. Officials have taken several precautions in the area since the incident, including temporarily closing one of the nearby Q train entrances, as well as issuing a partial vacate order to the parking lot. High winds have brought down more than 100 trees citywide during the storm. A large tree in Laurelton, Queens crushed a car on 228th Street between 137th and 138th Avenues. As of Monday morning, peak wind gusts during the storm were unofficially calculated at 42 mph in Brooklyn. Wind and coastal flooding have been the top concerns with this storm. A Coastal Flood Warning remains in effect for New York City, Long Island and and Westchester County through 8 p.m. Monday.

AP [10/13/2025 3:02 AM, Kathy McCormack, 12595K] reports a nor’easter churned its way up the East Coast on Sunday, washing out roads and prompting air travel delays as heavily populated areas of the Northeast experienced excessive rain, lashing winds and coastal flooding. Across the continent in western Alaska, the remnants of Typhoon Halong brought hurricane-force winds and catastrophic flooding to coastal communities, pushing entire houses off their foundations. Rescue aircraft were sent to the tiny Alaskan villages of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok, where there were reports of up to 20 people possibly unaccounted for, said Jeremy Zidek, spokesperson for the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. “We have received reports that people’s homes have floated away and that people were potentially in those homes,” Zidek told The Associated Press. At least eight homes were swept away in Kipnuk and at least four homes were swept away in nearby Kwigillingok, Zidek said. He said Sunday evening that search efforts were continuing, and that they were still trying to determine exactly how many people hadn’t been accounted for. The area is among one of the most isolated in the U.S., where some communities have few roads and residents use boardwalks, boats and snowmobiles to get around, Zidek said. Roads and boardwalks were inundated and power lines were damaged in Bethel, Napaskiak, Napakiak, and other Yukon-Kuskokwim communities. Crews worked to clear the airport runway in Bethel, which was littered with debris from high winds. According to the nonprofit Coastal Villages Region Fund, nearly 600 people in Kipnuk were taking shelter at a local school while around 300 people in Kwigillingok were sheltering in a school there. “Every effort will be made to help those hit by this storm. Help is on the way,” Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in a statement. Heavy rain fell from the Carolinas all the way north into New England. “The greatest effects are going to be the coastal flooding potential,” said meteorologist Bob Oravec with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland. In Delaware, emergency management officials activated the state National Guard in response to rising floodwaters and harsh winds. A voluntary evacuation order was issued for the town of Bowers Beach, where the Murderkill River flows into Delaware Bay. In North Carolina’s Outer Banks, an area that’s seen significant storm damage this season, ocean overwash spread across Highway 12 at a motel near Buxton, the Dare County Sheriff’s Office posted online Sunday. The office urged travelers to be cautious and put property owners on alert as high tide approached. The waves were ferocious at the Hatteras Island town of Buxton, where several beachfront homes have fallen into the water in recent weeks. One house was losing its pilings Sunday and appeared close to collapsing. “The waves are crashing really hard into the houses and the dunes, and it’s all eroding,” said Robert Splawn, who was watching on the beach. Flooding was widespread down the coast in Georgetown County, South Carolina, where several motorists had to be rescued when rising waters inundated their cars, Emergency Services Director Brandon Ellis told the Post and Courier on Sunday. The weather service said parts of the county received up to 7 inches (18 centimeters) of rain. Further south in Charleston, South Carolina, many downtown streets were closed because of flooding. Homeowner David Graubner spent the weekend pumping out his property, hoping to avoid a repeat of Friday, when the high tide brought nearly a foot (30 centimeters) of water into his garage, where his new Corvette was parked. “And I got all my toys in the garage and tools and stuff. So whatever helps. Even lowering the water by a few inches makes a difference,” Graubner told WCIV-TV. There were several road closures in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, as heavy rain overwhelmed that city’s stormwater system. “Please be safe and stay home, if possible,” Myrtle Beach officials posted on Facebook.

Reported similarly:
NBC News [10/13/2025 6:59 PM, Sam Brock, 34509K] Video: HERE

USA Today [10/13/2025 12:03 PM, Andrea Riquier, 67103K] reports the 13-day-old government shutdown is raising alarms in coastal and other flood-prone areas where homeowners depend on coverage from the national insurer that covers gaps in the private insurance market. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was one of many programs that ran out on Sept. 30. Mortgage lenders require homeowners in high-risk areas to carry insurance against flood, but few private homeowners’ policies offer that coverage. The NFIP covers 4.7 million policyholders in 23,000 communities across the country, for a total of $1.3 trillion in flood insurance, according to an analysis from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). During previous government shutdowns, some lenders have waived the requirement or allowed existing policies to be transferred, NAR notes. But as the current standoff grinds on, such workarounds may become impossible. NAR estimates as many as 1,400 closings could be impacted each day that the government remains shuttered.

Washington Post [10/13/2025 6:15 PM, Molly Hennessy-Fiske, 24149K] reports a new joint Texas legislative committee will investigate the response to the historic July 4 floods that killed at least 137 people in Central Texas, the country’s deadliest flood in nearly 50 years. “The tragedy at Camp Mystic and the flooding disasters this summer have left a devastating impact on Texas families, communities, and our entire state,” said Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, a Lubbock Republican. “As Texans work to rebuild and recover, it is the responsibility of the legislature to understand what went wrong and ensure our state is better prepared for future emergencies.” State lawmakers initially responded to the tragedy by creating flood committees, holding hearings — including a contentious field hearing at the epicenter in Kerrville — and passing several bills, notably the Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act crafted in cooperation with families of 27 girls who died at Camp Mystic. But with two bodies still missing — including 8-year-old Mystic camper Cile Steward — many remain outraged by what they perceive as the botched flood response and the prospect of troubled camps reopening. It’s not yet clear whether the new committee will delve further into what went wrong during the floods, and if so, whether lawmakers will hold anyone accountable. Camp Mystic Executive Director Richard “Dick” Eastland, who died in the flood, did not begin to evacuate campers near the rapidly rising Guadalupe River for more than an hour after he received a severe flood warning on his phone from the National Weather Service at 1:14 a.m. on July 4, a family spokesman told The Post. When Camp Mystic’s owners announced plans last month to reopen, campers’ families pushed back, including the Stewards, condemning it in a letter as “unthinkable.” “We call on Camp Mystic to halt all discussion of reopening and memorials,” the letter shared with Washington Post said. “Instead, Cile must be recovered, and you must fully confront and account for your role in the events and failures that caused the deaths of our daughters.” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick noted in Monday’s announcement that he was “shocked to see Camp Mystic begin signing up campers for next year with so many questions unanswered about what happened that fateful morning.” Patrick said he appointed the investigative committee “to get to the bottom of exactly what occurred.” “This committee’s task is to examine the facts and circumstances surrounding the July flooding, including actions taken at youth summer camps. The families who lost their precious daughters deserve answers, as do all Texans, on exactly what happened on July 4th,” Patrick said. “Camp Mystic has not spoken publicly on the record as to what happened that morning. They will be invited to testify, as will others involved in this flooding event.” Matthew Childress, of Houston, father of Camp Mystic counselor Chloe Childress, 18, who died in the flood, said in a statement that he welcomed the new committee and hoped lawmakers would uncover more about the disaster. “We are grateful that Texas lawmakers are taking this tragedy seriously and launching a formal investigation into what happened at Camp Mystic,” Childress said. “The truth about what happened on July 4th and thereafter must come fully to light. The eyes of Texas are on this process. What happens next must continue to honor the lives lost and ensure lasting change.”

CBS News [10/13/2025 4:01 AM, Staff, 39474K] reports that the remnants of Typhoon Halong brought hurricane-force winds and catastrophic flooding to coastal communities in western Alaska on Sunday, pushing entire houses off their foundations. Rescue aircraft were dispatched to the tiny Alaskan villages of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok, where there were reports of up to 20 people possibly unaccounted for, said Jeremy Zidek, spokesperson for the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. "We have received reports that people’s homes have floated away and that people were potentially in those homes," Zidek told The Associated Press. Alaska State Troopers said both Kipnuk and Kwigillingok were hit by "strong winds and heavy flooding, which caused significant damage, including at least eight homes being pushed from their foundations." In Kwigillingok, at least 18 people were rescued, while at least 16 people were rescued in Kipnuk, Alaska State Troopers said Sunday evening local time. Three people were still unaccounted for in Kwigillingok as of 6:50 p.m. local time. Troopers had also received reports of people still unaccounted for in Kipnuk but couldn’t confirm the exact number. "Search efforts will be continuing overnight as conditions allow," the troopers said in a statement Sunday evening. ... "This is an active and ongoing search and rescue effort." That effort was being coordinated by the Alaska State Troopers, with assistance from the Alaska Air National Guard, Alaska Army National Guard and U.S. Coast Guard, the troopers pointed out. More than a dozen agencies are involved in the disaster response, CBS Fairbanks affiliate KXDF-TV reported, including the Alaska National Guard. "The Alaska Organized Militia, which includes the Alaska National Guard, Alaska State Defense Force, and Alaska Naval Militia, has been requested to activate up to 60 members to assist with storm response operations across affected western Alaska communities," the National Guard wrote Saturday. According to the nonprofit Coastal Villages Region Fund, nearly 600 people in Kipnuk were taking shelter at a local school while around 300 were sheltering in a school in Kwigillingok. Roads and boardwalks were inundated and power lines were damaged in Bethel, Napaskiak, Napakiak, and other Yukon-Kuskokwim communities. Crews worked to clear the airport runway in Bethel, which was littered with debris from high winds. The area is among the most isolated in the U.S., and some communities have few roads and residents use boardwalks, boats and snowmobiles to get around, Zidek said. "Every effort will be made to help those hit by this storm. Help is on the way," Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in a statement. Dunleavy also said he has expanded the state’s disaster declaration to include areas impacted by the storm. He initially issued the disaster declaration Thursday in western Alaska following another powerful storm.

New York Post [10/14/2025 1:29 AM, Caitlin McCormack, 42219K] reports the Coast Guard rescued a man stranded in choppy waters off the shore of Cape Cod on Monday afternoon — smack in the middle of a nor’easter that battered the state. Passengers aboard a Steamship Authority Ferry were horrified when someone spotted a man floundering near Juniper Point-Woods Hole as thick fog rolled through the area. The ship’s crew reported the sighting around 3:30 p.m. as others tried to save him and lobbed multiple life rings overboard while waiting for the Coast Guard. "Out of nowhere, one person stood up and said, ‘Man overboard,’ and it was really intense because every single person on the boat shot up immediately," Roy Mundy, a passenger onboard the ferry, told CBS News. The ferry hadn’t departed from the Juniper Point-Woods Hole dock in Falmouth, Mass, when passengers spotted the man overboard. The boat was scheduled to depart the port at 3:45 p.m. for Martha’s Vineyard, according to The Steamship Authority’s fall schedule. A Coast Guard crew arrived and caught sight of him from their helicopter near Nobska Point at about 4:25 p.m. — a whole hour after the ferrymen reported the sighting, the outlet reported.

Federal News Network [10/13/2025 9:54 AM, Anastasia Obis, 986K] reports the federal government’s push to modernize its digital defenses has entered a new phase, one focused on protecting data from computing capabilities of the future. As agencies juggle multiple modernization efforts — from implementing zero trust to expanding cloud capabilities and integrating artificial intelligence — technology leaders warn that none of it will matter if the nation’s encryption can be cracked by quantum computers. Most agencies across the federal government are just at the beginning of their post-quantum journey, cataloging their most critical systems, testing new cryptographic standards, and partnering with industry to prepare for the day quantum computers render current encryption methods obsolete. The Department of the Air Force, for example, is overhauling its compliance processes to prepare its networks for a post-quantum world with a new framework called the "Cyber Cake." Meanwhile, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, National Institute of Standards and technology industry are all laying the groundwork for a governmentwide transition to post-quantum cryptography. "If we run around screaming that the whole house is on fire, we’re just not going to get anywhere. We have to be very clear and cogent in our approach," said Merrick Watchorn, chief cyber, quantum and cognitive information services architect for the Air Force.

Federalist [10/13/2025 7:04 AM, Helen Raleigh, 785K] reports a Chinese hacking group is reportedly behind a significant espionage campaign targeting U.S. technology firms and legal services, highlighting a worrisome escalation in China’s cyber "Cold War" with the United States. Since March 2025, Google’s Threat Intelligence Group and its cybersecurity subsidiary, Mandiant, have tracked suspicious activities, delivered over a backdoor malware known as "BRICKSTORM." This sophisticated campaign is targeting a variety of sectors, including law firms, software-as-a-service providers, and other technology companies. Following extensive monitoring and analysis, Google has linked these hacking efforts to UNC5221, a long-suspected Chinese Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actor, alongside other "threat clusters" associated with China. The BRICKSTORM campaign is especially disturbing for two primary reasons. Firstly, it was crafted to ensure "long-term stealthy access" by embedding backdoors into targeted systems, enabling hackers to dodge conventional detection and response methods. The stealth campaign has proven so adept that, on average, these intruders remain undetected in targeted systems for nearly 400 days, as revealed by a Google report. Secondly, the motivations behind these cyberattacks transcend the theft of trade secrets and national security data. Google suspects that these hackers are also probing for "zero-day vulnerabilities targeting network appliances," as well as "establishing pivot points for broader access" to additional victims. This indicates a strategy to gather intelligence that could be pivotal to the Chinese military should tensions escalate between the U.S. and China. Xi Jinping, the leader of Communist China, has consistently expressed his ambition for the nation to become a "cyber superpower." With this goal in mind, the Chinese government has invested significant resources in building a formidable cyber army.

CBS News [10/12/2025 7:30 PM, Scott Pelley, 39474K] reports that, until recently, Tim Haugh was among America’s top spymasters. The four-star general spent 33 years in Air Force Intelligence and rose to lead America’s largest and most advanced intelligence agency. Haugh was also in charge of defending America from computer threats. In his first television interview since retirement, General Haugh is here to warn that China has hacked into U.S. computer networks to an astonishing degree. And he believes he knows why. The surprise, Tim Haugh told us, is that China is targeting not just the U.S. military and industry but also Americans in their homes. Gen. Tim Haugh: I think initially we were surprised that China would target every American with these capabilities. That goes against every norm of international law. That certainly goes against how the United States military would approach targeting in a crisis or a conflict. That the fact that they would go after basic services as part of their effort that they have identified as unrestricted warfare is unconscionable. Scott Pelley: And what did they target? Gen. Tim Haugh: They targeted water. They targeted electrical power infrastructure; transportation are examples of the types of things that were targeted. And in many cases they’re vulnerable. Multiple intrusions at utilities were discovered in 2023. And China had been on some of their computer networks at least five years. Scott Pelley: You’re saying that the Chinese today are in American power plants, water treatment plants, other parts of the electrical grid, maybe even hospitals, telecommunications, all of that? Gen. Tim Haugh: So there is a daily contest that is going on to be able to deny China those accesses. But they are certainly attempting every single day to be able to target telecommunications, to be able to target critical infrastructure, both in the United States and in other countries. And they are doing that to try to ensure that they have an advantage in a crisis or a conflict. Scott Pelley: Is China preparing for war? Gen. Tim Haugh: There was no other reason to target those systems. There’s no advantage to be gained economically. There was no foreign intelligence-collection value. The only value would be for use in a crisis or a conflict. In 2024, Tim Haugh rose to lead both the National Security Agency, America’s largest spy agency, plus U.S. Cyber Command, the military defense in cyberspace. Haugh took over just as the scope of China’s hacking of utilities was becoming clear in a place no one would have imagined. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Axios [10/13/2025 10:53 AM, Josephine Walker, 12972K] reports twelve people were killed, and at least 40 people were injured after shootings marred three different high school events in two states over the weekend. The shootings mark another devastating weekend in America, and underscore the pervasiveness of gun violence across the country. Four people were killed and at least 20 were injured at a high school alumni event on the South Carolina coast early Sunday morning, according to a statement from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. Separate shootings following high school football games in Mississippi left 20 people injured and eight dead, including a pregnant woman. What they’re saying: Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves called the shootings "senseless acts of violence" in a post on X Saturday. "Our state is praying for the victims and their families," he said. "Those responsible will be brought to justice." The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said "hundreds of people" were present when the shooting occurred in a news release on Sunday. "This is a tragic and difficult incident for everyone. We ask for your patience as we continue to investigate this incident. Our thoughts are with all of the victims and their loved ones," the office said. 337 mass shootings have occurred so far this year in the U.S. as of Oct. 11, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Any incident involving more than four people being shot, not including the shooter, is considered a mass shooting by GVA standards. There is no standard definition for what constitutes a mass shooting, but Axios has consistently used GVA’s definition in its analysis and coverage of mass shootings and gun violence in recent years. The U.S. is far from the 689 mass shootings that occurred in 2022, which is the most GVA has charted since it began tracking gun violence totals in 2013. On its website, GVA also notes that mass shootings are, by and large, an "American phenomenon." One in 15 Americans has witnessed a mass shooting firsthand, according to a University of Colorado Boulder study reviewed by Axios’ Alayna Alvarez earlier this year. The survey of 10,000 U.S. adults reported that 2% of survivors were injured, whether by shrapnel or the chaos of fleeing the scene, and more than 75% who said they were uninjured still suffered psychological distress. Over half of the respondents who’ve witnessed a mass shooting said it happened within the past decade. "It’s not a question of if one will occur in your community anymore, but when," senior study author David Pyrooz said in a statement in March. "This study confirms that mass shootings are not isolated tragedies, but rather a reality that reaches a substantial portion of the population, with profound physical and psychological consequences," he said, noting that people who grew up in the aftermath of Columbine are a part of a "mass shooting generation." He also called for additional support for the most affected groups and highlighted the need for stronger support programs aimed at reducing gun violence.

Los Angeles Times [10/13/2025 5:11 PM, Jason M. Blazakis, 14862K] reports President Trump’s executive order designating antifa as a "domestic terrorist organization" was never really about antifa. It was about building a template for repression. Now, with his latest order on "Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence," the blueprint is clear: free expression, political dissent and municipal autonomy are in the crosshairs. I’ve argued in the past that the antifa order was legally flimsy and practically unnecessary. Antifa is not a structured organization. It’s more an idea than an entity; a loose coalition of individuals dedicated to countering fascism. And while some have crossed the line from peaceful protesters to violent agitators, violence already has ample legal remedies under state and federal law. The danger of the order is in its symbolism, as the administration begins to stress-test just how far it could go in labeling domestic opponents as enemies of the state. This new executive order goes much further. Cloaked in the language of protecting Americans from terrorism, it opens the door to weaponizing federal law enforcement against the right’s political rivals. The Justice Department is now directed to treat broad swaths of dissent in Democratic-led cities, from Los Angeles to Portland, Ore., to Chicago, as "organized political violence." In practice, this could mean turning Joint Terrorism Task Forces — entities designed to track designated foreign terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda and Islamic State — inward on Americans, investigating protest organizers, city officials, charities and journalists whose views run counter to the administration’s agenda. That should alarm every American. The task forces bring the full investigative powers of the FBI, Homeland Security and state and local law enforcement together under one umbrella. Using those tools to surveil political opponents would chill lawful protest and erode civil liberties. Imagine federal prosecutors wielding "domestic terrorism" charges against activists accused of creating disorder at a rally. The line between protest and terrorism, already blurred by the Trump administration’s policies and disinformation, could vanish entirely. Moreover, the weaponization of the task forces to go after domestic political enemies of the president may result in governors pulling their resources out of the units. This would put Americans more at risk of actual threats — such as those posed by homegrown violent extremists who subscribe to Islamic State or Al Qaeda doctrine. During these early days of Trump’s second term, we’ve moved beyond rhetoric and social media missives. What was once rhetoric has now hardened into executive action. The effect could be to criminalize opposition under the guise of counterterrorism. Today it’s antifa; tomorrow it may be climate activists, immigrant-rights groups, even political parties. The risks extend beyond free speech. By equating political opposition with terrorism, the administration is also militarizing America’s domestic landscape. In a speech last month in Quantico, Va., the president told senior military officers he would not hesitate to deploy U.S. armed forces against "the enemy from within." This was no off-the-cuff remark. It signals a willingness to use troops — trained for foreign battlefields — in American streets to quell political dissent.

DailySignal [10/12/2025 8:00 AM, S.A. McCarthy, 549K] reports as violence against Nigerian Christians continues to surge, one American senator is pressing Nigerian officials to protect their people from persecution. "Officials in Nigeria are ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, charged in a social media post Oct. 3, highlighting news of 5,000 Nigerians fleeing their home country for neighboring Cameroon in the face of attacks by jihadist militia Boko Haram. "It’s time to hold those responsible accountable," Cruz said, touting new legislation. "My Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act would target these officials with powerful sanctions and other tools.” Cruz’s legislation would require the secretary of state to identify Nigerian government officials who have "promoted, enacted, or maintained Nigerian blasphemy laws, including through public advocacy, legislative action, or executive enforcement directives" or "tolerated violence by non-state actors invoking religious justifications to commit acts of violence." The legislation would also designate Nigeria as a "Country of Particular Concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act and impose sanctions on the country and its government officials. "Nigeria’s federal government and a dozen state governments enforce blasphemy laws in their criminal and sharia codes, and they ignore or facilitate mob violence targeting Christians," Cruz explained to Fox News this week. "Since 2009, over 50,000 Christians in Nigeria have been massacred, and over 20,000 churches and Christian schools have been destroyed," Cruz recounted. "These atrocities are directly linked to the policies of Nigerian federal and state officials. They are the result of decisions made by specific people, in specific places, at specific times—and it says a great deal about who is lashing out now that a light is being shone on these issues," he continued. "The United States knows who those people are, and I intend to hold them accountable.” Nigerian Minister of Information Mohammed Idris contested Cruz’s assertions. "The Nigerian government rejects that. This is certainly not true," Idris said. "This is not true. This is not the reflection of what is on the ground. I mean, it’s false where you say over 20,000 churches have been burned. It’s also false if you say 52,000 (Christians killed). Where did he get those numbers from? I think this is absolutely absurd," he continued.

New York Post [10/12/2025 3:11 PM, Anthony Blair and Chris Nesi, 42219K] reports at least four people were killed and 20 injured, four of them critically, after a mass shooting at high school reunion at a South Carolina bar early Sunday, according to authorities. All four victims were found dead at the scene after at least one shooter opened fire on the crowd of hundreds during the shocking attack at Willie’s Bar and Grill on St. Helena Island just before 1 a.m., the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said. "Upon arriving at the scene deputies made contact with a large crowd of people, several of which were suffering from gunshot wounds," the statement read. "It was learned that hundreds of people were at the location when the shooting occurred. Multiple victims and witnesses ran to the nearby businesses and properties seeking shelter from the gunshots," the statement continued. The bar was hosting a tailgate event for an "alumni event" of nearby Battery Creek High School when the shooting broke out, owner Willie Turral told The Post and Courier. No arrests have been made, but authorities say they are "investigating persons of interest." The victims were rushed to the hospital by Beaufort County EMS on Sunday morning. Their names have not yet been released, and the exact circumstances behind the shooting are not known at this time, the sheriff’s office said. "This is a tragic and difficult incident for everyone. We ask for your patience as we continue to investigate this incident. Our thoughts are with all of the victims and their loved ones," the statement concluded.

Reported similarly:
AP [10/12/2025 5:20 PM, Lewis Levine, 4829K]
CBS News [10/12/2025 3:20 PM, Staff, 39474K]
Blaze [10/13/2025 10:46 AM, Dave Urbanski, 1442K] r

ABC News [10/12/2025 2:34 PM, Staff, 30493K] Video: HERE reports at least six people are dead and 10 other people injured after a mass shooting in Leland, Mississippi, according to officials.

AP [10/13/2025 1:32 AM, Jeff Martin] reports FBI agents are seeking the public’s help identifying four people seen near a mass shooting in a Mississippi Delta town that left six killed and more than a dozen injured over the weekend. The FBI’s Jackson Field Office late Sunday released photos of the four — one female and three males — shown in surveillance video and identified in an FBI poster as “unknown suspects.” Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive for Friday night’s shooting in Leland, but the FBI said the gunfire appears to have been “sparked by a disagreement among several individuals.” The shooting, which came as people celebrated homecoming weekend in downtown Leland shortly after a high school football game, was the deadliest of several shootings across Mississippi over the weekend. Other shootings were reported at two Mississippi universities on Saturday, as those schools celebrated their homecoming weekends. In Leland, four of the victims died at the scene, where abandoned shoes were left and blood stained the pavement of a downtown street the following day. The shooting in Leland was the 14th mass killing in 2025, according to The Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University Mass Killing Database.

New York Post [10/14/2025 12:56 AM, Zoe Hussain, 42219K] reports four people have been arrested in connection with a shooting spree at a Mississippi homecoming football game that killed six and injured more than a dozen, according to authorities. Teviyon L. Powell, 29; William Bryant, 29; and Morgan Lattimore, 25, have been charged with capital murder, and Latoya A. Powell, 44, has been charged with attempted murder for Friday’s shooting, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Jackson Field Office announced Monday. Earlier this week, the FBI announced they were seeking the public’s help in locating the whereabouts of four individuals in connection with the shooting. On Sunday, the agency released photos of one female and three males shown in surveillance video and identified in an FBI poster as "unknown suspects." Other arrests are currently pending, authorities added.

CBS News [10/13/2025 9:12 PM, Staff, 39474K] reports the parents of the 29-year-old gunman who opened fire on a Dallas immigration facility in September told police their son was "completely normal" before he moved to Washington state and returned home several years ago, believing he had "radiation sickness" and was "allergic to plastic," according to newly released records. Joshua Jahn had begun wearing cotton gloves to avoid contact with plastic and practiced target shooting with a newly purchased rifle in Oklahoma a month before the deadly rooftop attack on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building, according to a report written by a Fairview Police Department officer. Jahn killed two detainees and wounded another before taking his own life in the Sept. 24 shooting. The records, obtained by The Associated Press through an open records request, reveal no clues about what may have motivated the attack. Federal authorities said previously that Jahn wrote "ANTI-ICE" on a bullet and left handwritten notes indicating he wanted to ambush and terrorize ICE agents. The new records show that on the day of the shooting, Jahn’s parents told the FBI he would "occasionally discuss current events" with his mother but rarely engaged in conversations. His parents said he was a "loner" who was "obsessed" with artificial intelligence technology. The parents, Andrew and Sharon Jahn, did not immediately respond Monday to text and phone messages from The AP. Neither the police nor FBI immediately responded to a request for comment. The FBI said only that because of the government shutdown, it was focused on national security, violations of federal law and essential public safety functions.

CBS News [10/13/2025 6:36 AM, Staff, 39474K] reports twenty members of a gang designated a "foreign terrorist organization" by the United States have escaped from detention in Guatemala, a prison chief said Sunday. The members of the Barrio 18 gang "evaded security controls" at the Fraijanes II facility, prison director Ludin Godinez said at a news conference. Godinez said they were investigating possible acts of corruption. Washington last month blacklisted Barrio 18, an El Salvador-based gang which has a reputation for violence and extortion, as part of its crackdown on drug trafficking. The U.S. embassy in Guatemala condemned the prison escape as "utterly unacceptable." It called on the Guatemalan government to "act immediately and vigorously to recapture these terrorists."

AP [10/13/2025 9:51 AM, Michelle Chapman, 30493K] reports JPMorgan Chase will directly invest up to $10 billion in U.S. companies with crucial ties to national security. The investment plan revealed Monday will focus on four areas: supply chain and advanced manufacturing in critical minerals, pharmaceutical precursors and robotics; defense and aerospace; energy independence, with investments in battery storage and grid resilience; and strategic technologies, including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum computing. The investment is part of the bank’s Security and Resiliency Initiative, a $1.5 trillion, 10-year plan to facilitate, finance and invest in industries critical to national security. "It has become painfully clear that the United States has allowed itself to become too reliant on unreliable sources of critical minerals, products and manufacturing – all of which are essential for our national security," Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement. "Our security is predicated on the strength and resiliency of America’s economy. America needs more speed and investment.” This summer, JPMorgan helped put together a deal under which the Defense Department agreed to invest $400 million in U.S. rare earth company MP Materials. The bank is also providing financing for MP Materials’ second magnet producing factory in the U.S. The nation’s largest bank plans to finance approximately $1 trillion over the next decade in support of clients in these industries. JPMorgan Chase is looking to increase this amount by up to $500 billion, or a 50% increase, with additional resources and capital. "America needs more speed and investment," Dimon said. "It also needs to remove obstacles that stand in the way: excessive regulations, bureaucratic delay, partisan gridlock and an education system not aligned to the skills we need.” JPMorgan says that it serves 34,000 mid-sized companies and more than 90% of the Fortune 500. It plans to hire more bankers, investment professionals and other experts to help address its investment plan. It will also create an external advisory council that includes leaders from the public and private sectors to help guide the long-term strategy.

Reported similarly:
New York Post [10/13/2025 10:55 AM, Ariel Zilber, 42219K]
Daily Caller [10/13/2025 10:38 AM, Ireland Owens, 835K]

NewsMax [10/12/2025 3:15 PM, Sandy Fitzgerald, 4109K] reports Sen. Bill Hagerty said Sunday that he was "shocked to no end" that former special counsel Jack Smith placed him and other Republican senators under surveillance as part of the FBI’s Arctic Frost investigation tied to the Jan. 6 events. He called it another example of "lawfare" against President Donald Trump and his allies. "This isn’t the first time it’s happened to me," the Tennessee Republican told Fox News’ "Sunday Morning Futures." "It happened when I was helping President Trump in 2016. We were surveilled then, under the Obama administration. And [then], under President Biden, it [was] happening again. The one thing we all have in common is that we’re Republicans.” Hagerty said Smith, who brought multiple indictments against Trump, obtained a subpoena allowing investigators to monitor his phone calls, including the numbers dialed, call duration, and location data. He said Verizon, his carrier, confirmed the surveillance in response to his inquiry. "I sent a letter to Verizon demanding they tell me why this happened," Hagerty said. "They said they were operating under a subpoena. I want to know who issued it, what they were looking for, and why we weren’t informed. We’re going to get to the bottom of this.” Hagerty added that Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is already working to call in Department of Justice and FBI officials for hearings. He suggested that the operation was politically motivated. "There was no pretext, just that we were allies of President Trump. This lawfare has got to come to an end," said Hagerty.

NewsMax [10/12/2025 4:56 PM, Staff, 4109K] reports Denmark has unveiled one of its most ambitious military expansions in modern history: $4.2 billion to strengthen Arctic and North Atlantic security. The plan is in alignment with President Donald Trump’s renewed defense agenda. Denmark’s new Second Agreement on the Arctic and North Atlantic forms part of the 2024 to 2033 Defense Agreement and includes a broad range of measures to modernize Denmark’s military presence in the "High North," including Greenland. Copenhagen’s decision in favor of an Arctic buildup comes after Trump said earlier this year that Greenland, a territory of Denmark, was "necessary ... for international security." "You have Russian boats all over the place, you have China’s boats all over the place — warships — and they [Greenland] can’t maintain it," Trump said. Denmark’s multibillion-dollar plan will fund new Arctic naval vessels, a maritime patrol aircraft capacity, an air-surveillance radar system, additional drones, and a new Joint Arctic Command headquarters in Nuuk, Greenland. The plan also includes infrastructure upgrades and a North Atlantic undersea cable connecting Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands.

Reuters [10/12/2025 7:32 AM, Staff, 4109K] reports the Kremlin said on Sunday Russia was deeply concerned about the possibility of the U.S. supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, warning that the war had reached a dramatic moment with escalation from all sides. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that before agreeing to provide Tomahawks, he would want to know what Ukraine planned to do with them because he did not want to escalate the war between Russia and Ukraine. He said, however, that he had "sort of made a decision" on the matter. Tomahawk missiles have a range of 2,500 km (1,550 miles), meaning Ukraine would be able to use them for long-range strikes deep inside Russia, including Moscow. Some retired variants of Tomahawks can carry a nuclear warhead, according to the U.S. Congressional Research Service. "The topic of Tomahawks is of extreme concern," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state television reporter Pavel Zarubin in remarks published on Sunday. "Now is really a very dramatic moment in terms of the fact that tensions are escalating from all sides.” The war in Ukraine, Europe’s deadliest since World War Two, has sparked the biggest confrontation between Russia and the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, and Russian officials say they are now in a "hot" conflict with the West. Peskov said that if Tomahawks were launched at Russia, Moscow would have to take into account that some versions of the missile can carry nuclear warheads. "Just imagine: a long-range missile is launched and is flying and we know that it could be nuclear. What should the Russian Federation think? Just how should Russia react? Military experts overseas should understand this," Peskov said.

CBS News [10/13/2025 7:37 PM, Staff, 39474K] reports by the time President Trump boarded Air Force One on Monday evening, his diplomatic blitz had spanned 12 hours on the ground in two countries. In Egypt, he huddled with heads of state and diplomats from three dozen countries to flesh out the finer points of the Israel-Hamas peace deal. Nancy Cordes has the latest. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Post [10/13/2025 3:10 AM, Richard Pollina, 42219K] reports President Trump declared "the war is over," aboard Air Force One as he headed to Israel on Sunday night — predicting that the cease-fire deal he hammered through could end the centuries-long Middle East conflict. Trump also said the deal "could be the biggest thing I was ever involved in" — before he touched down at Ben Gurion Airport. "The war is over," he told reporters. "I think people are going to behave. Everybody knows their place. It’s going to be great for everybody," he said. "I think people are tired of it," he added. "It’s been centuries, OK, not just recent. It’s been centuries. I think people are tired of it. Yeah, the ceasefire is going to hold.” Air Force One touched down just after the first seven living hostages were freed by Hamas and returned to Israel. He was greeted on the tarmac by his daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, along with Middle East peace negotiator Steve Witkoff and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Crowds from New York to Tel Aviv to Gaza have chanted Trump’s name and praised him for the cease-fire deal, which he said will end the two-year war between Israel and Hamas.

Breitbart [10/13/2025 10:23 AM, Nick Gilbertson, 2416K] reports President Donald Trump said decades of jihadism and terrorism in the Middle East have "backfired" on its perpetrators and emphasized the countries that have previously "reached across ancient divides" are among the region’s most successful. Trump rebuked Islamic extremism and terrorism and its failed results while addressing the Knesset after brokering the first phase of a peace agreement between Israel and Hamas last week. "It should now be clear to everyone throughout the region that decades of fomenting terrorism and extremism, jihadism, and antisemitism have not worked. They haven’t worked. They’ve been a disaster. They’ve just killed. They’ve killed," he said. "They backfired completely and totally. They’ve just totally backfired–everything that you thought. Take it worst case, it’s turned out to be worse than that. They have not worked from Gaza to Iran; those bitter hatreds have delivered nothing but misery, suffering, failure, and death," he added. Instead of weakening Israel, Trump said acts of terrorism and jihadism have served to bring destruction upon "the very forces that did the most to foment this hatred.” "Everybody that’s tried it has become irrelevant," the president continued. "Meanwhile, we’ve seen those nations that set aside their differences, reached across ancient divides, and pursued engagement are now among the most successful in the region.” Trump also declared that "the forces of chaos, terror, and ruin that have plagued the region for decades" are "totally defeated.” He thanked God– the God of "Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob," to open his speech and declared that "After so many years of unceasing war and endless danger … the sun rises on a Holy Land that is finally at peace.” "It will be the Golden Age of Israel, and the Golden Age of the Middle East," he added.

NewsMax [10/13/2025 8:20 PM, Michael Katz, 4109K] reports the White House on Monday night released a peace declaration aimed at ending more than two years of war between Israel and Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. President Donald Trump signed the declaration earlier Monday in Egypt with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It calls for commitments from all parties to Trump’s 20-point peace plan, centered on an immediate ceasefire, the exchange of hostages and prisoners, and a road map for Gaza’s administrative and economic reconstruction. Here is the text of the declaration in full: “We, the undersigned, welcome the truly historic commitment and implementation by all parties to the Trump Peace Agreement, ending more than two years of profound suffering and loss — opening a new chapter for the region defined by hope, security, and a shared vision for peace and prosperity. We support and stand behind President Trump’s sincere efforts to end the war in Gaza and bring lasting peace to the Middle East. Together, we will implement this agreement in a manner that ensures peace, security, stability, and opportunity for all peoples of the region, including both Palestinians and Israelis. We understand that lasting peace will be one in which both Palestinians and Israelis can prosper with their fundamental human rights protected, their security guaranteed, and their dignity upheld. We affirm that meaningful progress emerges through cooperation and sustained dialogue, and that strengthening bonds among nations and peoples serves the enduring interests of regional and global peace and stability. We recognize the deep historical and spiritual significance of this region to the faith communities whose roots are intertwined with the land of the region — Christianity, Islam, and Judaism among them. Respect for these sacred connections and the protection of their heritage sites shall remain paramount in our commitment to peaceful coexistence. We are united in our determination to dismantle extremism and radicalization in all its forms. No society can flourish when violence and racism is normalized, or when radical ideologies threaten the fabric of civil life. We commit to addressing the conditions that enable extremism and to promoting education, opportunity, and mutual respect as foundations for lasting peace. We hereby commit to the resolution of future disputes through diplomatic engagement and negotiation rather than through force or protracted conflict. We acknowledge that the Middle East cannot endure a persistent cycle of prolonged warfare, stalled negotiations, or the fragmentary, incomplete, or selective application of successfully negotiated terms. The tragedies witnessed over the past two years must serve as an urgent reminder that future generations deserve better than the failures of the past. We seek tolerance, dignity, and equal opportunity for every person, ensuring this region is a place where all can pursue their aspirations in peace, security, and economic prosperity, regardless of race, faith, or ethnicity. We pursue a comprehensive vision of peace, security, and shared prosperity in the region, grounded in the principles of mutual respect and shared destiny. In this spirit, we welcome the progress achieved in establishing comprehensive and durable peace arrangements in the Gaza Strip, as well as the friendly and mutually beneficial relationship between Israel and its regional neighbors. We pledge to work collectively to implement and sustain this legacy, building institutional foundations upon which future generations may thrive together in peace. We commit ourselves to a future of enduring peace. Signed by Donald Trump, president of the United States of America, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, president of Egypt, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, emir of Qatar, and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, president of Turkey.

New York Post [10/13/2025 6:36 PM, David Propper, 42219K] reports President Trump said he’d be "proud" to visit war-torn Gaza, as the Palestinian enclave now faces the long, daunting road to reconstruction — which is expected to cost more than $50 billion. The territory has been largely flattened in the two years of fierce fighting, with at least 60 million tons of rubble to be cleared, the United Nations’ Environment Program estimated. That is more than 30 times the amount of rubble cleared from Ground Zero after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. In Gaza City, the enclave’s most populous city, approximately 83% of structures have been destroyed, according to the latest UN data taken from satellite imagery between September 22 and 23. Rebuilding war-ravaged Gaza will likely cost at least $50 billion, the World Bank has estimated. Trump has made the monumental endeavor a key part of his administration’s widely-praised 20-point peace plan — and when asked on Sunday if he’d like to visit Gaza one day, the president didn’t hesitate. "I would, yeah, I would. I’d be proud to," he told reporters on Air Force One, while en route to Israel for the hostage release. "I know it so well without visiting, but … I’d like to put my feet on it at least, but I think it’s going to be a great miracle over the coming decades.” The details of the reconstruction are yet to be hashed out — with both Egypt and Britain planning to host summits on rebuilding the Palestinian territory — but it will involve international investment, according to Trump’s Gaza peace plan. "A Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energise Gaza will be created by convening a panel of experts who have helped birth some of the thriving modern miracle cities in the Middle East," the 20-point plan lays out. Stay up to date on the Israel-Hamas cease-fire exchange. "Many thoughtful investment proposals and exciting development ideas have been crafted by well-meaning international groups, and will be considered to synthesize the security and governance frameworks to attract and facilitate these investments that will create jobs, opportunity, and hope for future Gaza.” Palestinians would be allowed to stay and participate in that revival, according to Trump’s plan. The president previously mused that he’d like to morph Gaza into "the Riviera of the Middle East.” A post-war plan drafted by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and presented to the White House proposes the establishment of the Gaza Investment Promotion and Economic Development Authority to secure investments for Gaza’s reconstruction, the Times of Israel reported. It will be a "commercially driven authority, led by business professionals and tasked with generating investable projects with real financial returns," the outlet said. In the meantime, the UN is aiming to ramp up its delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza in the first 60 days of the cease-fire, a top UN official said last week. Israel’s military campaign in response to Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack has left 2 million Palestinians displaced – or about 90% of the population, according to the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross. "We will aim to increase the pipeline of supplies to hundreds of trucks every day. We will scale up the provision of food across Gaza to reach 2.1 million people who need food aid and around 500,000 people who need nutrition," said Tom Fletcher, the under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator. The UN additionally said Monday it was allocating another $11 million in aid from an emergency fund to increase operations in Gaza. Trump remained optimistic about rebuilding Gaza at a celebratory peace-deal signing attended by dozens of nations in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on Monday. "Rebuilding is maybe going to be the easiest part," Trump said, adding that "we know how to build better than anybody in the world.”

FOX News [10/14/2025 3:08 AM, Bradford Betz, 40621K] reports President Donald Trump, when asked about the prospect of a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians, declined to commit, telling reporters, "We’ll have to see.” The comments came during a press gaggle aboard Air Force One as Trump returned home after signing a historic peace agreement that ended two years of fighting in Gaza. When the topic came up, Trump said he was focused on rebuilding Gaza after two years of Israeli bombardment, following the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre by Hamas. "I’m not talking about a single state or double state or two state," Trump said, adding: "A lot of people like the one-state solution, some people like the two-state solution. We’ll have to see.” Trump said any decision on the matter would be made in coordination with regional and international partners. The president concluded a whirlwind trip Monday that included a global peace summit in Egypt and a speech before the Knesset in Jerusalem earlier in the day, where he celebrated a U.S.-brokered ceasefire with Hamas. Speaking to leaders gathered in Egypt, Trump called for a new era of harmony in the Middle East, seeking to advance broader peace in the region. "We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to put the old feuds and bitter hatreds behind us," Trump said, urging leaders "to declare that our future will not be ruled by the fights of generations past.” Leaders from dozens of countries, including from Europe and the Middle East, attended the summit.

CBS News [10/13/2025 4:07 PM, Staff, 39474K] reports the last surviving hostages in Gaza are now back with their families after more than two years in captivity as people across Israel celebrate the U.S.-brokered peace plan. Samantha Vinograd, former assistant secretary for counterterrorism at DHS, joins CBS News with more on what happens now in the regio. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Post [10/13/2025 9:56 AM, Ronny Reyes, 42219K] reports Israel began releasing nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners on Monday as part of the hostage exchange deal with Hamas — including some convicted for murder and terrorism. The first wave of prisoners arrived in the West Bank and Gaza soon after Hamas released the final 20 living hostages it had kept in brutal conditions for more than two years since Oct. 7, 2023. The Jewish state is set to free some 1,700 Palestinians who were arrested during the two-year war, as well as 250 other Palestinians serving prison time — including some convicted for murder and terrorism in deadly attacks dating back decades, a blow to the families of the victims. The prisoners received a sick hero’s welcome at Gaza’s Nasser hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, where huge crowds gathered to cheer them. There were similar celebrations in the West Bank’s Beitunia neighborhood as the freed prisoners exited their vans and flashed V-for-victory signs at the cheering crowds. The Israeli military allegedly sent out warnings to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza to not celebrate or support "terrorist organizations" at the risk of arrest, according to flyers obtained by the Associated Press.

Breitbart [10/13/2025 5:30 AM, Staff, 2416K] reports all 20 living hostages released by Hamas on Monday morning have returned home, the Israeli military said, as the first phase of a cease-fire deal takes effect in hopes of ending the two-year-old war. The hostages returned to Israel in two groups, the first a group of seven followed by a group of 13. The hostages have been identified as Omri Miran, 48; Guy Giloa Dalal, 24; Ziv Berman, 28; Gali Berman, 28; Eitan Avraham Mor, 25; Alon Ohel, 24; Sgt. Matan Angrest, 22; Rom Braslavski, 21; Avinatan Or, 32; Yosef Haim Ohana, 25; Maxim Harkin, 37; Matan Zangauker, 25; Elkana Bohbot, 36; Bar Abraham Kupershtein, 23; Eitan Horn 39; Ariel Cunio, 28; David Cunio, 35; Evyatar David, 24; and Segev Kalfon, 27. “There are no more living Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity,” the IDF said in a statement. It’s official: There are no more living Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity. pic.twitter.com/qa1Lh4vhhv— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 13, 2025 The hostages were returned to Israel by the Israeli military, which had received the men in Gaza from the Red Cross. The Red Cross had been given the hostages by Hamas and affiliated militant groups. The men have undergone an initial medical assessment are are on their way to hospitals where they will be reunited with the rest of their families. Ohel, Giloa Dalal, Miran, Mor and the Berman brothers have been flown by the Israel Air Force helicopters to the hospital, the IDF and ISA said. Israel was expecting to receive 20 hostages, the last believed to be alive, of the 48 hostages in Hamas’ possession. In exchange, Israel is to release 1,700 Palestinians it has imprisoned, including 250 who were sentenced to life behind bars. The exchange is the first step in U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war, which the American leader unveiled late last month and which Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement on the first phase through Egyptian mediation last week. “We’ve been waiting for this moment for so, so long,” The Hostage and Missing Families Forum said in a statement on Facebook, along with a video showing people celebrating in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, where tens of thousands have reportedly gathered. “But it won’t be complete until the last hostage is home.” As the release of the first seven hostages was announced, Netanyahu said he and his wife, Sara, left them a personal note in the welcome kits that reads: “On behalf of the entire people of Israel, welcome back! We have been waiting for you. We embrace you.” On the other side of the exchange, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said it was finishing its preparations at the Nasser Medical Complex to receive detainees to be released by Israel, though Israel’s prison service has yet to comment on developments. Not long after the hostages were handed over to the Israeli military, Air Force One landed at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, and Trump descended to the tarmac while a band played as Netanyahu, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and others waited to greet him. Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, who were central to the American president’s foreign policy of his first administration, were among those there to greet him. Trump is to speak at the Knesset, then attend a summit in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh on Monday with the aim of ending the war in Gaza. Discussions are also expected to concern the reconstruction of the Palestinian enclave that has been destroyed by Israel.

FOX News [10/13/2025 6:26 PM, Staff, 40621K] reports Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reports on the release and emotional reunions of Israeli hostages on ‘Special Report.’ [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reuters [10/13/2025 6:11 AM, Nidal al-Mughrabi, 36480K] reports Hamas forces have killed 32 members of "a gang" in Gaza City in a security campaign launched after a ceasefire came into effect on Friday, while six of its personnel were also killed in the violence, a Palestinian security source said on Monday. The official said the security operation in Gaza City had targeted members of a "dangerous gang affiliated with a family in Gaza City". The operation had led to the arrest of 24 people and 30 others being wounded, the official said. Since the ceasefire in the two-year-long war with Israel, the Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza has deployed security forces in what it has described as an effort to prevent a security vacuum that would be filled by lawlessness and looting. While U.S. President Donald Trump has demanded Hamas disarm under a plan to end the Gaza war, he indicated that it had a green light for internal security operations, saying they wanted "to stop the problems" and "we gave them approval for a period of time". The official did not identify the gang involved, although there are several clans in Gaza which have long been seen as rivals to Hamas but who only emerged in more open opposition as the war ground on. There have been several clashes. However, the official said the gang was not part of a group led by the most prominent anti-Hamas rebel, Yasser Abu Shabab, who is based in Rafah in southern Gaza, an area controlled by Israel. Hamas has accused Abu Shabab and his supporters of being collaborators with Israel. He denies receiving Israeli support or having contacts with the Israeli army. The Hamas security official said a senior aide to Abu Shabab "has been liquidated" since the security campaign started with the ceasefire, and said the hunt for Abu Shabab was underway. "The security campaign is continuing and escalating until this issue is completely over, and no party will be allowed to violate the law," he added.

Reuters [10/13/2025 4:51 AM, Trevor Hunnicutt and Nidal al-Mughrabi, 36480K] reports U.S. President Donald Trump suggested Hamas had been given a greenlight for internal security operations it is conducting in the Gaza Strip, saying the group wants "to stop the problems" and "we gave them approval for a period of time". The Palestinian militant group, which must disarm and end its rule of Gaza under Trump’s proposal for ending the war, has deployed internal security forces in parts of the Gaza Strip since a ceasefire came into effect on Friday, saying it aims to stop lawlessness and looting and prevent a security vacuum. Asked by a journalist aboard Air Force One about reports that Hamas was instituting itself as a police force and shooting rivals, Trump said "they do want to stop the problems, and they’ve been open about it, and we gave them approval for a period of time". "You have close to 2 million people going back to buildings that have been demolished, and a lot of bad things can happen. So we want it to be - we want it to be safe. I think it’s going to be fine. Who knows for sure," Trump said. Much of Gaza has been turned to a wasteland during the war ignited by Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel. Hamas security forces have been clashing with members of a clan in Gaza City over the last two days. The Hamas Interior Ministry issued a statement on Sunday offering an amnesty to people it said had joined outlawed gangs responsible for stealing humanitarian aid and looting, on condition they were not involved in bloodshed.

Reported similarly:
ABC News [10/13/2025 2:24 PM, Meredith Deliso and Fritz Farrow, 30493K] Video: HERE

AP [10/13/2025 1:50 AM, Chan Ho-Him] reports China’s exports to the United States fell 27% in September from the year before, even though growth in its global exports hit a six-month high. China’s exports to the United States have fallen for six straight months. In August they dropped 33%. The outlook is cloudy as a truce between Beijing and Washington unravels and both sides hit out with new tariffs and other retaliatory measures. As exports to the United States have come under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies aimed at trying to get manufacturers to shift factories to America, China has expanded markets for its products in other regions. Tensions with the U.S. reignited Friday after Trump threatened an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods and export controls on “critical” software. That came after China announced it would hit American ships with new port fees in response to a U.S plan to impose port fees on Chinese vessels docking in the country. Beijing also extended export controls on lithium-ion batteries and on exports of rare earths and related technologies.

AP [10/13/2025 9:01 PM, Didi Tang and David Klepper, 31753K] reports for many years, American and Chinese scholars worked shoulder to shoulder on cutting-edge technologies through open research, where findings are freely shared and accessible to all. But that openness, a long-standing practice celebrated for advancing knowledge, is raising alarms among some U.S. lawmakers. They are worried that China — now considered the most formidable challenger to American military dominance — is taking advantage of open research to catch up with the U.S. on military technology and even gain an edge. And they are calling for action. “For far too long, our adversaries have exploited American colleges and universities to advance their interests, while risking our national security and innovation,” said Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican and chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. He has introduced legislation to put new restrictions on federally funded research collaboration with academics at several Chinese institutions that work with the Chinese military, as well as institutions in other countries deemed adversarial to U.S. interests. The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party makes it a priority to protect American research, having accused Beijing of weaponizing open research by converting it into a “pipeline of foreign talent and military modernization.” The rising concerns on Capitol Hill threaten to unravel deep, two-generations-old academic ties between the countries even as the world’s two largest economies are moving away from each other through tariffs and trade barriers. The relationship has shifted from engagement to competition, if not outright enmity.

Breitbart [10/12/2025 11:12 PM, Staff, 2416K] reports that, an escalating trade war between China and the United States faces another flashpoint Tuesday when Chinese ships will be required to start paying a special fee to dock at US ports. The move announced by the US Trade Representative (USTR) in April triggered reciprocal measures from Beijing, which will impose similar costs on US ships starting the same day. The tit-for-tat levies are just the latest in a series of disputes between the world’s two largest economic powers that have roiled financial markets and heightened fears of major disruption to the global economy. President Donald Trump massively upped the ante last week when he announced an additional 100 percent tariff on China and threatened to cancel a summit with Xi Jinping in retaliation for Chinese export curbs on rare earth minerals. The stated purpose of the US port fees is to address Chinese dominance of the global shipping sector and provide an incentive for building more ships in the United States. The non-partisan Alliance for American Manufacturing has called for the funds raised through the fees to be used in building up a new Maritime Security Fund. "The unfair economic practices of China present a sizeable obstacle to revitalizing shipbuilding in the United States," the alliance said in a petition supporting proposed legislation aimed at developing the sector. According to the USTR, the port fee will be charged for each visit to the United States, a maximum of five times per ship per year. Chinese-made ships will pay $18 per net ton — or $120 per container — with an increase of $5 per year for the following three years. Vessels owned or operated by Chinese citizens, but not manufactured in China, will be charged $50 per net ton, with an annual increase of an additional $30 for the next three years. The United States is trying to boost a domestic industry that now represents only 0.1 percent of global shipbuilding. The Trump administration also sees US shipbuilding as tied to national security, given that China leads the world in ship manufacturing. In 2024, former president Joe Biden had tasked the USTR with an investigation to identify "China’s unfair practices in the shipbuilding, shipping, and logistics sectors.” His successor has kept up that focus. In March, Trump announced the creation of a White House Office of Shipbuilding with the aim of reviving that sector of US manufacturing. On Friday, Beijing fired back. As of Tuesday, the Chinese government announced, all ships manufactured in the United States or linked to an American company would have to pay "special" duties to dock at ports in China.

CBS News [10/12/2025 7:31 PM, Brit McCandless Farmer, 39474K] reports Chinese entities have been acquiring land in key locations near U.S. military bases, sparking national security concerns about possible spying — or even a potential attack. Former national security official David Feith laid out the potential risk in an interview with 60 Minutes. Feith worked on U.S.-China policy for the State Department in the first Trump administration, and until April, worked in Trump’s second administration on the National Security Council. While there, he grew increasingly alarmed by where China owns America’s farmland. "The ability to own large tracts of land, especially close to sensitive U.S. military and government facilities, can pose an enormous problem given the nature of technology today, which is that hostile actor from all across the world can very easily exploit access to land, access to buildings and warehouses, access just to a shipping container or two and do enormous damage, either in intelligence terms or in military terms," Feith told 60 Minutes. Feith cited Ukraine’s recent drone attack in Russia as an example. In June, the Ukrainian military attacked Russian nuclear-capable bombers with remotely operated drones it had smuggled into the country. For China, Feith explained, owning farmland in the United States gives America’s geopolitical rival more operating room for potential strikes. "It’s an entirely new way of war," he cautioned. This fear is why, in 2023, North Dakota politicians blocked a Chinese company from building a corn mill near an Air Force base in Grand Forks. At the time, the company denied it would use the mill to spy on or harm the U.S. China isn’t the only nation buying American farmland. According to the most recent data available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, non-Americans own about 45 million acres — or about 3 and a half percent — of agricultural land in the U.S. That’s up about 70 percent from a decade earlier. Canadians own about a third of that, while Chinese nationals own just under 1 percent, at 277,336 acres. It may be a small percentage, but it is enough to grab the attention of politicians. There’s no federal law stopping foreigners from buying American farmland, but 29 states now limit it or ban it altogether, according to the most recent data from the National Agricultural Law Center. As part of a seven-point national security plan, the Trump Agriculture Department this summer announced it will increase transparency around foreign ownership of farmland, impose harsher penalties for false reporting, and collaborate with Congress and state governments to stop adversarial countries like China from buying more land in the future. Beyond the farm, Feith says there is growing concern from Chinese-backed cryptocurrency mining operations in the United States. Crypto mines, as they are known, are giant data centers where powerful computers solve complex mathematical problems to validate transactions with cryptocurrency. Feith believes they could be used for espionage or to sabotage the electric grid. "They’re effectively enormous and enormously powerful data centers," Feith said. "The first threat they pose is for intelligence collection. And the second threat is that they can sabotage the power grid because they draw so much power.” Feith said the location of crypto mines also makes them a risk. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NewsMax [10/12/2025 10:34 PM, Jim Gomez, 4109K] reports Chinese coast guard ships used powerful water cannons on Sunday and rammed and slightly damaged an anchored Philippine government vessel off an island inhabited by Filipinos in the disputed South China Sea, the Philippine coast guard said. There were no injuries among Filipino crewmen of the BRP Datu Pagbuaya, part of the fisheries fleet that provides support to Filipino fishermen. The Chinese coast guard targeted Pagbuaya off the Philippines-occupied Thitu island in the latest flare-up of the long-simmering territorial disputes involving Manila, Beijing, and four other governments. Two other Philippine fisheries vessels were hit with water cannons in Sunday’s faceoff at least 1.6 nautical miles (nearly 3 kilometers) from Thitu island. There were no damages or injuries, Philippine coast guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said in a news briefing on Monday. The Chinese coast guard accused the Philippine vessels of illegally entering what it called Chinese waters near a cluster of sandbars known as Sandy Cay, which lies between Thitu and China’s artificial island base called Subi and "ignoring repeated stern warnings from the Chinese side." It said it "took control measures against the Philippine vessels in accordance with the law and resolutely drove them away.”

Reuters [10/13/2025 6:48 PM, Staff, 45746K] reports the United States said Monday that it stood by its Philippine ally and emphasized their mutual defense treaty after vessels from China and the Philippines clashed amid heightened tensions in the disputed South China Sea. Earlier, the Chinese foreign ministry urged Manila not to challenge Beijing’s efforts to "safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests" after Sunday’s incident in the Spratly Islands, in which the Philippines said China deployed water cannon and rammed a Filipino vessel. U.S. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott condemned China’s "ramming and water cannoning" of a Philippines vessel and said Washington stood with its ally "as they confront China’s dangerous actions which undermine regional stability." In a statement, Pigott reaffirmed that Article IV of the 1951 U.S. Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty "extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft – including those of its Coast Guard – anywhere in the South China Sea." China and the Philippines have traded accusations over the confrontation near Sandy Cay, a coral reef within the Spratly Islands.

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