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.

Axios [10/16/2025 3:29 PM, Staff, 12972K] reports two people have been indicted on terrorism charges in connection with the July 4 attack on a North Texas Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility. The indictments are the first antifa-related federal terrorism charges filed since President Trump signed an executive order last month labeling the antifascist group a domestic terrorist organization. More than a dozen people have been arrested in connection with the July shooting southwest of Dallas that injured a police officer at an ICE detention facility. A group of people dressed in black started shooting fireworks at the facility, and one person opened fire on detention officers and an Alvarado, Texas, police officer, authorities said. Cameron Arnold and Zachary Evetts were indicted Wednesday in federal court on one count of providing material support to terrorists, two counts of attempted murder, and three counts of discharging a firearm. Neither is believed to be the shooter, according to charging documents. There has been an increase in attacks on ICE facilities this year, including a fatal shooting at a Dallas detention center last month. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced last week his office is conducting undercover investigations into "groups affiliated with left-wing political violence." Paxton pointed to Trump’s executive order as a reason for the statewide effort to infiltrate leftist groups. CNN [10/16/2025 3:19 PM, Hannah Rabinowitz and Holmes Lybrand, 18595K] reports prosecutors accuse Zachary Evetts and Cameron Arnold, who also goes by the name Autumn Hill, of being members of an "Antifa Cell" that used vandalism and fireworks to draw law enforcement officers out of an immigration detention facility near Fort Worth, Texas, and into the sights of two shooters positioned in a line of trees across the street. Until the case against Evetts and Arnold was unsealed Thursday, it was unclear how federal prosecutors planned to legally define Antifa as a terrorist organization. Antifa is largely thought of as more of an ideology than an organized group, CNN has previously reported. Prosecutors answered that question in court documents, describing Antifa as a "militant enterprise made up of networks of individuals and small groups" who have "espoused insurrection" and propose violent attacks against the US government. Late into the night of July 4, a group of roughly a dozen individuals began shooting fireworks and spray-painting cars and structures at the detention facility, prosecutors say. Around the same time two correctional officers at the facility began to approach the group, a local police officer arrived responding to 9-11 calls about the incident, court filings say. Shortly after the officer got out of his vehicle, one of the members of the group opened fire from a line of trees across the street, shooting him in the neck, prosecutors say. The officer survived the wound. Reuters [10/16/2025 6:02 PM, Jack Queen, 36480K] reports that none of the defendants has entered a plea in the case, court records show, but Arnold and Evetts are set to do so at an October 22 court hearing. Arnold and Evetts were charged with supporting terrorists generally, not the legally distinct charge of supporting a terrorist organization. In an indictment filed in Texas federal court on Wednesday, prosecutors allege that Arnold and Evetts were part of an antifa "cell" that carried out a July 4 attack on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Alvarado, Texas. There had been no mention of antifa in the original charging documents or accompanying announcement by prosecutors. Prosecutors said the alleged attackers at the Prairieland Detention Facility shot fireworks and vandalized cars before an unnamed co-conspirator allegedly opened fire on officers defending the site, striking a local police officer in the neck. Evetts’ lawyer Patrick McLain said his client is innocent and accused prosecutors of adding the terrorism charges for political reasons. “I have seen no evidence from the prosecutors to support any of the charges,” McLain told Reuters. In a post on social media, Patel wrote: "First time ever: the FBI arrested Antifa-aligned anarchist violent extremists and terrorism charges have been brought for the July 4 Prairieland ICE attack in Texas," Patel said on social media. Arnold and Evetts were charged with supporting terrorists generally, not the legally distinct charge of supporting a terrorist organization. The Federalist [10/16/2025 3:28 PM, Catherine Gripp, 785K] reports that the Department of Homeland Security was using the facility to house illegal migrants ahead of their deportation. According to the indictment, attackers "began by shooting fireworks toward the facility and vandalizing vehicles and a guard shed." DHS personnel contacted local law enforcement for support. The indictment says Arnold yelled "get to the rifles," and fired on the officers. He hit an Alvarado police officer, who returned fire, the document says. The attackers left after Arnold’s rifle jammed. Police arrested "most of the Antifa cell shortly after the attack," and arrested Arnold the next day, according to the indictment. CBS News [10/16/2025 5:30 PM, Matthew Davisson, 39474K] Video: HERE reports that the DOJ said in the indictment that "Antifa is a militant enterprise made up of networks of individuals and small groups primarily ascribing to a revolutionary anarchist or autonomous Marxist ideology, which explicitly calls for the overthrow of the U.S. government, law enforcement authorities and the system of law.” The indictment claims the group that Arnold and Evetts were a part of did extensive preplanning before the incident, and that Arnold trained others on firearm use and close-quarters combat. The group was heavily armed with over 50 firearms that were purchased in Fort Worth, Grand Prairie, Dallas and elsewhere, according to the indictment. The document also noted that Arnold allegedly built numerous AR-platform rifles, some of which he distributed to his co-defendants, and at least one of which featured a binary trigger, allowing the gun to shoot at a higher rate by causing two bullets to fire with each trigger cycle. Breitbart [10/16/2025 9:55 PM, Paul Bois, 2416K] reports FBI Director Kash Patel marked the moment as historic in a statement after the indictment was unsealed on Thursday. "For the first time ever, the FBI has arrested anarchist violent extremists and charged these Antifa-aligned individuals with material support to terrorism," Patel said. "This was a planned and coordinated terrorist attack on the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, where armed extremists tried to murder U.S. officers on July 4th.” "We are executing under President Trump’s new authorities at record speed. To date, the FBI has made over 20 arrests tied to this case and related Antifa networks. No one gets to harm law enforcement. Not on our watch," Patel added. Attorney General Pam Bondi called Antifa a "left-wing terrorist organization" that will be prosecuted to the fullest.

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New York Times [10/16/2025 4:15 PM, Alan Feuer, 135475K]
AP [10/16/2025 7:21 PM, Jamie Stengle, 30493K]
ABC News [10/16/2025 4:05 PM, Alexander Mallin, 30493K]
USA Today [10/16/2025 4:56 PM, Christopher Cann, 67103K]

Washington Examiner [10/17/2025 5:00 AM, Mia Cathell and Kaelan Deese, 1563K] reports agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation are looking into antifa’s ringleaders, funding source, and specific cells operating in America, the Washington Examiner has learned. FBI agents have been reaching out to riot reporters for intelligence on antifa’s apparatus, making contact with the journalists, all of whom have covered antifa extensively, in the days following a White House roundtable on antifa, sources said. The inquiries, which occurred over the phone and in person, indicate that federal investigators are taking tangible steps to dismantle far-left domestic terrorism networks after much saber-rattling from the Trump administration. A source contacted by the FBI told the Washington Examiner that their conversation centered on antifa’s hierarchical structure, with pointed questions about specific antifa cells, the movement’s recruitment tactics, financial backers, and leadership, among other organizational aspects of antifa’s operations. Another source who spoke with the FBI said the agency sought a broader context about protest activity, asking generally about sources of funding behind recent waves of civil unrest, including the use of online crowdfunding and groups that supply activists with protest materials, such as protective gear, food, flags, and signage.

Washington Post [10/17/2025 5:00 AM, Eva Dou, 32099K] reports the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has been rapidly building out its surveillance capabilities in recent weeks, signing a string of contracts for technologies to identify individuals by their irises or facial features and to monitor their cellphone activity, social media posts and physical movements, according to a review of federal spending disclosures. The blitz of surveillance purchases is motivated in large part by ICE’s intensive, nationwide campaign to find and deport undocumented immigrants. But documents show that some of the technology may also be used to target what the administration regards as anti-ICE extremist groups. Late last month, President Donald Trump declared “Antifa” a domestic terrorist organization in the wake of violent clashes and a Dallas shooting at an ICE facility, ordering all federal agencies to devote resources to investigating what he defined as “a militarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law.” Shortly after Trump’s executive order, ICE’s acting director, Todd M. Lyons, told Glenn Beck in an interview that the agency will deploy some of its elite investigative officers to probe anti-ICE protester networks. “We have some of the best special agents, criminal investigators,” Lyons said on Beck’s podcast. “We are going to track the money. We are going to track these ringleaders.” Lyons said the investigations will focus on “ringleaders” and “professional agitators” who he said are out to turn protests into violent confrontations. But Democratic lawmakers, civil rights watchdogs and former officials have expressed concern that ICE now has a green light not only to monitor immigrant communities, but also to carry out broad surveillance of Americans exercising their First Amendment right to oppose government action.

The Wall Street Journal [10/16/2025 6:45 PM, Mariah Timms, Joe Barrett, and Victoria Albert, 646K] reports a federal judge on Thursday said she planned to order federal agents engaged in the Department of Homeland Security’s “Operation Midway Blitz” immigration enforcement push in Chicagoland to wear and use body-worn-cameras while conducting activities or interacting with protesters. U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis said she was amending the temporary restraining order she issued last week that limited their ability to use crowd control devices like tear gas and pepper balls without warning against journalists and peaceful protesters. The order also required immigration officers to wear identification. “I live in Chicago and I’m not blind,” Ellis said during the hearing, adding she had concerns that her order wasn’t being followed. “I am profoundly concerned about what has been happening in the last week since I issued this order.” A government lawyer said he didn’t believe all ICE agents in the Illinois area have body-worn-cameras and wasn’t sure they could be rolled out quickly. Ellis directed the government to get her more information on the availability of the cameras, and said her amendment would be tethered to existing law enforcement policy. The government’s lawyer, Sean Skedzielewski, also said agents had warned protesters before deploying tear gas in the one incident he had been briefed on and the judge shouldn’t change her order based on one-sided accounts. “It’s very easy to start a video after tear gas has been deployed,” Skedzielewski said. The judge directed the federal government to have ICE Field Director Russell Hott attend a hearing on Monday to explain what steps the agency has taken to follow her temporary order. Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin on Thursday said any order requiring body camera usage “would be an extreme act of judicial activism.” The New York Times [10/16/2025 6:32 PM, Mattathias Schwartz and Robert Chiarito, 135475K] reports that as agents from Border Patrol and ICE have started conducting high-profile raids, Chicago area residents have protested, especially near an ICE facility in the suburb of Broadview, Ill. Residents have also clashed with immigration agents as the agents have carried out operations along Chicago streets, episodes that have sometimes ended with agents using tear gas to disperse crowds. The Trump administration has said that the protests amount to a “rebellion” that justify the deployment of National Guard troops. That effort remains blocked for now, by a different federal judge’s ruling in a separate lawsuit. Thursday’s proceeding before Judge Ellis, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, sets the stage for what could be a high-stakes confrontation next week with Russell Hott, the director of ICE’s Chicago field office. “The field director is going to explain to me why I am seeing images of tear gas being deployed and reading reports that there were no warnings given out in the field,” she said. During the hearing, a Justice Department attorney, Sean Skedzielewski, pushed back on some of the allegations, saying that federal agents had given warnings to protesters who gathered at one point in the Albany Park neighborhood, where tear gas was used. Judge Ellis emphasized that law enforcement should consider the setting when deciding on crowd control tactics. “We’re not on the border,” she said. “We are in an urban, densely-populated area” The lawsuit before Judge Ellis was filed by a group of media organizations, journalists and protesters who accused federal agents of “a pattern of extreme brutality” intended to “silence the press and civilians.” They told the court that officers had shot pepper balls and used pepper spray on them without warning. A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In court filings, the government argued that putting court-mandated restraints on agents would amount to “micro-management” of their decisions when faced with “dangerous crowds.” The government asserted that protesters had engaged in vandalism and assault at the Broadview facility, and “blocked all means of ingress and egress.” As of late Thursday, Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for D.H.S., said that no order had been issued. “There is currently no order requiring body cameras, and any suggestion to the contrary is false reporting,” she said, adding that such an order would be “an extreme act of judicial activism.” CNN [10/16/2025 10:08 AM, Andy Rose, Bill Kirkos and Josh Campbell, 606K] reports that the original restraining order from Ellis blocks agents from targeting journalists who are not interfering with law enforcement. Federal agents are also prohibited from using tear gas and less-lethal munitions on anyone who does not impose an "immediate threat to safety.” "The issue is that DHS is using force in a manner that violates the constitutional rights of peaceful protesters, journalists and, essentially, clergy members," said the judge. "You can’t shoot ‘em in the head (with pepper balls)," Ellis said. "You can’t deploy tear gas. You can’t use flash-bang grenades. You can’t drive a car through a crowd.” Video of a pastor being repeatedly shot by pepper balls during a demonstration outside at an ICE facility near Chicago earlier this month drew widespread outcry. Skedzielewski suggested the news coverage that prompted the judge’s anger may be misleading, saying Ellis is relying on "one-sided and selectively edited media reports.” Ellis acknowledged some details in news reports may be under dispute, adding that is why she wants to speak to the field director on Monday. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker – who is not a party to the lawsuit – said Wednesday he was not convinced Ellis’ order is being followed after continuing intense encounters. "ICE is causing this mayhem," Pritzker said. "They’re the ones throwing tear gas when people are peacefully protesting.” In a separate case, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from deploying National Guard troops in Chicago last week. The administration is appealing the order. This is a developing story and will be updated. Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino’s role in Chicago.

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Breitbart [10/16/2025 5:52 PM, Warner Todd Huston, 2416K]
AP [10/16/2025 6:02 PM, Christine Fernando, 31753K]
Chicago Tribune [10/16/2025 11:11 AM, Jason Meisner, 4829K]

AP [10/16/2025 2:34 PM, Staff, 31753K] Video: HERE reports Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker praised a federal judge’s ruling requiring federal immigration agents in Chicago to wear body cameras.

NewsMax [10/16/2025 9:01 PM, Staff, 4109K] reports Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons on Thursday pushed back on a federal judge’s ruling in Chicago ordering ICE officers to wear body cameras, calling the mandate "unconstitutional" on Newsmax even as he affirmed his agency is gradually rolling out body-worn camera use. "I tell you, Rob, it’s unconstitutional the first thing," Lyons told "Rob Schmitt Tonight.” He argued that U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis "is using her own views … to dictate how a federal law enforcement agency is going to act." He added that "the majority of ICE officers and special agents do have body cameras," explaining that the rollout began under the Biden administration but "hasn’t rolled out to everyone yet.” His comments came in response to Ellis’ ruling earlier Thursday to expand a prior temporary restraining order to require ICE agents in the Chicago area (especially in Operation Midway Blitz) to use body cameras during enforcement or protest interactions. The order builds on earlier restrictions that barred indiscriminate use of crowd control weapons (tear gas, pepper spray) and required visible identification badges. Ellis has warned that media images of confrontations suggest her prior limits might not have been fully obeyed. Lyons contended Ellis, a Barack Obama appointee, overlooked the fact that ICE has already used body-camera footage to refute complaints in past operations. "We are doing what we can because we want to be transparent," he said. "It’s the reason why we post all the worst of the worst that we arrest.” The logistics of applying Ellis’ ruling are not clear. Chicago was not included in earlier pilot programs for ICE body cameras, and not every agent reportedly has access to a functioning camera. Lyons’ tone was defiant but not dismissive. He underscored that ICE has sought transparency and that full camera rollout is ongoing. Whether the court’s order can be enforced — and whether it passes constitutional muster — is now set to become a major test of judicial authority over federal law enforcement operations. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

ABC News [10/16/2025 7:38 PM, James Hill, Tom Jones, and Bill Hutchinson, 30493K] Video: HERE reports a federal judge on Thursday said she is "profoundly concerned" with the apparent violations by federal agents of a temporary restraining order she issued last week imposing restrictions on the use of tear gas and other riot control weapons against journalists and protestors in Chicago. Judge Sara Ellis of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ordered Russell Hott, director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Field Office in Chicago, to appear before her on Monday to answer questions about a number of incidents over the last several days in which agents have clashed with residents and protestors. Ellis said she is also expanding her temporary restraining order to include a requirement for federal agents equipped with body-worn cameras to wear them and keep them on during "law enforcement activities" in Chicago. The judge said she was particularly concerned about an incident that occurred on Tuesday in a residential neighborhood on the Southeast Side of Chicago, in which Border Patrol agents were involved in a vehicle crash while chasing a man they alleged had rammed their vehicle and was in the country illegally. During the incident, federal agents deployed tear gas on a crowd of residents drawn to the crash. A 19-year-old U.S. citizen, Warren King, was also detained during the incident. King told ABC News that he was shopping in a store in the southeast side neighborhood when agents confronted him as he exited, tackling him to the ground and detaining him for several hours despite him and others around him telling them that he was an American citizen. "We are in an urban, densely populated area, where crowds are going to converge when there’s a commotion, where appropriate crowd control is important," said Ellis, adding that the Chicago Police Department has protocols on when to call off chases in residential neighborhoods. "Underlying all of these policies is that everyone has to abide by their constitutional obligations," Ellis said. "I am profoundly concerned with what is happening over the last week since I entered this order.” Sean Skedzielewski, an attorney representing the Department of Homeland Security, said during Thursday’s hearing that Ellis does not have all the facts on these incidents and is relying on inaccurate news reports. But Skedzielewski provided no information on the Southeast Side incident. Skedzielewski also said that not all agents have been issued body cameras and that rolling out a costly program to provide the cameras presents a challenge, given the ongoing government shutdown. "The facts of the case have not changed," Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said on Thursday of the incident involving Brockman. McLaughlin said U.S. Border Patrol agents were conducting immigration enforcement operations when "several violent agitators used their vehicles to block in agents in an effort to impede and assault federal officers.” "In fear of public safety and of law enforcement, officers used their service vehicle to strike a suspect’s vehicle and create an opening. As agents were driving, Deborah Brockman, a U.S. citizen, threw objects at Border Patrol’s car and she was placed under arrest for assault on a federal law enforcement officer.”

CNN [10/16/2025 10:08 AM, Andy Rose, Bill Kirkos, and Josh Campbell, 606K] reports that the sign outside the door said Courtroom 1403. But inside, it felt a lot more like the principal’s office. “I’m not happy,” US District Judge Sara Ellis said Thursday in a stern tone no student – or attorney – wants to hear. “I’m really not happy.” One week after the judge issued a sweeping order trying to calm the intense response of federal agents to protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and US Border Patrol activities in Chicago, Ellis told both sides to come back to her courtroom to have their own intense discussion. “I live in Chicago, if folks haven’t noticed, and I’m not blind, right?” Ellis opened the hearing. “So, I don’t live in a cave. I have a phone. I have a TV. I have a computer and I tend to get news.” The judge said those news reports were leading her to believe the Trump administration may not be following her instructions. “At least from what I’m seeing, I’m having serious concerns that my order’s being followed,” said Ellis from the bench. In response, Ellis announced Thursday she will expand her restraining order, requiring all federal agents who are part of Operation Midway Blitz and who have body cameras to have them on during encounters with protesters. The judge initially required all agents to wear cameras, but agreed to some flexibility after Sean Skedzielewski, an attorney representing the Trump administration, said it would be logistically impossible to immediately equip all agents with bodycams.

ABC News [10/16/2025 8:27 PM, Luke Barr and Meredith Deliso, 30493K] reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested a suburban Chicago police officer who is accused of being in the country illegally, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Radule Bojovic, a native of Montenegro, was working as a sworn officer for the Hanover Park Police Department, according to DHS. He was "encountered during a targeted enforcement action" as part of "Operation Midway Blitz," a surge of immigration enforcement in Illinois that began last month, DHS said in a press release Thursday announcing the arrest. Bojovic overstayed his tourist visa for 10 years and was required to leave the U.S. in March 2015, DHS said. The department also noted it is a felony for someone in the U.S. illegally to carry a firearm. "Governor J.B. Pritzker doesn’t just allow violent illegal aliens to terrorize Illinois’s communities, he allows illegal aliens to work as sworn police officers," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. "Radule Bojovic violated our nation’s laws and was living ILLEGALLY in the United States for 10 years -- what kind of police department gives criminal illegal aliens badges and guns?". The Village of Hanover Park said its police department hired Bojovic in January "in full compliance with federal and state law" and that the village "confirmed that he was legally authorized by the federal government to work in the United States.” According to a statement from the village, Bojovic presented a valid work authorization issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at the time of his hiring, a full background check was conducted, and the village confirmed that his immigration status allows him to carry a firearm while on duty. "The bottom line is that all information we received from the federal government indicated that Officer Bojovic is legally authorized to work in the United States as a police officer. Clearly, without that authorization, the Village would not have hired him," the statement said. "Additionally, the Village has not received any notice from any federal or state agency that his work authorization status has ever been revoked," the statement added. Bojovic has been placed on administrative leave amid the immigration proceedings and will be returned to full duty status if he is allowed to remain in the U.S., the village said. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem reacted to the arrest on social media, saying, "Radical sanctuary politicians have allowed criminal illegal aliens to infiltrate our school districts, communities, and even police departments. President Trump and I will continue to put the safety of Americans FIRST.” The New York Post [10/16/2025 9:03 PM, Caitlin McCormack, 42219K] reports "Radule Bojovic violated our nation’s laws and was living ILLEGALLY in the United States for 10 years—what kind of police department gives criminal illegal aliens badges and guns? It’s a felony for aliens to even possess a firearm. A so-called law enforcement officer who is actively breaking the law," DHS Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said. "Under President Trump and Secretary Noem ICE is restoring law and order. Criminal illegal aliens have NO PLACE in our communities, especially on our police forces.” The Village of Hanover Park Police Department refuted DHS’ allegations. DiVito pointed to a memorandum from the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives that was issued on Jan. 5, 2024 and "allows [Bojovic] to carry a firearm while on duty," according to its press release. The police department has placed Bojovic on administrative leave "pending the outcome of the immigration proceedings he is now facing." If he is permitted to remain and work in the US, he will be "returned to full duty status," according to the release. Bojovic is listed as being in custody at the Clay County Justice Center in Central Indiana as of Thursday afternoon. It’s unclear when or where he was originally arrested. The Washington Examiner [10/16/2025 5:50 PM, Ross O’Keefe, 1394K] reports that the Department of Homeland Security pinned Bojovic’s hiring on Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL). ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Chicago Field Office Director Sam Olson said it was the second known instance in recent months of a local police department hiring an illegal immigrant. Bojovic was arrested as part of Operation "Midway Blitz." The Trump administration has said more than 1,500 illegal immigrants have been arrested as part of the operation. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blasted Pritzker for allowing the officer to serve in the community.

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Breitbart [10/16/2025 6:25 PM, John Binder, 2416K] reports in an exclusive interview with Breitbart News Editor in Chief Alex Marlow for the Alex Marlow Show podcast, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin called out Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) for "dehumanizing" and "villifying" Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents just as the Mexican drug cartels have reportedly placed bounties on agents. "When you have [Chicago Mayor] Brandon Johnson and J.B. Pritzker continuing to lie and whitewash the facts, we are getting the worst of the worst off the streets and we will continue to do it with the backing of the National Guard and we will continue to surge federal resources," McLaughlin told Marlow. "This isn’t going to deter us and these bounties against our ICE law enforcement aren’t going to deter us. And neither is the fact that J.B. Pritzker yesterday, right before the news came out about these bounties, he went and said that he was going to prosecute every last ICE law enforcement agent," she continued. Indeed, this week, DHS officials revealed that the Mexican drug cartels are using information from Antifa and the Latin Kings, both of which have targeted ICE agents, to place bounties on the heads of agents.

FOX News [10/16/2025 12:57 PM, Staff, 40621K] reports that Border czar Tom Homan joins ‘The Faulkner Focus’ to discuss cartel threats, rising violence against federal agents and the federal indictment over an alleged plot to assassinate Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

The New York Times [10/16/2025 4:46 PM, Mattathias Schwartz, 135475K] reports a federal appeals panel on Thursday agreed with a lower court judge who had blocked the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops to the Chicago area. The 18-page preliminary ruling by a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit concurred with the reasoning of Judge April M. Perry of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, who put a temporary block on deployments in her state on Oct. 8. “The facts do not justify the president’s actions in Illinois” under the statute the Trump administration invoked in its attempt to deploy the National Guard, the appeals panel wrote, though it left open the possibility that could change in the future. The decision means that National Guard troops cannot be stationed on the streets outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview, Ill., where protesters have gathered as the Trump administration has carried out an immigration crackdown in the Chicago area. The Chicago Tribune [10/16/2025 5:18 PM, Jason Meisner, 4829K] reports that the three-judge appellate panel unanimously agreed with Perry that even giving the president "great deference" when it comes to his power to call up the military, there was no evidence that he needed troops to help enforce immigration law or quell any kind of organized rebellion. The judges went on to note that while the Trump administration has claimed that protesters and local politicians are hampering immigration-enforcement efforts, the evidence — and even the administration’s own statements — don’t back that up. The White House in response sent out a written statement Thursday saying the "facts haven’t changed," and reiterating the president expects "to be vindicated by a higher court." The ruling keeps in effect Perry’s granting of a temporary restraining order Thursday halting Trump’s plan to send federalized National Guard troops into the Chicago area to act as a security force during the administration’s controversial immigration enforcement action known as "Operation Midway Blitz." A notice of appeal was filed with the 7th Circuit hours after Perry’s ruling, but the court has not yet set a briefing schedule. Perry, meanwhile, will hold a hearing next week to determine if her two-week restraining order should be extended. USA Today [10/16/2025 5:47 PM, Michael Loria, 67103K] reports Trump administration lawyers had argued that protests against Trump’s immigration enforcement crackdown amounted to rebellion. The Seventh Circuit’s decision comes as Trump administration officials say the National Guard is needed in order to enforce the White House’ efforts to catch the "worst of the worst" criminal immigrants. In blocking the troop deployment, Perry said that allowing soldiers into the region would "only add fuel to the fire" that immigration agents had started in and around Chicago. Trump has said that if courts don’t allow him to deploy troops, he would consider invoking the Insurrection Act in order to send soldiers into American cities the White House sees as having problems.

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CBS News [10/16/2025 5:15 PM, Melissa Quinn, 39474K]

CNN [10/16/2025 4:24 PM, Bill Kirkos, Elizabeth Wolfe, 18595K] reports the Department of Justice and an attorney for Marimar Martinez, who was shot by a federal agent after an alleged car ramming in Chicago earlier this month, have painted vastly different pictures of who is responsible for the incident – the woman or the federal agents. But a Thursday hearing in her case revealed a key piece of evidence – the federal vehicle Martinez is accused of hitting – has been moved more than 1,000 miles away. Martinez, a 30-year-old American citizen, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a charge of assaulting, resisting, and impeding officers. She is accused of ramming the federal law enforcement vehicle with her car on October 4 as protests against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown took place in the city. Her attorney has disputed this, saying unreleased body camera footage shows it was actually a federal agent who swerved into Martinez. After the collision, a Customs and Border Patrol agent stepped out of his vehicle and shot five times at Martinez, according to the charging complaint. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called the shots "defensive." Martinez suffered five gunshot wounds, her lawyer Christopher Parente told CNN. She was treated at a hospital and released into FBI custody. While the Thursday hearing was intended to set a trial date for Martinez, the focus quickly turned to the vehicles at the center of the case, which could be used as critical evidence at trial. But the federal vehicle has since been driven to Maine, Assistant US Attorney Aaron Bond said. After Bond said no arrangements had been made to bring the car back to Chicago, the judge ordered the car to be returned. Another hearing will be held Monday to set a trial date. If convicted at trial, Martinez could face up to twenty years in prison and a fine of $250,000, according to Bond. The other driver, 21-year-old Ruiz, was indicted on the same charge as Martinez and has pleaded not guilty. Authorities say both Ruiz and Martinez boxed in and struck the federal vehicle.

Reported similarly:
Chicago Tribune [10/16/2025 2:53 PM, Jason Meisner, 4829K]

Los Angeles Times [10/16/2025 9:50 PM, Ruben Vives, 14862K] reports video that appears to show federal immigration agents using their vehicle to ram the truck of an immigrant rights activist has sparked controversy and public outrage in the city of Oxnard, an agricultural town that has been the frequent target of immigration raids. At the center of the controversy is a claim by federal agents that the activist was the aggressor, ramming into their vehicle. The incident began shortly before 8 a.m. Thursday when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents notified the Oxnard Police Department that their vehicle had been rammed by a civilian’s vehicle near the intersection of 8th and A streets, according to Sgt. Martin Cook. "We responded, and ICE agents detained an individual, and a crowd started to gather," Cook said. "We were there to keep the peace and prevent any type of altercation with ICE or any other federal agency.” Cook said that federal agencies took control of the investigation. He did not know if the person arrested by agents requested a police report and referred all questions to the Homeland Security Department, which oversees agencies including ICE and Customs and Border Protection. VC Defensa, an immigrant rights group that has been documenting immigration raids in the region, said on Instagram that one of its volunteers, whom the group identified as Leo Martinez, had been arrested. The group also released video taken by witnesses that they said showed that federal agents’ allegation against Martinez was false. "ICE intentionally struck Leo’s truck and blocked his exit while Leo was exercising his right to observe ICE activity," the group stated in one of its Instagram posts. The video starts with a Jeep Cherokee with tinted windows tailing a dark gray truck before ramming the passenger door on the driver’s side. The driver of the truck then pulls into a dirt lot, where the group says Martinez was arrested. "This shameful escalation by ICE is nothing more than an attempt to intimidate those of conscience who are standing up against Trump’s assault on immigrants," the group said on Instagram. "We will not be deterred, and we will continue to keep our communities safe.” Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin told The Times in an email at the time that a person "rammed his vehicle into a law enforcement vehicle" during the June 19 operation. "CBP Agents were also assaulted during the operation and verbally harassed," she said. Videos that day did not capture any assaults; they showed residents yelling at agents.

AP [10/16/2025 9:43 PM, Staff, 2416K] reports the father of a Marine who was arrested by immigration authorities when visiting his pregnant daughter at Camp Pendleton has a criminal record that includes charges of domestic violence and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, the Department of Homeland Security said Thursday. Esteban Rios was deported to Mexico in 1999, removed from the United States again in 2005 and ordered deported by an immigration judge in 2020 after entering the country illegally a third time, the department said. The statement was the first detailed account that Homeland Security provided since the Marine, Steve Rios, said last week that his father was detained after visiting the Southern California military base, released with ankle monitors and detained again when reporting days later to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, as ordered. Homeland Security initially did not provide details when asked several times by The Associated Press on Tuesday for information on any criminal record Esteban Rios had, saying only that “criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.” The department said it had no other information to release. On Thursday — one day after AP published a story on Esteban Rios, and two days after it sought details from the department — DHS released the detailed account of his criminal record. The department also accused the AP of having “deliberately obscured the facts,” despite the agency having not provided AP with the information it accused the news organization of obscuring. Steve Rios of Oceanside, California, told San Diego station KNSD that his parents inspired him to enlist in the Marines. He said they came to the U.S. from Mexico more than 30 years ago and have washed cars and cleaned houses for his whole life. “It was just making them proud, right? I’ve seen all the struggles they’ve gone through,” Steve Rios told the station. “The least I could do, right, and serve this country and try to, you know, put some time in.” Steve Rios said he and his parents were picking up his younger sister and her husband, who is also a Marine, at Pendleton on Sept. 28, as they have done that every weekend for the past few months while she is expecting her first child. After stopping at the gate, ICE officials arrived to detain both parents, later releasing them with ankle monitors. He said his father was deported Oct. 10. The Rios family told the station the parents had no criminal record, had pending green card applications sponsored by Steve and authorization to work. In response to inquiries from AP, Tricia McLaughlin, a Homeland Security spokeswoman, issued a statement Tuesday that read, “Under President (Donald) Trump and Secretary (Kristi) Noem, if you break the law — including domestic violence and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon — you will face the consequences. Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.” The statement did not say anything about Esteban Rios, including whether he was arrested or charged with any crime or if he had any immigration history.

Breitbart.com [10/16/2025 11:45 AM, Amy Furr, 2416K] reports Democrat-controlled California will be held accountable for refusing to enforce English language proficiency requirements for truck drivers, a position that has yielded deadly results, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. Duffy said Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to withhold $40 million from the state because "they can’t get their priorities straight," Fox News reported Wednesday. Duffy made the announcement in a social media post and pointed to the serious nature of the problem. "I’m withholding 40 MILLION DOLLARS in funding for California because they can’t get their priorities straight," he wrote. "The Golden State thinks it’s OK to ignore @USDOT English language requirements for truckers. You can play all the games you want, but not at the expense of American lives.” The Fox article highlighted the recent case of an illegal alien trucker, identified as Harjinder Singh, who is accused of killing three Americans after making an illegal U-turn in Florida. "California had issued the driver a commercial license, but these English rules predate the crash," the outlet said. Duffy said California is the only state that refuses to make sure truckers can read road signs and communicate with police officers. He added that it is a "fundamental safety issue that impacts you and your family on America’s roads.”

NPR [10/17/2025 5:00 AM, Kat Lonsdorf and Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, 34837K] Audio: HERE reports it’s a sunny October morning, and Yackson is waiting for a bus that will take him to meet his immigration attorney. The Venezuelan, who NPR is identifying by his first name because of his immigration status, looks at a big, run-down apartment building in front of him. Earlier this month, it was raided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who landed a helicopter on the roof, and arrested more than 30 people. Yackson, 39, says he’s terrified. Besides this raid, he’s also heard about the possibility of National Guard troops deploying here, something a federal court has put on hold for now. The father of three lives in this neighborhood and he’s been scared to leave his house. "We already don’t know who is grabbing us, whether it’s ICE or whether it’s people who disguise themselves as ICE," Yackson says in Spanish. "With the National Guard, it’s going to be even harder, scarier." In several cities across the country facing National Guard deployments, NPR has heard similar sentiment. "The government isn’t exactly doing a great job of proactively delineating this person is National Guard who isn’t allowed to arrest immigrants, and this person is an ICE agent or an FBI agent who is," says Dara Lind a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, noting that many times federal agents are in military-style gear, or masked, or not clearly marked. She says this makes it hard to look at patrols on the street and figure out who is legally authorized to engage in law enforcement activities or not. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

Daily Caller [10/16/2025 11:01 AM, Hudson Crozier, 835K] reports Portland, Oregon’s city council unanimously passed a resolution on Wednesday designed to hamper the Trump administration’s response to violent protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in recent months. The legislation urges Democratic Portland Mayor Keith Wilson’s officials to pursue legal action against federal agents accused of "unprotected/criminal use of force" against protesters, prohibit local police from helping agents respond to "lawful protest," and take other steps to protect the "rights" of Portlanders. At least 195 rioters have been arrested outside of the ICE facility since June, with suspects allegedly trying to break in or assault law enforcement — violence that Portland officials omitted when announcing the bill’s passage. "I want to thank every Portlander who has peacefully protested, testified, and spoken out against the Trump administration’s aggressive and distressing federal overreach," Portland City Councilor Olivia Clark said in a statement. "We do not want our neighborhoods overrun by chaos and confusion. We do not want this to turn into another Kent State tragedy. We do not want Portlanders feeling scared. These are not our values.” The resolution passed the same day that the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges against a Portland anti-ICE protester for allegedly kicking and biting a federal officer and interfering with another person’s arrest. Portland’s resolution demands that President Donald Trump walk back his plans to deploy National Guard troops to protect ICE, a move that currently faces court challenges. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the White House did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment amid an ongoing government shutdown.

Daily Wire [10/16/2025 8:29 AM, Jennie Taer, 2494K] reports that Florida is suing California over its sanctuary policies and decision to issue commercial driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said the Sunshine State filed a lawsuit Wednesday night, citing a fatal crash on a local turnpike caused by an illegal immigrant truck driver who had a California-issued Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). The man behind the wheel of the semi tractor-trailer, Indian national Harjinder Singh, 28, made an illegal U-turn in August and killed three people. "It’s a shame, and that’s why we’re taking Gavin Newsom to the Supreme Court," Uthmeier told Sean Hannity Wednesday night. He said Florida intends "to hold them [California] accountable for the carnage that their sanctuary illegal immigration policies have caused to states like Florida across the country." "Here in Florida, we can do everything right, we can back the blue, we can enforce the law, we can combat illegal immigration, but we still suffer when Gavin Newsom and liberals on the west coast allow these illegals in, encourage them, enable them to get these driver’s licenses and then they cross the country and ultimately take lives," Uthmeier said. "They care more about their love affair with illegals than protecting American citizens," he added.

Bloomberg [10/16/2025 1:46 PM, Linda Poon, 18207K] reports that Los Angeles County declared a state of emergency this week in response to the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration raids, allowing the county to tap state resources and speed assistance to residents affected by the mass arrests. The declaration could also pave the way for an eviction moratorium aimed at protecting households that lost income because of the raids. Officials said the move — typically reserved for wildfires or earthquakes — was necessary to counter the economic fallout as immigrants make up about a third of LA’s population and 38% of its workforce. The city was among the first to face the full force of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement, with National Guard troops and Marines temporarily deployed earlier this year.

Reuters [10/16/2025 5:37 PM, Jana Winter, Ted Hesson, and Marisa Taylor, 36480K] reports that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has promised tens of thousands of federal agents carrying out his immigration crackdown that they will be paid during the government shutdown, according to emails seen by Reuters, even as other federal workers go without pay. The pay plan was communicated to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection staff on Wednesday in separate internal emails seen by Reuters. The move could cover up to 64,000 personnel at the two agencies. The decision, which was not announced publicly, would shield the personnel, who are implementing one of Trump’s top domestic priorities in the face of mounting public criticism, from the financial hardship many federal workers are experiencing during the shutdown. The Trump administration has also said it will pay military troops and FBI agents during the shutdown. The shutdown, which started October 1, has suspended salary payments for hundreds of thousands of federal workers, even as many of them are still required to work because their jobs are considered essential. It was not clear what funding ICE and CBP would use to provide pay to the workers. Likewise, 95% of ICE’s 22,000 workers are funded through annual spending legislation. ICE, CBP, the White House and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment.

New York Times [10/17/2025 3:34 AM, Tony Romm and Hamed Aleaziz, 330K] reports the Trump administration announced on Thursday that it would pay thousands of federal law enforcement officers, including immigration agents, even though Congress has not approved new money for their wages while the government remains shut down. The planned payments marked the latest in a string of unorthodox budget maneuvers undertaken by President Trump, who has stretched the limits of his power to advance his agenda and blunt the impact of a fiscal stalemate that is now in its third week. Typically, many government workers are furloughed when federal funding lapses, while others in vital roles, including law enforcement and the military, must report for duty without pay. Only after Congress strikes a deal do these employees receive their lost income. But Mr. Trump has looked to rearrange the budget to issue paychecks only for certain federal personnel, redirecting billions of dollars that Congress has not authorized to agencies and programs he supports, or those that could result in substantial disruptions during the shutdown. His administration expanded that unprecedented campaign Thursday to include “70,000 sworn law enforcement officers” at the Department of Homeland Security, according to Kristi Noem, its secretary. Ms. Noem said in a post on social media that the agency would soon pay some employees at the Transportation Security Administration, which includes federal air marshals; Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has carried out the president’s campaign of deportations; and other law enforcement officials, including the Secret Service. The secretary said these workers would receive checks by Oct. 22, encompassing “4 days lost, their overtime and their next pay period.” But Ms. Noem did not specify exactly which workers would be paid at each agency, or how the government would source these funds at a moment when Congress has allocated no money for her agency this fiscal year. Spokesmen for D.H.S. and the White House declined requests for comment. But employees at I.C.E., in particular, had recently learned that immigration agents would see pay during the shutdown using funds in the “the One Big Beautiful Bill (OB3),” according to an email reviewed by New York Times. The bill mentioned in the message is Mr. Trump’s signature tax law, which Republicans approved this year. Along with its large tax cuts, the package allocated vast new sums to pay for the president’s mass deportations, including $31 billion for ICE to hire new agents, train them and increase enforcement.

Washington Examiner [10/16/2025 2:52 PM, Naomi Lim, 1394K] reports that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt ripped the federal judge who has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from firing more federal employees amid the ongoing government shutdown. In response to a question from the Washington Examiner, Leavitt criticized Judge Susan Illston, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, as “another far-left partisan judge who was smacked down by the Supreme Court in July for ruling on this exact same thing in May.” "This judge tried to say that the president of the United States does not have the executive authority to hire and fire in the executive branch," Leavitt said. "Literally, nobody would ever try to make that argument except for someone who is extremely partisan. And of course, the Supreme Court rejected that ruling in July, and they said, ‘No, the president does have the ability and the legal authority to fire people from the federal government. That is a responsibility of his job as the head of the executive branch.’" Leavitt expressed confidence that the Trump administration would win on appeal before turning on Democrats for the shutdown, now in its 16th day. Leavitt cited the shutdown’s effects on airports for passengers, air traffic controllers, and Transportation Security Administration agents before praising Trump for finding "creative" solutions to ensure military service members are paid and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, a federal program that provides food stamps for women and children, is funded.

AP [10/16/2025 5:47 PM, Jake Offenhartz, 31753K] reports a federal judge has lifted travel restrictions for Mahmoud Khalil, allowing the Palestinian activist to speak at rallies and other events across the U.S. as he fights his deportation case brought by the Trump administration. Khalil, who was freed from a Louisiana immigration jail in June, had asked a federal magistrate judge to lift the restrictions that limited his travel to New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Louisiana and Michigan. "He wants to travel for the very significant First Amendment reasons that are at the bottom of this case," his lawyer, Alina Das, said during a virtual hearing Thursday. "He wants to speak to issues of public concern.” An attorney for the government, Aniello DeSimone, opposed the move, arguing that Khalil "has not provided enough of a reason why he couldn’t attend these and other events telephonically.” The magistrate judge, Michael Hammer, agreed Thursday to allow Khalil to travel, noting he is not considered a flight risk and had not violated any of his release conditions. Hammer granted the government’s request that Khalil alert U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement about his travel plans ahead of time.

Daily Caller [10/16/2025 1:18 PM, Nicole Silverio, 835K] reports that Border czar Tom Homan said on Thursday that his family has been in hiding because of death threats and reporters trying to seek their location. Law enforcement officers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have faced a 1,000% increase in assaults and their families have been doxxed and threatened online, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Homan said on "The Faulkner Focus" that reporters have attempted to identify and locate his family, leading him to move out of his home without his wife for several months. "I have not lived with my wife since late March because of death threats against me. And now there’s reporters trying to find the location of my family. There are reporters trying to identify who my sons are. This has gone beyond the pale. It’s insulting," Homan said. "And God bless the men and women of ICE and Border Patrol. When I go to bed every night, I say a prayer for every person out there wearing that shield, that they go home to their families." Homan added that he prays for both the agents and illegal immigrants to return home safely to their families, and stated that he does not want to see any "bloodshed.” Homan previously stated in November that he would not be intimidated by those threatening his life. "They’re not going to silence me. Look, I’m going to do this job. I want to do this job because it’s an issue of national security," Homan said at the time. "So you’re not going to shut me up. I’m not going away, and I’m going to do this job and I’m going to continue talking to [the] American people [about] why it needs to be done."

New York Times [10/16/2025 12:15 PM, Jazmine Ulloa, 153395K] reports it was supposed to be a joke. In 1994, two Latino satirists in Los Angeles took on the anti-immigration campaign of Pete Wilson, the Republican governor of California. Lalo Alcaraz and Esteban Zul created the character Daniel D. Portado, a militant, right-wing Latino so committed to the governor’s platform that he was willing not only to be “deportado” — or deported — but to self-deport. Under a fake name, Hispanics for Wilson, they sent out news releases promoting the creation of “self-deportation centers” and directed questions to Mr. Portado. After the Spanish-language network Telemundo invited him onto a talk show, Mr. Alcaraz arrived in character wearing a dark-blue suit and aviators. Mr. Zul posed as his bodyguard. Latino students in the audience booed. “I was so proud of them,” Mr. Zul recalled in a recent interview. In the end, Mr. Alcaraz and Mr. Zul may have been the ones who were fooled. They thought they had created an absurdist prank, only to watch the governor embrace self-deportation as a matter of policy. They learned later that it was an age-old strategy — one that has returned to the fore of national politics. President Donald J. Trump has made self-deportation a cornerstone of his administration’s crackdown on unauthorized immigrants. In a video, Mr. Trump said they could “self deport the easy way — or they can get deported the hard way.” Officials have offered immigrants $1,000 and free plane tickets to leave.The administration has also used the threat of arrest, detention and family separation to try to frighten people into fleeing. It has begun sweeps in major cities, including Los Angeles, Boston and Chicago. In a statement in August, Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security secretary, said the administration’s campaign had worked: “In less than 200 days, 1.6 million illegal immigrants have left the United States population.” (An analysis of census data by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center found the decline to be nearly 1.5 million between January and June, an early indication that people were leaving either through deportation or by choice.) Throughout American history, political leaders and activists who oppose immigration have sought to tighten the nation’s borders over claims that immigrants diminish wages, raise housing prices, crowd schools, fuel violent crime and threaten the nation’s unity and character.

CBS News [10/16/2025 3:32 PM, Patrick Maguire, 39474K] reports Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California is introducing a resolution in the House calling for stricter standards of conduct for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, citing what he describes as "lawless" enforcement tactics during recent federal crackdowns. The resolution, cosponsored by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton and Reps. Jonathan Jackson and Jasmine Crockett, urges the Department of Homeland Security to require ICE and CBP personnel to wear body cameras, display visible identification and stop wearing facial coverings except in cases of immediate safety threats. It also calls for transferring oversight of ICE to the Justice Department and creating independent civilian review boards to investigate enforcement actions. "This is about respecting law enforcement as professionals, but having high professional standards," Khanna told CBS News. "We should hold ICE officers to the same level of transparency and accountability we expect of police officers or FBI agents.” The resolution, set to be introduced Friday, is unlikely to advance in the GOP-controlled lower chamber, where Republicans have strongly backed the Trump administration’s immigrant enforcement operations and resisted new restrictions on federal agents. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed over the summer included roughly $170 billion for immigration enforcement and border security efforts, including $75 billion for ICE. Khanna’s proposal follows weeks of heightened tension over Operation Midway Blitz, a Trump administration initiative that has led to more than 1,500 arrests across Illinois and neighboring states. Immigration operations have drawn scrutiny after reports of masked agents, unmarked vehicles and violent encounters involving civilians and journalists. On Thursday, DHS defended its officers, saying federal agents have faced escalating assaults. "CBP Officers and Agents are facing a barrage of assaults including incidents involving thrown rocks, bricks, and other dangerous objects that can cause serious injury to law enforcement personnel or members of the public," Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. She added that officers "are authorized to defend themselves and others" and that DHS "reviews all uses of force thoroughly and takes its legal and operational responsibilities seriously.”

Wall Street Journal [10/16/2025 4:59 PM, Lara Seligman, 646K] reports the four-star U.S. Navy admiral overseeing the growing deployment of military assets in the Caribbean will step down, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday, as the Trump administration intensifies its campaign against alleged drug traffickers in Latin America. Adm. Alvin Holsey is cutting a typically four-year term as the head of U.S. Southern Command short after just a year overseeing U.S. forces in South and Central America. Holsey, who has spent 37 years in the military, said his retirement would be effective Dec. 12. “The SOUTHCOM team has made lasting contributions to the defense of our nation and will continue to do so,” he wrote on X. “I am confident that you will forge ahead, focused on your mission that strengthens our nation and ensures its longevity as a beacon of freedom around the globe.” The administration has faced growing scrutiny over the legal basis for the strikes from inside the Pentagon and lawmakers on Capitol Hill. President Trump told Congress in a confidential notice that he has determined the U.S. is in a “noninternational armed conflict” with cartels, but lawmakers from both parties are pushing the Pentagon for more details on the legal justification for the campaign. The announcement that Holsey is leaving his post comes just days after Trump said there had been a fifth lethal strike on an alleged drug-trafficking boat off the coast of Venezuela, bringing the total number of people killed in the strikes to 27. Trump said U.S. intelligence determined the vessel was trafficking drugs but didn’t publicly provide evidence.

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [10/16/2025 6:16 PM, Dan Lamothe, Tara Copp, and Noah Robertson, 24149K]

Daily Wire [10/16/2025 7:24 AM, Jennie Taer, 2494K] reports the Trump administration quietly greenlit a covert CIA operation in Venezuela against socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro, the New York Times reported Wednesday. The CIA will now be authorized to carry out lethal operations in Venezuela, according to the news outlet. It is not clear, however, if there are any looming plans against Maduro or his regime. President Donald Trump confirmed the plan during a press conference Wednesday, stating that he authorized enhanced action over Venezuela’s role in criminal migrants crossing the southern border and the trafficking of lethal drugs killing Americans. "They’ve allowed thousands and thousands of prisoners, people from mental institutions, insane asylums emptied out into the United States, we’re bring[ing] them back. But that’s a really bad thing," Trump said, adding, "Many, many countries have done it, but not like Venezuela, they were down and dirty.” Trump also said that the United States will not only interdict drugs at sea, but also "by land.” "We have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela and a lot of the Venezuelan drugs come through the sea, so you get to see that, but we’re gonna stop them by land also.” "I think Venezuela’s feeling heat, but I think a lot of other countries are feeling heat too. We’re not going to let this country, our country, be ruined because other people want to drop their worst. They have given us their worst, they’ve loaded up our country with prisoners, with mentally ill people that are seriously ill, criminally ill, and we’re not gonna take it," Trump said. The Trump administration is already beefing up the presence of troops in the region, according to the Times.

AP [10/16/2025 7:45 PM, Aamer Madhani and David Klepper, 31753K] reports Venezuelan government officials have floated a plan in which President Nicolás Maduro would eventually leave office, a bid aimed at easing mounting U.S. pressure on the government in Caracas, according to a former Trump administration official. The proposal, which was rejected by the White House, calls for Maduro to step down from power in three years and hand over authority to his vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, who would complete Maduro’s current six-year term that runs until January 2031, according to the official who was briefed on the plan but was not authorized to comment publicly on the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Rodriguez would not run for reelection under the plan, the official said, adding that the White House had rejected the proposal because it continues to question the legitimacy of Maduro’s rule and accuse him overseeing a narco-terrorist state. The revelation of Maduro’s attempts to offer a plan to slowly ease himself out of power comes amid growing unease in the Venezuelan leader’s government that President Donald Trump could order military action to try to oust him.

CNN [10/16/2025 6:19 PM, Jennifer Hansler, 606K] reports tensions are escalating between Washington and Caracas as the Trump administration has increasingly signaled it could use military means to pressure Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power. US President Donald Trump has not explicitly said he is trying to overthrow Maduro. However, it would not be the first time Trump or members of his cabinet have sought to see a change in leadership in Caracas. During his first term, Trump recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the president of Venezuela after Maduro was inaugurated for a second term that the US, dozens of other countries, and the Venezuelan opposition had decried as illegitimate. The January 2019 recognition set off a rapid diplomatic breakdown between Washington and Caracas. Maduro, accusing the US of backing a coup, cut diplomatic ties with the administration, closed Venezuela’s embassy and all of its consulates in the United States, and issued an ultimatum for US personnel to leave Venezuela. Hours later, the US State Department ordered all of its non-emergency diplomats out of the country. Less than two months later, the US withdrew the rest of its diplomats and suspended operations at its embassy in Caracas. The administration imposed a flurry of sanctions on the Maduro regime during the first term. In 2020, Trump’s Justice Department charged Maduro was engaging in "narco-terrorism" and levied a $15 million bounty for the arrest of the Venezuelan leader.

NPR [10/16/2025 3:53 PM, Mary Mary Louise Kelly, Ryan Lucas and Tom Bowman, 28013K] Audio: HERE reports NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly talks to Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman and Justice correspondent Ryan Lucas about another deadly U.S. strike on an alleged drug boat off the coast of Venezuela.

AP [10/17/2025 12:02 AM, Joshua Goodman, Eric Tucker and David Klepper, 30493K] reports that, under President Donald Trump, the drug war is looking a lot like the war on terror. To support strikes against Latin American gangs and drug cartels, the Trump administration is relying on a legal argument that gained traction after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, which allowed U.S. authorities to use lethal force against al-Qaida combatants who attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The criminal groups now being targeted by U.S. strikes are a very different foe, however, spawned in the prisons of Venezuela, and fueled not by anti-Western ideology but by drug trafficking and other illicit enterprises. Trump’s use of overwhelming military force to combat such groups and authorization of covert action inside Venezuela, possibly to oust President Nicolás Maduro, stretches the bounds of international law, legal scholars say. It comes as Trump expands the military’s domestic role, deploying the National Guard to U.S. cities and saying he’s open to invoking the nearly 150-year-old Insurrection Act, which allows for military deployment in only exceptional instances of civil unrest. So far, the military has killed at least 27 people in five strikes on boats that the White House said were carrying drugs. The strikes — the most recent came Tuesday, in which the U.S. killed six people — have occurred without any legal investigation or a traditional declaration of war from Congress. That raises questions about the justifications for Trump’s actions and the impact they could have on diplomatic relations with Latin American nations who recall with deep resentment repeated U.S. military interventions during the Cold War. The U.S. intelligence community has also disputed Trump’s central claim that Maduro’s administration is working with the Tren de Aragua gang and orchestrating drug trafficking and illegal immigration into the U.S. Trump’s assertion that the United States is engaged in an "armed conflict" with drug cartels is based on the same legal authority used by the Bush administration when it declared a war on terror after the Sept. 11 attacks. That includes the ability to capture and detain combatants and to use lethal force to take out their leadership. But the United Nations charter specifically forbids the use of force except in self-defense. "You just can’t call something war to give yourself war powers," said Claire Finkelstein, a professor of national security law at the University of Pennsylvania. "However frustrated we may be with the means and results of law enforcement efforts to combat the flow of drugs, it makes a mockery of international law to suggest we are in a noninternational armed conflict with cartels.”

Washington Examiner [10/17/2025 1:47 AM, Staff, 1394K] reports a U.S. military drone strike on Thursday on a suspected Venezuelan narcoterrorist vessel in international waters in the Caribbean Sea left several survivors. Two to three people reportedly survived after the alleged cartel boat was hit, said a U.S. official, according to Reuters. It is believed to be the first time there were any survivors during such military strikes. It was the sixth known strike against a suspected drug-transporting vessel authorized by the Trump administration as part of efforts to combat illegal drug-trafficking from Venezuela into the U.S. The number of casualties from this particular strike is currently unknown, as is the number of people aboard the boat. There have been at least 27 known fatalities from the previous U.S. military strikes. According to reports, U.S. military personnel initiated search and rescue efforts after the strike, including using a rescue helicopter. The survivors’ injuries, if any, are reportedly unknown, and it is currently unclear if the U.S. rescued any of the survivors, Fox News reported. The revelation of the strike and subsequent survivors on Thursday came as it was revealed that Admiral Alvin Holsey, the leader of the U.S. Southern Command, who oversaw the campaign on suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean, was resigning. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth spoke highly of Holsey in a post on X announcing his resignation. "On behalf of the Department of War, we extend our deepest gratitude to Admiral Alvin Holsey for his more than 37 years of distinguished service to our nation as he plans to retire at year’s end," said Hegseth. "A native of Fort Valley, Georgia, Admiral Holsey has exemplified the highest standards of naval leadership since his commissioning through the NROTC program at Morehouse College in 1988.” "Throughout his career—from commanding helicopter squadrons to leading Carrier Strike Group One and standing up the International Maritime Security Construct—Admiral Holsey has demonstrated unwavering commitment to mission, people, and nation," he added. "His tenure as Military Deputy Commander and now Commander of United States Southern Command reflects a legacy of operational excellence and strategic vision.” No official reason was given for Holsey’s abrupt resignation, who is leaving after serving less than a year in his current position. However, New York Times cited claims from "one current and one former U.S. official, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personal matters," attributing the resignation to "concerns about the mission and the attacks on the alleged drug boats.” Elected officials from both parties have also expressed concerns over the Trump administration’s authorization to strike suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean.

Reported similarly:
Univision [10/17/2025 1:25 AM, Staff, 5004K]

Washington Examiner [10/16/2025 12:00 PM, David Zimmermann, 1394K] reports Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, on Thursday defended the Trump administration’s CIA operations in Venezuela to thwart "designated terrorist gangs" that are trafficking drugs by land and sea. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he had authorized the CIA to engage in clandestine operations within Venezuela to undermine Nicolás Maduro’s regime. In response, Venezuela condemned the covert "CIA coups" within its borders. The South American nation also recently brought complaints against the U.S. military’s actions in the Caribbean region to the United Nations Security Council. Waltz implied he doesn’t take Venezuela’s grievances seriously, saying Maduro is an "illegitimate" leader because of his 2020 indictment on narco-terrorism and drug-trafficking charges in the Southern District of New York. "Venezuela can bring whatever they want to the U.N.," the ambassador told Fox News’s Fox & Friends on Thursday. "You know what’s also part of the U.N., is Article 51 of the U.N. Charter that enables a country to defend itself, and that’s what President Trump’s doing. He’s going to do it.” Waltz argued the United States has a right to defend itself against a foreign adversary aiding narco-terrorists. "President Trump is going to do whatever it takes and use all the tools in the toolkit from the intelligence community, from the Department of War, and of course, diplomatically, to defend U.S. sovereignty against actions that are actively killing Americans," he said.

Reuters [10/16/2025 7:59 PM, Michelle Nichols, 36480K] reports Venezuela has asked the United Nations Security Council to determine that deadly U.S. strikes on vessels off its coast are illegal and issue a statement backing Venezuela’s sovereignty, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Thursday. U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered a large U.S. military buildup in the southern Caribbean, and the troops have conducted at least five the Trump administration has described as involved in drug trafficking, without providing evidence. In a letter to the 15-member Security Council, dated Wednesday, Venezuela’s U.N. Ambassador Samuel Moncada accused Washington of killing at least 27 people in the strikes on "civilian vessels transiting international waters.” He asked the council to "investigate" the strikes to "determine their illegal nature" and issue a statement "reaffirming the principle of unrestricted respect for the sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity of states," including Venezuela. In Caracas, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said that while the CIA has long been linked to coups around the world, no previous government had publicly stated it ordered the CIA to "kill, overthrow, and destroy countries.” Maduro accused the CIA of being authorized to conduct operations aimed against the peace of Venezuela. "But our people are clear, united, and aware. They have the means to once again defeat this open conspiracy against the peace and stability of Venezuela," the president said during an event broadcast on state television.

NewsMax [10/16/2025 10:32 PM, Staff, 4109K] reports Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro is mobilizing troops and militias across the Caribbean coast, declaring his country "ready for combat" as tensions rise with the United States — which has deployed the largest military buildup in the region since the 1980s, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. According to the Journal, Maduro’s regime has activated both the Venezuelan armed forces and what he claims is a "millions-strong" civilian militia in what analysts say is a mix of propaganda and desperation. State-run television, radio, and social media outlets have been saturated with images of Venezuelan men and women — some elderly and overweight — crawling under barbed wire, firing rifles, and pledging loyalty to the socialist government. "The people are ready for combat, ready for battle," Maduro told cheering supporters earlier this week, insisting that "Venezuela will bow to no one.” The Journal reports that the buildup comes as the U.S. Navy has moved eight warships, an attack submarine, and advanced aircraft including F-35B fighters and P-8 Poseidon spy planes into the Caribbean. MQ-9 Reaper drones and B-52 bombers have also been observed near Venezuela’s northern coast. The Pentagon has deployed elite special operations units — including the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the "Night Stalkers" — conducting exercises within 90 miles of Venezuelan territory, the paper noted. American officials told the Journal the buildup is aimed at combating narcotics trafficking, not preparing for a full-scale invasion. Still, the U.S. has carried out at least five airstrikes on drug-running boats in the region, killing 27. The Trump administration has defended the strikes as necessary to stop terrorists involved in the narcotics trade. Maduro, in turn, has escalated his rhetoric and surrounded himself with senior military officials. The Journal said he has ordered recruitment from indigenous communities to expand the militias and appeared at rallies flanked by uniformed generals. "If you want peace," he told the crowd, "get ready to earn peace.” Maduro’s No. 2, Diosdado Cabello, and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López have been shown in state footage preparing defenses and visiting militia camps far from Caracas, according to the report. "We are a country of peace," Cabello declared, "but we are fierce beasts when we have to defend it.” Despite the bluster, the Journal reports Venezuela’s military is "in shambles." Experts and former officers say morale is low, training is inadequate, and logistics are broken. Soldiers are underfed, poorly supplied, and led mostly by political loyalists rather than professionals. "They have been systematically worn down," one exiled former colonel told the newspaper. The country’s economy, meanwhile, is collapsing again. The International Monetary Fund projects a 3% contraction in 2026 and inflation soaring to 682%, according to the Journal. While Maduro insists Venezuela can resist any U.S. pressure, many citizens told the Journal they hope Washington’s presence might hasten the end of his rule. "I think it’s important for a change in government," said Caracas resident Milagros Campos, "so that the economy can get better.”

Reuters [10/17/2025 5:08 PM, Patricia Zengerle, 45746K] reports Democratic and Republican U.S. senators announced plans on Friday to force a vote on a resolution to prevent military action against Venezuela without congressional authorization, seeking to rein in President Donald Trump’s escalation of pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, who is sponsoring the war powers resolution with fellow Democrat Adam Schiff of California and Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, said he was responding to the repeated U.S. strikes on boats off Venezuela. There have been at least five such strikes, which the Trump administration says are part of a campaign against drug traffickers. They have killed at least 27 people. Kaine noted the U.S. constitutional requirement that only Congress, not the president, authorizes war, except for short-term strikes. The Trump administration’s campaign in the southern Caribbean has lasted for weeks. Trump has also dangled the possibility of land attacks against Venezuela. And he disclosed on Wednesday that he authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to conduct covert operations in Venezuela. "It’s clear there’s no congressional authorization for this action," Kaine told reporters. The strikes have led some legal experts to question whether the U.S. is violating international law. Colombia, which has condemned the strikes, said one of the vessels was Colombian with Colombian citizens aboard. The Trump administration called that assertion "baseless. The surprise announcement on Thursday that the admiral who heads U.S. military forces in Latin America will step down at the end of the year added to questions about the campaign. Venezuela has asked the United Nations Security Council to determine that the strikes are illegal, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Thursday.

New York Times [10/16/2025 8:09 PM, Prior Beharry and Frances Robles, 135475K] reports Chad Joseph, a 26-year-old from Trinidad and Tobago who had been living in Venezuela in recent months, told his family he would soon be taking a short boat ride back home. He has yet to return, and now his family fears the worst. On Thursday, his name spread across social media, with users saying that he was one of six people aboard a suspected drug vessel that had been blown up by the U.S. military this week. “I don’t want to believe that this is my child,” his mother, Lenore Burnley, said in an interview. “Is this really true?” The U.S. military has destroyed five boats it has alleged were ferrying drugs into the United States, killing 27 people. And despite the mounting death toll, no authority has come forward to publicly release the names of any of the dead. Relatives have been left with rumors and social media posts — as well as their loved ones’ absences — to reach their own conclusions. Mr. Joseph’s family is believed to be the first to publicly say they believe a relative is among those killed on one of the targeted boats. Mr. Joseph’s neighbor, known by his last name Samaroo, was on the same boat and is also missing, Mr. Joseph’s aunt, Lynette Burnley said. Wayne Sturge, Trinidad and Tobago’s defense minister, said he had not received official confirmation that any of those on the boat were from Trinidad. The strike took place in international waters, so the government of Trinidad and Tobago has no jurisdiction to investigate, he said. The first attack, which killed 11 people, was announced by the Trump administration on Sept. 2. Family and friends took to social media to lament the deaths of eight people from the Venezuelan town of San Juan de Unare they said had died in the strike. Nobody included surnames. They were quickly quashed: Venezuelan security officials descended on San Juan de Unare, cut off the electricity and made clear that public pronouncements about the attacks were not welcome, according to four townspeople, including the niece of one of the victims. Posts were deleted. The wife of one of the people, who lived in Güiria, a town also on the Venezuelan coast, told New York Times on the condition that her name not be published that her husband, a fisherman, had gone to work one day and had never returned. The Venezuelan government appears to have cracked down on publicity about the attack, experts said, because officials were anxious not to antagonize the United States in the face of a military buildup in the Caribbean that appears to be meant to ratchet up pressure on Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, President Nicolás Maduro.

New York Post [10/16/2025 6:19 PM, Caitlin McCormack, 42219K] reports a notorious Tren de Aragua gang leader hiding out in Colombia plunged to his death after slipping off an eighth-floor balcony while attempting to flee authorities raiding his apartment. Ender Alexis Rojas Montan, a 31-year-old leader of the gang’s Alayon Dynasty branch, plummeted a staggering eight stories and appeared to die on impact, according to video footage obtained by NewsX. Rojas Montan tried to make a speedy escape from the apartment in Antioquia, Colombia on Oct. 9 as Colombian National Police officials were busting down his door with a battering ram, according to cops’ body camera footage. The gang boss was briefly seen trying to scale the balcony’s railing in a fruitless attempt to reach the floor below. Instead, he lost his grip and took a nosedive all the way down to the concrete sidewalk, according to the footage. An officer who peered over the railing captured a clear view of Rojas Montan’s bloodied corpse as he lay pancaked on the sidewalk while a plain-clothed pedestrian watched on in horror, according to the body camera video. A squad of at least five officers burst into the apartment with their guns drawn as they ordered the suspects to get down. A shirtless man sitting on the couch quickly slid to his knees and kept his hands in the air while a small dog scampered around the authorities’ feet, the footage shows. Another person was found in a connecting bedroom attempting to conceal themselves beneath a thick blanket. As authorities rifled through the apartment, they found multiple concealed contrabands, including a fragmentation grenade and a pound of amphetamine valued at $9,550, NewsX reported.

The Hill [10/16/2025 3:56 PM, Sarah Fortinsky, 12595K] reports White House border czar Tom Homan denied allegations that he accepted a $50,000 bribe from undercover FBI agents in exchange for contract promises, saying on Wednesday that he never accepted that sum of money from "anybody.” During NewsNation’s "Cuomo" town hall, Homan issued his firmest denial yet of the allegations when asked if he wants to "clarify anything" about his alleged involvement in the FBI corruption investigation. "I didn’t take $50,000 from anybody," Homan said. Asked how the allegations got "into the mainstream," Homan said he has "no idea" but said he’s been the target of dozens of "hit pieces" in recent months about his alleged involvement with government contracts. "I recused myself from any discussions of any contract or any monetary decisions like that, because I used to have a company that did consulting, so I cleared myself day one," he said. "What people don’t talk about is I took a significant, huge pay cut to come back and serve my nation, and I’m not enriching myself doing this job.” But Homan said he isn’t angry about the public criticism or allegations. "I don’t care what people think about me. I never have," he said. "Because I know who I am. I work for the greatest president in the history of this nation, and we’re doing the right thing every day.” MSNBC reported last month that Homan had been under investigation by the Biden-era Department of Justice (DOJ) after accepting $50,000 in cash from FBI agents posing as businessmen last year. In return, according to the report, Homan had promised to provide government contracts to the men in President Trump’s second term. Top DOJ officials, including FBI Director Kash Patel, suggested in a statement to MSNBC that the investigation into Homan was untrustworthy because it was launched when former President Biden was in office. A subsequent examination by the agency under Trump, they added, found "no credible evidence of any criminal wrongdoing," and the probe was dropped.

Axios [10/17/2025 5:01 AM, Russell Contreras, 13599K] reports the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is projected to reduce the U.S. workforce by 6.8 million people by 2028 and by 15.7 million by 2035, per a study first shared with Axios. Fewer workers in the labor force could have dramatic effects on the U.S. economy, from lower economic growth to reductions in the nation’s goods and services produced. The drop in workers could alter the nation’s projected demographics and make it difficult to revive manufacturing jobs — or to attract workers in health, agriculture and energy as the population ages. Projected new workers entering the workforce wouldn’t fully make up the difference, leading to the net reductions, per the National Foundation for American Policy, a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that focuses on trade and immigration. The study estimates that, of the projected decline in U.S. workers by 2028, 2.8 million would stem from legal immigration changes and 4 million from illegal immigration crackdowns. Roughly a third of the 15.7 million fewer workers in 2035 would result from policies on legal immigration. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Axios in a statement that Trump’s agenda to create jobs will capitalize on "untapped potential" while enforcing immigration laws. "There is no shortage of American minds and hands to grow our labor force," Jackson said. Jackson added that over one in ten young adults in the U.S. are neither employed nor in higher education nor pursuing vocational training.

The Hill [10/16/2025 12:46 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 12595K] reports that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday urged her followers to join the nationwide "No Kings" demonstrations protesting the Trump administration. "In two days, be a part of the largest peaceful protest in modern American history," Clinton wrote in a post on the social platform X, with the link to register for demonstrations attached. "Join No Kings this Saturday at an event near you to push back on Trump’s power grabs and make it clear—we don’t do monarchs here," she added. The progressive group Indivisible says 2,000 protests are scheduled for Saturday. The protests are planned in cities including Los Angeles; Boston; Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Atlanta; New Orleans; Kansas City, Mo.; and Bozeman, Mont. Planned protests stretch into Canada and as far south as Madrid, a town in Mexico. Republicans have criticized the demonstrations, with several dubbing them as "Hate America" rallies. This Saturday’s demonstrations come amid the federal government shutdown, and tense situations in several cities involving federal intervention on crime and immigration. The American Federation of Government Employees has encouraged federal employee members to participate amid the Trump administration’s layoffs during the government shutdown and threats of not receiving back pay. Clinton has railed against Trump’s actions during his second stint in the Oval Office.

Wall Street Journal [10/16/2025 8:31 PM, Staff, 646K] reports opposing Donald Trump is a perilous business, but working for him can be equally as dangerous. That’s one lesson from Thursday’s indictment of Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton for mishandling classified documents. A federal grand jury in Maryland indicted Mr. Bolton on eight counts of transmitting national defense information and 10 counts of retaining such information. The charges relate to the contemporaneous diary notes Mr. Bolton took during his time in the Trump White House. They allege that Mr. Bolton wrote diary entries and then transmitted those on eight occasions to “Individual 1” and “Individual 2,” who are his wife and daughter. Neither had clearance to handle classified material, though the indictment makes no claim that they mishandled it. Mr. Bolton is likely to claim that he had every right to keep a diary based on his memory to write a book, “The Room Where It Happened.” Jimmy Carter’s NSC adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski wrote extensive journal entries that informed his memoir, “Power and Principle.” The indictment makes much of the fact that the information Mr. Bolton is accused of mishandling didn’t appear in his book after his draft was reviewed by the White House. But the review process exists to safeguard national secrets, and Mr. Bolton subjected himself to it. Prosecutors will have to prove Mr. Bolton knew his diary notes contained national secrets rather than being recollections that would be subject to review before becoming public. Prosecutors also make much of the detail that one of Mr. Bolton’s personal accounts was hacked by Iran. But Mr. Bolton disclosed that to the FBI and worked closely with the bureau as it sought to counter the Iranian effort to assassinate Mr. Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. There is no evidence in the indictment that Iran used information in the emails to harm the U.S. Tehran wanted to kill Mr. Bolton, and Mr. Trump pulled his protective detail this year. Mr. Bolton said in a statement Thursday evening that “My book was reviewed and approved by the appropriate, experienced career clearance officials. When my e-mail was hacked in 2021, the FBI was made fully aware. In four years of the prior administration, after these reviews, no charges were ever filed. Then came Trump 2 who embodies what Joseph Stalin’s head of secret police once said, ‘You show me the man, and I’ll show you the crime.’” There’s little doubt that the underlying motivation for this prosecution is retribution. The President has targeted Mr. Bolton at least since 2020 when Mr. Trump called for his prosecution after Mr. Bolton wrote his book.

The Hill [10/16/2025 11:30 AM, Nolan Rappaport,, 12595K] reports Border czar Tom Homan has succeeded in reducing illegal crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border to their lowest level since the early 1970s. But his interior enforcement measures have been hampered by violent opposition and a crisis-level immigration court backlog. Congress has tried to reduce the backlog by providing funds for additional immigration judges, but the backlog has continued to grow. During the Biden administration, it rose from 1,457,547 cases on the active docket in fiscal 2021 to 3,716,106 in fiscal 2024. The current administration has reduced it, but not nearly enough. As of the end of August, there were still 3,432,519 cases on the active docket. If the 361,614 cases on the inactive docket are counted as well, the total backlog is close to 4 million cases. One of the reasons why hiring more judges hasn’t worked is that the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review has not limited its new judge hires to lawyers who have immigration experience. The judges hired without immigration experience can be expected to take longer to decide cases than experienced judges and to have more of their decisions appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals. The immigration review office shouldn’t rely on hiring more judges to reduce the backlog if the new judges aren’t going to have immigration experience. It would be wiser to reduce the backlog by changing the way the court operates.

New York Post [10/16/2025 6:44 PM, Jim Banks, 42219K] reports after years of seeing American blood and treasure spent making faraway parts of the world safer, President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth are using our might to neutralize drug smuggling in our hemisphere. Boats carrying deadly drugs are being vaporized by Reaper drones on a seemingly weekly basis. This is America First foreign policy in action. Every boat out of Venezuela that our Reaper drones destroy is carrying poison that would destroy families and communities. The response to this operation from the Venezuelan government has been telling. Its leaders haven’t thanked American for eliminating narco-terrorists or offering to help. Instead, they’ve issued condemnations and denials that these boats are full of drugs. That’s because we’ve been killing their colleagues. Venezuela is a narco-state, a cartel masquerading as a government. The United States, Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Trinidad and Tobago have all recognized that the Cartel of the Suns, a drug-trafficking organization helmed by Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and high-ranking members of the Venezuelan military, is a designated terrorist organization. The moniker — Cartel of the Suns — refers to the sun insignias worn on the uniforms of high-ranking officers in the Venezuelan military. The cartel has provided security to protect cocaine shipments, participated in the smuggling of drugs, armed the Colombian terrorist organization FARC and earned millions in illicit proceeds.

Daily Wire [10/16/2025 10:38 AM, Jim Banks, 2494K] reports we already know that Joe Biden and his administration put America last. They allowed millions of illegal immigrants to pour over our border and let inflation run wild. What is less known is how the Biden Administration manipulated data from the 2020 Census for the benefit of illegal immigrants to the detriment of Americans. The Biden administration was tasked with interpreting and publishing the results of the 2020 Census. To do this, the Census Bureau used a shady new privacy "formula" called "differential privacy" to manipulate raw data. This formula purposely inserts false demographic data into individual voting districts (called blocks for census purposes) in order to make it impossible to guess individual residents’ identities within a census block. The new methodology scrambled the populations of states and voting districts and deceived voters about the demographics of their own districts. By the Biden Administration’s own admission, the 2020 Census dramatically miscounted the population in fourteen states. Republican states were disproportionately undercounted while Democrat states were disproportionately overcounted. If each state’s population was accurately reported by the 2020 Census, then Florida would have had two additional Congressional seats, Texas would have had one additional seat, and Minnesota, Rhode Island and Colorado all would have had one fewer member of Congress. This clearly has massive political implications. The Biden Administration effectively cooked the books to make it easier for a Democrat to win the White House. If the 2020 Census was accurate, a Republican could win office by simply winning the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina, with no need to win either Pennsylvania, Michigan, or Wisconsin. These mistakes also meant that Americans went without the representation they rightly deserve. The error becomes grave when one considers that our founding fathers fought a revolution over the need for proper representation in government.

USA Today [10/16/2025 6:03 AM, Alan Dershowitz, 67103K] reports if I were still teaching a course on constitutional law, I would use President Donald Trump’s decision to send troops into cities as a classic example of an issue whose resolution is unpredictable. There are arguments on both sides, many of which are fact-specific and depend on constantly changing circumstances. A few conclusions are fairly clear: First, under Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution, the president clearly has the authority to send federal law enforcement officials to protect federal buildings or federal officials from danger. Moreover, the president gets to decide, subject to limited judicial review, whether such dangers exist. State and city officials cannot interfere with the proper exercise of such federal authority. Second, and equally clear, is that if there is no federal interest that requires protection, the president has no authority to intrude on purely local matters, such as street crime. The 10th Amendment and various statutes leave local law enforcement entirely in the hands of the states. Third, the president has greater authority over Washington, DC, even with the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973, than he does over other cities. Fourth, there are limited situations in which the president has authority, even if there is no direct federal interest in protecting a federal building or authorities. One such instance is an "insurrection." Yet the law is unclear as to a) the definition of an insurrection; b) who gets to decide whether an insurrection, however defined, is ongoing; and c) what is the proper role of the judiciary in reviewing a presidential decision that an insurrection is occurring. The same is true of an invasion. This is somewhat easier to define, but there will be close cases, such as a dictator sending hordes of illegal immigrants to destabilize a nation.

FOX News [10/16/2025 2:59 PM, Taylor Penley, 40621K] reports Trump border czar Tom Homan warned Thursday that more "bloodshed" may come if Democrats continue their anti-ICE rhetoric, arguing that his prior warnings regarding violence have already manifested. "I’ve never seen anything even close to this, the hateful rhetoric that has caused an over 1,000% increase in [attacks against] ICE officers," he said on "The Faulkner Focus.” "The hateful rhetoric has to stop. I said back in March if the hateful rhetoric continues there will be bloodshed, people are going to die, and they have, unfortunately.” Homan pointed to an instance in which one person died while trying to attack a border patrol facility in Texas and shootings at ICE facilities in recent months. He imparted a warning to viewers, saying, "It’s not going to stop.” "I’ve seen this play out before. It’s not going to stop. There’s going to be more bloodshed unless this hateful rhetoric stops," he added. Homan’s comments come amid opposition from many Democratic officials as the Trump administration ramps up its immigration and anti-crime efforts across the U.S. Pritzker in August warned that "this is what happened during the early days of the Nazi regime in Germany.” "I’m not suggesting we’re going in the same direction necessarily, but, boy, it’s frightening," he continued. Such rhetoric has drawn ire from others in the Trump administration, including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

New York Times [10/16/2025 10:04 PM, Heather Knight, 135475K] reports Marc Benioff, the chief executive of Salesforce, shocked San Franciscans last week when he said that he “fully supports” President Trump and wants National Guard troops deployed to their city. But his allegiance to Mr. Trump goes much further. Screenshots of internal documents and communications obtained by New York Times show that Salesforce has pitched Immigration and Customs Enforcement on using the company’s artificial intelligence capabilities to help ICE staff up as Mr. Trump expands immigration raids and deportations around the country. Mr. Benioff’s support of the National Guard ran counter to the city’s famously liberal underpinnings and to his own reputation as a benefactor of progressive causes. San Francisco leaders, already outraged by those remarks, were upset to learn on Thursday that the homegrown company was trying to help Mr. Trump with his immigration crackdown. The internal documents include a five-page memo sent on Aug. 26 that explained how Salesforce is best suited to help the agency with “talent acquisition” to achieve its goal “to nearly triple its work force by hiring 10,000 new officers and agents expeditiously.” Other Salesforce documents included a spreadsheet of ICE “opportunities,” the company’s term for possible contracts, as well as an internal brainstorming slide deck about how artificial intelligence agents might help ICE evaluate information sent to the agency’s tip line and improve investigations. The internal information was provided to The Times by an individual with ties to Salesforce who was granted anonymity because the person was not authorized to share it. The Times described the documents to Salesforce, and the company did not dispute their authenticity. Mr. Benioff declined to comment publicly for this article, and a Salesforce spokeswoman said the company does not discuss contracts. The company said in a statement that it has served the U.S. government under many administrations and that all of its customers are bound by company policies to use its products responsibly. Salesforce, which also contracted with ICE under the Obama and Biden administrations, is far from the only tech company helping ICE drastically expand its enforcement efforts under Mr. Trump. Palantir, the Denver-based software company co-founded by the conservative billionaire Peter Thiel, is a major partner of ICE. Microsoft and IBM also have contracts with the agency.

CNN [10/16/2025 6:00 AM, Emma Tucker, 18595K] reports a masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent grabbed Monica Moreta-Galarza’s hair as she clung to her husband, pleading with the agents who were detaining him. She was wrestled away from him as her crying children were held back by other agents. Moreta-Galarza was taken to a nearby room for an unknown period before she was seen in videos captured by onlookers in the hallway of an immigration courthouse in Manhattan in late September, telling a different federal agent in Spanish: "You guys don’t care about anything!" The agent, wearing a flannel shirt and baseball cap, replies, "Adios, adios," as he grabs the mother and forces her several feet down the hallway, shoving her into the wall before pushing her to the ground. Moreta-Galarza was rushed to the hospital for possible head trauma. Her experience is a snapshot of an array of incidents nationwide caught on camera by bystanders, revealing heavy-handed tactics by federal agents since President Donald Trump took office in January, experts told CNN. Videos over the months have shown ICE agents wearing face coverings and plainclothes, driving unmarked cars and swarming worksites and streets during their deportation operations. Tensions flared again in Chicago this week when an immigration operation resulted in a crash, bringing anger from residents and tear gas. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to CNN federal agents are facing "smearing" by claims the agency is using "harsher approaches," and said they "put their lives on the line every day to enforce the law." ICE and US Customs and Border Protection agents are trained "to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve dangerous situations to prioritize the safety of the public and themselves," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in the statement.

New York Times [10/16/2025 1:00 PM, Jazmine Ulloa, 135475K] reports that four months ago, Yessenia Ruano put her home in Wisconsin up for rent, packed a few bags and left for her native El Salvador. She had fled gang violence in her homeland, and said she had survived forced labor on her journey north. But after living and working in the United States for 14 years as she fought a deportation order, Ms. Ruano seemed to be out of options. Legal protections that had allowed her to stay while she sought permanent residency began falling away when President Trump expanded his mass deportation effort. Even though her petition to obtain a special visa available to victims of human trafficking was still pending, federal immigration officials refused to delay their efforts to remove her from the country. Now, Ms. Ruano and several other immigrants say that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is violating the law by detaining and deporting victims of domestic violence or human trafficking who have applied for protection. In a lawsuit filed this week in federal court in Los Angeles, lawyers for Ms. Ruano and the other plaintiffs say that the Trump administration’s policies violate the immigration relief provisions of the Violence Against Women Act and other measures that Congress established to safeguard victims and encourage them to work with the authorities. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement that every unauthorized immigrant whom ICE has removed from the country has “had due process and has a final order of removal — meaning they have no legal right to be in the country.”

The Hill [10/16/2025 4:49 PM, Sarah Fortinsky, 12595K] reports Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) said Democrats are discussing ways to prohibit U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers from covering their faces when carrying out enforcement operations — should the party retake the majority in the 2026 midterm elections. Swalwell said Democrats are exploring ways to tie funding for ICE to legislation that would bar officers from wearing masks — an issue that has galvanized Democrats amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration in U.S. cities. Senate Democrats recently introduced legislation that would require Homeland Security officials to wear visible ID cards and to prevent them from wearing face coverings that obscure their faces. But Swalwell said the ongoing discussions he’s having with other Democrats would go further than that, making ICE funding contingent on first prohibiting masks. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, has defended officers who opt to wear masks, saying they provide protection for law enforcement officers who have experienced a sharp rise in attacks in recent months. But Democrats have pushed back on concerns over potential retaliation against ICE officers, noting local law enforcement don’t wear masks and are more engrained in the community — and therefore face a potentially greater risk of retaliation. They also have pointed to reports of alleged criminals shielding their identities to falsely claim to be ICE officers as a means of gaining their victims’ trust before carrying out assaults and kidnappings.

Reuters [10/16/2025 3:44 PM, Nate Raymond, 36480K] reports a Massachusetts woman invoked the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk as something "we love" as she threatened last month to kill federal agents conducting an immigration arrest, U.S. prosecutors said on Thursday. Bethany Abigail Terrill, 37, was arrested on Wednesday as the U.S. Department of Justice moves to take aggressive action against individuals nationally who threaten agents at the front lines of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Terrill, a resident of Malden, Massachusetts, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Boston with threatening a U.S. official, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. A defense lawyer did not respond to a request for comment. The case stemmed from events that occurred on September 29 near a courthouse in Medford, Massachusetts, where agents from the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations had gathered to conduct an immigration arrest of an individual there to be arraigned. As agents handcuffed the individual, Terrill, a bystander, approached, screaming "ICE is here, ICE is here" and "you guys are monsters, this is insane" while pushing through the agents and filming them with her phone, according to charging papers. Terrill failed to comply with commands from agents to back up and addressed them as "Nazis" and "disgusting," authorities alleged. According to court papers, as agents led the arrested individual to a car, Terrill yelled: "Charlie Kirk died, and we love it... we’re coming for you, gonna kill you.”

Reported similarly:
Axios [10/16/2025 3:40 PM, Mike Deehan, 12972K]
FOX News [10/16/2025 3:18 PM, Greg Norman, 40621K]
CBS Boston [10/16/2025 5:08 PM, Victoria D. and Samantha Chaney, 39474K]

FOX News [10/16/2025 8:21 PM, Peter Pinedo, 40019K] reports following mainstream media reporting about ICE arresting a 13-year-old boy and separating him from his family, the Trump Department of Homeland Security is setting the record straight on his suspected gang involvement and stated intent to "shoot and kill" another student. Media outlets ran headlines such as, "Her 13-year-old son was arrested, then taken by ICE to a detention facility. The police chief calls it a first for his city" and "Mass. 13-year-old was picked up by ICE after a police interaction and now he’s hundreds of miles from home." However, DHS officials told Fox News Digital that the teen, Brazilian illegal immigrant Arthur Yuri De Almeida Silva Berto, is a suspected member of the "33" gang with 11 prior police complaints filed by Everett Police Department in Massachusetts for criminal behavior, including breaking and entering, vandalism, theft, fighting, ‘flash mob’ style shoplifting and more. Berto was arrested by Everett Police Oct. 9 after a classmate reported he had shown her a concealed gun on school property, stating he was looking for another boy he had been fighting with and that he was going to "shoot and kill him," according to a police report obtained by Fox News Digital. After being alerted, police searched the school area and found Berto at a bus stop. He was searched and found with a concealed 5½-inch Milwaukee knife. According to DHS, local officials contacted federal law enforcement and notified it of the arrest. Later that same day, ICE Boston officers took the teen into custody outside the Everett Police Department. The next day, ICE transported Berto to the Northwest Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Winchester, Virginia. An immigration court document obtained by Fox News Digital from a high-ranking Trump administration official states that, based upon Berto’s recidivist criminal history and ties to the 33 gang, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations determined him to be a "public safety threat." "Here are the facts: This individual and suspected gang member posed a public safety threat with an extensive rap sheet, including violent assault with a dangerous weapon, battery, breaking and entering and destruction of property," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, federal law enforcement is restoring common sense and law and order to our streets. This public safety threat will stay in juvenile detention pending further proceedings."

NBC 10 Boston [10/16/2025 8:09 PM, Asher Klein, 43603K] reports the recent surge of federal immigration enforcement in Massachusetts known as Operation Patriot 2.0 resulted in just over 1,400 arrests, officials said Thursday. Of the 1,406 undocumented immigrants arrested over the Sept. 4-30 operation, over 600, or less than half, have been convicted of or charged with significant crimes, according to Thursday’s announcement from U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement. They said that 277 of those arrested were in the country despite being ordered removed by an immigration judge. The first ICE surge in Massachusetts known as Operation Patriot, in May, netted 1,461 arrests, of which 790 involved a person with "significant criminality," officials said at the time. Operation Patriot 2.0 involved several federal agencies beyond ICE, including the FBI, U.S. Customs and Boarder Protection and U.S. Marshals Service, officials said. Six people arrested were allegedly part of prominent transnational gangs like MS-13 and Tren de Aragua; others arrested, according to the announcement, include people convicted of second-degree murder, child rape, kidnapping and drug charges. "Every illegal alien we arrested during the operation was breaking U.S. immigration law, and hundreds were violent criminals who should never have been allowed to roam freely in our communities," acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said in a statement. "Local law enforcement agencies released them instead of handing them over to us in a secure environment, and this puts neighborhoods, law enforcement officers and illegal aliens at risk. Local politicians are responsible for protecting their constituents, so they need to step up and end irresponsible sanctuary policies."

Blaze [10/16/2025 4:45 PM, Candace Hathaway, 1442K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested one of El Salvador’s "most wanted" who stands accused of murder, according to a Department of Homeland Security press release exclusively obtained by Blaze News. On October 2 in Virginia, ICE agents captured Ismael Enrique Mendoza Flores, also known as "El Calaco," believed to be an MS-13 gang leader. Mendoza Flores was wanted in El Salvador for aggravated homicide and illicit associations. According to Fairfax County case records, he was arrested in Virginia on August 23 for unauthorized use of a vehicle, a criminal felony. The alleged crime was reportedly committed on July 28. Mendoza Flores made bail and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for October 31. The DHS reported that ICE arrested Mendoza Flores due to an active warrant for murder. He was listed as part of the Salvadoran National Police’s "Most Wanted Gang Members" Program.

Chicago Tribune [10/16/2025 4:56 PM, Maya Wilkins, 4829K] reports the Hammond Common Council has approved a resolution banning federal immigration authorities from using city property for enforcement efforts less than a week after immigration officers were told to leave the city’s police department parking lot. The council passed the resolution at its Tuesday meeting. According to a Facebook post from Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., the resolution prohibits the "uncoordinated use" of city properties for ICE to use as "staging areas, processing locations, or operations centers."

Chicago Tribune [10/16/2025 8:50 PM, Tess Kenny, 4829K] reports Cook County barred the use of county-owned buildings, parking lots, garages and vacant lots for civil immigration enforcement activities, implementing similar measures enacted in Chicago and most recently neighboring Lake County. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle signed an executive order Thursday that will prevent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from using county-owned property, resources and personnel for operations, the county announced in a news release. Last week, Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order establishing “ICE-free zones” at Chicago city property and “unwilling” private businesses. Since, others have moved to follow suit. The Evanston City Council on Monday unanimously agreed to a resolution that prohibits the use of city property for federal immigration enforcement operations. A day later, the Lake County Board passed a similar resolution. After federal immigration enforcement activity surged in Carpentersville and neighboring Elgin on Wednesday — with federal agents spotted across the area, including outside Carpentersville Village Hall — village officials said they will look at doing something similar. “ICE’s increasingly aggressive, inhumane and unlawful actions continue undermining the safety and stability of our communities,” Preckwinkle said in a statement. “We will do everything we can to ensure all residents receive fair treatment and our communities are safe from harassment and intimidation.” The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on social media earlier this week that “Operation Midway Blitz” — President Donald Trump’s local mass deportation push — has resulted in more than 1,500 arrests across the state. Preckwinkle’s order comes a day after Chief Judge Timothy Evans enacted a general order prohibiting warrantless arrests by immigration agents in or around county courthouses. Last month, immigration agents arrested at least two people in the vicinity of the county’s domestic violence-focused courthouse, sparking fears that the enforcement action would have a chilling effect on people seeking orders of protection and other forms of help at the courthouse. In turn, county commissioners called on other county officeholders to help sound the alarm if federal immigration agents turn up at county courthouses and other public facilities. “Cook County’s strength lies in its diversity,” Preckwinkle stated. “We will continue to stand with our immigrant communities and protect them from policies that instill fear rather than promote fairness and justice.”

Chicago Tribune [10/16/2025 5:09 PM, Robert McCoppin, 4829K] reports that a video circulating on social media showing unidentified officers roughly detaining a teenager in Hoffman Estates has prompted local police to deny any involvement and has led the area’s congressman to call for answers. In the video, four unmarked cars can be seen pulling up behind another car near a residential street corner. At least six agents emerge, with one agent pulling a female teenage passenger out of the car by her arm. The video shows the unidentified male officer spin the teen to the ground, and he appears to kneel on her upper back near her neck while restraining her arms. The teen screams, "I’m not (expletive) resisting." The 18-year-old, who only gave her first name, Evelyn, told the Tribune Wednesday that the incident occurred last Friday and that she and two others were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. They were released without charges after a few hours, she said. Prior to being detained, the teenagers had been following the agents’ cars and honking their car horn to warn people that federal agents were patrolling the neighborhood. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, responded to questions about the arrests on Tuesday by referring the Tribune to a social media post. The statement from Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin, posted on X Monday, did not directly address questions about the incident. "Imagine being so desperate to demonize law enforcement you post a video from a burglary arrest Chicago Police made over a year ago. This isn’t even ICE," it said. Chicago police declined to comment, referring questions to Hoffman Estates authorities. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NPR [10/1/1725 4:53 AM, Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, 34837K] reports there’s growing concern around the ICE presence in the Chicago area. Meanwhile, grassroots community efforts to oppose ICE are ramping up. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

New York Times [10/16/2025 9:27 AM, Julie Bosman, 153395K] reports during a recent run near Lake Michigan, I watched a black S.U.V. make a U-turn and chase down three young men. Two armed immigration agents, their eyes peeking out from behind their balaclavas, jumped out and approached them. One asked what visas they held. “H-1B,” they responded, looking bewildered. That’s the visa for foreign workers with special expertise. Nothing that I could see would have attracted the attention of the agents, except for the fact that the men had brown skin. After questioning them, the agents let them go. This scene is now unfolding across Chicago every day. Federal immigration agents have been asking people about their legal status outside churches, homeless shelters, apartment buildings, parks and even a cemetery. Officers have questioned both U.S. citizens and legal residents, asking for passports and visas as proof of identity. The presence of officers from Border Patrol and ICE has brought forth an intense backlash. Chicagoans are shouting at immigration agents, calling them fascists and Nazis, throwing objects at them and chasing their unmarked S.U.V.s or minivans, honking their horns to warn bystanders of ICE’s presence. In response to what a Homeland Security official called “a surge in assaults,” the officers are using increasingly aggressive tactics. In recent days, they’ve hurled tear gas, pepper balls and smoke bombs at the public, protesters, journalists and even Chicago police officers, often without warning.

New York Times [10/16/2025 9:08 PM, Neil Vigdor, 135475K] reports a Wisconsin man has been charged with making threats toward federal law enforcement officers in a series of TikTok videos in which he promoted the killing of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The man, Andrew Stanton, 38, of Kenosha, Wis., pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee on Thursday, one day after he was indicted on three criminal counts that carry a combined maximum of 20 years in prison. The charges include threatening to assault, kidnap or murder a U.S. official; sending threatening communications across state lines; and stalking, according to court records. Mr. Stanton was arrested on Oct. 8, four days after saying in a TikTok video that ICE agents conducting immigration roundups for the Trump administration should be targeted, the authorities said. “It’s time we start shooting at you,” a criminal complaint quoted Mr. Stanton as saying. In a statement, John Bradley, a lawyer for Mr. Stanton, a Marine Corps veteran who served in the Iraq War, said: “It is important to remember that the contents of a criminal complaint represent one side of the story and are just allegations. Mr. Stanton pled not guilty. He is presumed innocent, and we will vigorously defend against these charges in court.” Federal investigators said that they began monitoring Mr. Stanton’s social media posts in late August, citing a tip from the Wisconsin Statewide Intelligence Center, a federal office that tracks suspected terrorist activity. At the time, a TikTok account registered to Mr. Stanton asked for whereabouts of any Israel Defense Forces members in the Illinois or Wisconsin area, a special agent for the F.B.I. wrote in the criminal complaint. In another TikTok video posted in late August, Mr. Stanton said that words were not bringing about change from politicians, the authorities said. “You have to use bullets,” he was quoted as saying in the complaint. Investigators said Mr. Stanton recorded a separate video that same day in which he endorsed terrorism and the text onscreen read, “I think we should be OFFING federal agents.” According to the F.B.I., law enforcement officers tried to interview Mr. Stanton twice in early September and were unable to reach him. But he did not go dark on social media.

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ABC News [10/16/2025 1:37 PM, Megan Forrester, 30493K]

CBS News [10/16/2025 2:23 PM, Steven Rosenbaum, 39474K] reports that Dallas Police Department Chief Daniel Comeaux revealed this week that his agency turned down $25 million in federal funding to assist U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with immigration enforcement in the city. Comeaux made the comment Tuesday evening during a meeting of the Community Police Oversight Board. It came in response to a question from board member Brandon Friedman, who asked about the extent of DPD’s involvement with ICE. Friedman pointed to multiple instances where DPD officers were reported to have been helping ICE agents make immigration arrests. He also brought up the department’s slow response times to lower priority calls, suggesting officers should be helping Dallas citizens instead of ICE. Comeaux replied that there were instances where people had posted on social media about DPD officers working with ICE when it was actually the U.S. Marshals supporting federal immigration operations. "We have had very little interactions with ICE on anything. That’s the truth about what’s happening in Dallas right now," Comeaux said. Comeaux added that within the past few weeks, ICE reached out with a $25 million offer to be part of the 287(g) program, which he declined.

FOX News [10/16/2025 7:00 PM, Gabriel Hays, 40621K] reports actress and singer Reneé Rapp delivered a scathing critique of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and President Donald Trump in an expletive-laden rant during her concert in Portland, Oregon, Monday. While performing at Portland’s Moda Center, the "Sex Lives of College Girls" star denounced the recent ICE raids in the city. The moment was shared on TikTok by former CNN journalist Don Lemon’s account. "So let’s just f------ make it abundantly f------ clear — F--- ICE. F--- this administration. F--- Trump," Rapp said from the stage to raucous applause. Rapp appealed to anti-ICE sentiment in the city, telling the audience, "We are very, very, very excited to be here with you. You’re a wonderful. And it just happens that we’re here at the same time some people who shouldn’t f------ be here are.” Portland has witnessed weeks of violent clashes between anti-ICE protesters and police outside a local ICE facility. Camila Wamsley, the director of ICE’s Portland office, said earlier this month the facility has endured more than 100 consecutive nights of disorder from protesters with Portland police largely absent, allegedly under orders from the mayor and the city council. Wamsley said nightly demonstrations have escalated beyond chants and signs, with protesters allegedly launching bottle rockets and rocks at the building, using lasers to target officers’ eyes and erecting barricades to block vehicles. The Trump administration moved to deploy National Guard troops to quell the unrest. However, U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut temporarily blocked the order, calling it "untethered from reality." She said the move would risk "blurring the line between civil and military federal power — to the detriment of this nation.” Local leaders also criticized Trump’s deployment plan, calling his portrayal of Portland "hyperbolic" and arguing that federal policing was unnecessary. Rapp isn’t the only musician to denounce ICE. Country artist Zach Bryan stirred controversy when a snippet of his song "Bad News" went viral earlier this month for its anti-ICE lyrics. The controversy caught the attention of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, who publicly criticized the singer. "I hope he understands how completely disrespectful that song is, not just to law enforcement but to this country," she said in an interview with conservative commentator Benny Johnson. Fellow country artist Bryan Andrews went viral on TikTok with a video rant calling out the condemnation ICE raids and the Christians that support them. "Bulls---. You don’t get to call yourself a Christian and advocate and f------ laugh when families are torn apart outside of courthouses of people trying to come here the right ways," he said. DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Breitbart [10/16/2025 9:02 AM, Randy Clark, 2416K] reports an illegal alien social media influencer who filmed and posted information and videos about ICE raids in California was deported to Colombia last week. Tatiana Mafla-Martinez, a Colombian national, was arrested in August over her previous conviction for Driving Under the Influence and illegal presence in the United States, according to ICE. Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security confirmed the deportation of the 24-year-old TikTok influencer. Mafla-Martinez, posting on as tatianamartinez_02, had more than 48,000 followers on the platform. Mafla-Martinez’s social media activity included postings about personal information and multiple posts alerting followers about ICE raids in Los Angeles and other parts of California. As reported by Breitbart News, ICE arrested Mafla-Martinez on August 15 while she was streaming live on the platform. Her arrest was captured on video and widely circulated on social media. The video of her being arrested shows the influencer screaming at ICE agents in Spanish from within her Tesla. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin commented on the arrest at the time, saying, "On August 15, ICE arrested Leidy Tatiana Mafla-Martinez, a criminal illegal alien from Colombia who was convicted for driving under the influence in Los Angeles." During her arrest, an illegal alien tow-truck driver was arrested after he allegedly towed off an ICE patrol vehicle being used in the arrest of the influencer, Breitbart Texas reported. In her social media post, McLaughlin described the chaotic scene surrounding Mafla-Martinez’s arrest that also involved the unlawful towing and theft of an ICE government vehicle used during the arrest. The suspect involved in the theft of the patrol vehicle was identified as Bobby Nunez.

FOX News [10/16/2025 7:42 AM, Peter Pinedo, 40621K] reports working in partnership with U.S. and Mexican authorities, ICE Homeland Security Investigations officers rescued a three-year-old Alabama child who was abducted by a woman working in conjunction with a deported illegal alien charged with child rape. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin shared with Fox News Digital that the child was rescued after being kidnapped by her mother, Haley Harris, and illegally taken across the southern border to Mexico. According to a statement by ICE, agents uncovered "disturbing details about Harris’s actions while in possession of the child." The agency said that during the course of the kidnapping, Harris maintained repeated contact with her boyfriend, Pedro Pedraza-Trejo, a previously deported Mexican national who has charges for child molestation and rape in Washington state. Local outlet ABC 33/40 reported that the kidnapped child, Kionii Haugen, was returned home to Orange Beach, Alabama, after 12 days. "Haley Harris broke into her ex-partner’s home and unlawfully kidnapped her child from the father’s Alabama home. She violated international parental kidnapping laws by fleeing to Mexico," McLaughlin explained. "During the course of the investigation, it was revealed that her boyfriend Pedraza-Trejo was deported to Mexico and his criminal history includes multiple child sex crimes, including molestation and rape of a child.” McLaughlin said that "through coordinated efforts with U.S. and Mexican authorities, Harris was located, arrested, and extradited to the United States to face charges," while the child "has been safely returned to Alabama." Steven Schrank, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia and Alabama, also commented on the case, saying it "highlights the power of collaboration between U.S. and international law enforcement agencies."

The Washington Post [10/16/2025 3:54 PM, Lauren Kaori Gurley, 24149K] reports the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sued the Trump administration Thursday to block steep new fees in the H-1B visa program, its first legal action against the administration this term. The chamber’s lawsuit alleges that Trump’s new $100,000 visa fees for the H-1B program, widely used by Silicon Valley, violates the Immigration and Nationality Act, according to a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The business group called the fee “not only misguided policy” but also “plainly unlawful” and is requesting that the court block the fee and declare it exceeds the executive branch’s authority. The chamber’s lawsuit is not the first against the new visa fee, but it’s significant because it marks the first by the chamber, one of the most powerful and largest business groups in Washington. “The new $100,000 visa fee will make it cost-prohibitive for U.S. employers, especially start-ups and small and midsize businesses, to utilize the H-1B program, which was created by Congress expressly to ensure that American businesses of all sizes can access the global talent they need to grow their operations here in the U.S.,” Neil Bradley, executive vice president at the U.S. Chamber, said in a statement. In a statement, Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman, called the administration’s actions “lawful” and “a necessary, initial, incremental step towards necessary reforms to the H-1B program.” “President Trump promised to put American workers first, and his commonsense action on H1-B visas does just that by discouraging companies from spamming the system and driving down American wages, while providing certainty to employers who need to bring the best talent from overseas,” Rogers said. The AP [10/16/2025 5:39 PM, Alex Veiga, 31753K] reports that the Trump administration announced the fee last month, arguing that employers were replacing American workers with cheaper talent from overseas. Since then, the White House has said the fee won’t apply to existing visa holders and offered a form to request exemptions from the charge. In its lawsuit, the Chamber argues that the new fee violates the immigration laws that govern the H-1B program, including the requirement that fees be based on the costs incurred by the government in processing visas. "The President has significant authority over the entry of noncitizens into the United States, but that authority is bounded by statute and cannot directly contradict laws passed by Congress," according to the complaint, which names the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department and their respective cabinet secretaries as defendants. FOX Business [10/16/2025 3:23 PM, Eric Revell, 10085K] reports [Bradley] also expressed appreciation for the administration’s efforts on securing the border, which he said has created a "one-in-a-generation opportunity to accomplish targeted legal immigration reforms, and we stand ready to work with Congress and the administration to make that happen.” "That includes working together on common-sense reforms to improve the visa process for skilled workers," Bradley continued. "The president has said he wants to educate, attract, and retain the world’s best and brightest in the U.S., and the Chamber shares that goal.” wage of the occupation — whichever is greater. Last month, the president issued a proclamation restricting the issuance of H-1B visas except for those accompanied by a payment of $100,000 starting on Sept. 21, a move which prompted the lawsuit. The Trump administration is also pursuing other reforms to the program. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is moving forward with a rule that would favor the allocation of H-1B visas to higher skilled and higher paid workers.

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The Hill [10/16/2025 5:55 PM, Julia Shapero, 12595K]
Axios [10/16/2025 2:58 PM, Emily Peck and Ben Berkowitz, 12972K]
CBS News [10/16/2025 6:11 PM, Mary Cunningham, 39474K]

Breitbart [10/16/2025 3:45 PM, John Binder, 2416K] reports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is announcing a new fee for migrants seeking entry into the United States through parole, an effort officials said will help prevent widespread fraud in the program. On Thursday, DHS officials said migrants looking to secure parole to be in the U.S. will have to pay a $1,000 fee effective immediately. The fee applies to migrants seeking initial parole, re-parole, parole in place, or parole from DHS custody. Only migrants who qualify for an exemption will not have to pay the fee. Those exemptions include migrants with urgent medical needs, those trying to attend the funeral of a loved one, or those whose family member’s death is imminent, among other exemptions. The Hill [10/16/2025 6:07 PM, Ryan Mancini, 12595K] reports that the goal of the fee is to "institute accountability and prevent rampant fraud of the parole system," according to a statement from the department’s public affairs office. The fee would also improve oversight of the immigration parole system "and deter its misuse." "The Biden Administration abused America’s immigration system and turned parole into a de facto amnesty program, thereby allowing millions of unvetted illegal aliens into the U.S., no questions asked, to the detriment of all Americans," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in the statement. "Through the implementation of this new fee, President Trump and Secretary [Kristi] Noem are guaranteeing that foreign nationals, who wish to stay here, have skin in the game and do not exploit the system," McLaughlin continued. "This immigration parole fee notice is another tool to stop the degradation of our immigration system and restore law and order to our country." Fees will be collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Fees are triggered once the grant is approved, not once a parole request is filed, the statement read.

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FOX News [10/17/2025 12:49 AM, Landon Mion, 40621K]
Washington Examiner [10/16/2025 5:00 PM, David Zimmermann, 1394K]

San Francisco Chronicle [10/16/2025 7:00 AM, Ko Lyn Cheang, 4722K] reports major employers that historically have hired large numbers of H-1B employees have begun disqualifying job applicants who require H-1B visa sponsorship since President Donald Trump used his executive power to impose a new $100,000 fee on applications for the work visa. Silicon Valley and tech leaders have been split over the policy, with some arguing the fee would hurt innovation as many startups won’t be able to hire top talent and others saying they are willing to pay it to get the best workers. Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said the fee is meant to encourage companies to turn to American workers instead of foreign workers, and ensure those entering on this visa are only the "top, top people.” Still, other tech giants, notably, the Silicon Valley-based semiconductor and computing company Nvidia, have vowed to continue to apply for H-1Bs. The new visa fee could dramatically reshape how American companies hire, recruit and train talent. Already, some companies appear to be pivoting to recruiting American workers although many other tech executives reiterated a commitment to facilitating immigration of skilled workers. The policy is being challenged in court by a coalition of organizations.

Washington Times [10/16/2025 6:47 PM, Stephen Dinan, 852K] reports Homeland Security’s border agency says it has cleaned up a problem from the Biden era that let illegal immigrants enter the U.S. and claim asylum despite using bogus identity documents. The department’s inspector general flagged the issue in a report last month, saying agents were catching migrants at the border who tried to use fraudulent paperwork. But agents never noted the usage in their official immigration record, or A-file. In cases where the migrants were released into the U.S. and went on to claim asylum, authorities downstream had no idea of the attempted fraud, which should have been used against them in their immigration court cases, the inspector general said. The result, the audit said, is people who “pose a threat to national security” may have been waived into the U.S. Even more shocking was the revelation that in some cases Customs and Border Protection personnel — usually port officers — handed the fraudulent documents right back to the migrants. CBP told The Washington Times it’s taken steps to fix the situation.

NPR [10/16/2025 3:53 PM, Adrian Florido, Mary Louise Kelly, 28013K] Audio: HERE reports the Trump Administration is making it harder to pass the civics test that applicants for U.S. citizenship must pass. It says the new test and other changes to the naturalization process are intended to ensure all new citizens are "fully assimilated."

FOX News [10/17/2025 3:14 AM, Landon Mion, 40621K] reports three labor unions filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Thursday, arguing that the federal government violated the First Amendment rights of visa holders legally in the U.S. by using a program to search their social media for specific viewpoints, including criticism of the U.S. government and Israel. United Auto Workers, Communications Workers of America and the American Federation of Teachers sued the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This comes after the State Department said it had revoked the visas of at least six people over social media comments made about late conservative activist Charlie Kirk following his murder last month. "Plaintiffs represent thousands of people whose speech is chilled by the threat of adverse immigration action if the government disapproves of anything they have expressed or will express," the lawsuit reads. Administration officials have purported that foreigners do not have the same constitutional rights as U.S. citizens and do not have a right to hold a visa, as the federal government seeks to target them for speech. "The United States is under no obligation to allow foreign aliens to come to our country, commit acts of anti-American, pro-terrorist, and antisemitic hate, or incite violence. We will continue to revoke the visas of those who put the safety of our citizens at risk," State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement. The lawsuit points to high-profile cases and the comments of federal officials to argue that a government program uses artificial intelligence and other automated tools for surveillance of visa holders’ posts and targets people critical of the Trump administration and what the government considers to be "hateful ideology.” The federal government has broadly defined support for terrorism to include criticism of U.S. support for Israel and the Jewish State’s military action, as well as support for Palestinians. The government has used this as a justification to cancel visas. The unions’ complaint cited the case of green card holder Mahmoud Khalil, who was released in June following months in detention after the government attempted to deport him for participating in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University. The lawsuit said the immigration threats over views disapproved by the government have prompted some union members to withdraw from publicly affiliating with their unions at organizing events, step down from leadership roles and "deleted, refrained from, or otherwise altered their social media and online engagement with the unions.” "This loss of engagement has harmed the plaintiffs’ ability to further their organizational missions and impeded their ability to carry out their responsibilities, which include recruitment, retention, and organization of union members; advocacy on behalf of union members; and the promotion of civic and political engagement among union members," the lawsuit said.

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The Hill [10/16/2025 5:35 PM, Ryan Mancini, 12595K]
Reuters [10/16/2025 8:28 PM, Simon Lewis, 36480K]
Axios [10/16/2025 5:27 PM, Julianna Bragg, 12972K]
NBC News [10/16/2025 3:22 PM, David Ingram, 34509K]

CBS News [10/16/2025 1:20 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 45245K] reports the U.S. government is probing the social media of those applying for legal immigration benefits as part of a Trump administration push to root out "anti-American" activity and views that are "beyond the pale," a top immigration official told CBS News. Joseph Edlow, the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the federal agency in charge of the legal immigration system, said the vetting effort primarily relies on what he called the "social media screening" of people applying for green cards and other immigration applications. In August, the Trump administration issued a directive instructing USCIS officials to consider the identification of "anti-American" views and activity of certain applicants for immigration benefits as an "overwhelmingly negative factor" that could justify denial. Asked what types of views and activities could be found to be "anti-American" by his agency, Edlow cited "what we’ve seen college campuses to have allowed over the last several years." "There has been such a large-scale espousing of foreign terrorist ideology, whether it’s Hamas or another organization that has been matched with … a clear desire by these elements to trample on the rights of other people around them," Edlow told CBS News during an interview at USCIS headquarters in Maryland. Pressed on whether those determinations could be based on speech protected by the U.S. Constitution, Edlow said, "Absolutely not." "People are free to make whatever statements they want on social media or anywhere else. And anyone who, you know, doesn’t support the same candidate that I support. That is not what we’re talking about," he said. "We are talking about beyond the pale," Edlow added. "We are talking about people who are actively supporting the violent overthrow of this country, or otherwise are providing material support to terrorist organizations across the world." Edlow said the probe into "anti-American" views and activities would not be the sole criteria for granting or denying applications. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AP [10/16/2025 6:34 PM, Alma Solís, 31753K] reports Panama President José Raúl Mulino said Thursday that someone at the U.S. Embassy has been threatening to cancel the visas of Panamanian officials as the Trump administration pressures Panama to limit its ties to China. Responding to a question at his weekly news conference, Mulino said without offering evidence that an official at the U.S. Embassy is "threatening to take visas," adding that such actions are "not coherent with the good relationship I aspire to maintain with the United States." He did not name the official. U.S. Ambassador to Panama Kevin Marino Cabrera said in a statement Thursday that "a visa is a privilege, not a right." He cited a U.S. policy announced in September by the State Department to restrict visas to Central American citizens who act on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party to undermine the rule of law in the region. "We revoke and deny visas according to our laws and regulations, without regard to the profession or position of the individual in the government." U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Panama in February on his first foreign trip as the top U.S. diplomat and called for Panama to immediately reduce China’s influence over the canal. Panama has strongly denied Chinese influence over canal operations, but has gone along with U.S. pressure for the Hong Kong-based company operating ports on both ends of the canal to sell its concession to a U.S. consortium. Mulino has said that Panama will maintain the canal’s neutrality. “They’re free to give and take a visa to anyone they want, but not threatening that if you don’t do something, I’ll take the visa,” Mulino said Thursday. He noted that the underlying issue — the conflict between the U.S. and China — “doesn’t involve Panama.”

Daily Wire [10/16/2025 10:33 AM, Jennie Taer, 2494K] reports in a message from the National Border Patrol Council, the agency’s union, some agents were informed this week that their payday is coming. “This is unprecedented and is due to the hard work of all federal law enforcement officers and the continued support of President Trump and his administration,” NBPC President Paul Perez wrote in the email. Agents will also be given back pay for the time they’ve worked since the shutdown began, according to the message. They also “may receive ‘accelerated’ pay” for their next paycheck. The government shutdown entered its 16th day on Thursday. Another vote to reopen the government is scheduled, but is expected to fail again. Democrats in Congress are asking to negotiate on healthcare, while Republicans are demanding that the government be reopened before any further talks proceed. With no end to the shutdown in sight, Border Patrol sources expressed relief at the news they’ll get paid. Some of those agents are patrolling not only the southern and northern borders, but have also been deployed to cities like Chicago to assist with President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts.

NewsMax [10/16/2025 8:13 AM, Staff, 4109K] reports President Donald Trump’s push to fight crime in the nation’s major cities reflects a return to "common sense" policies after years of liberal approaches that have weakened public safety, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection senior adviser Ron Vitiello on Newsmax on Thursday. The administration’s recent efforts, which reportedly have included more than 8,700 arrests of violent criminals and the seizure of 421 kilograms of fentanyl, show that putting federal resources directly into urban centers is working, Vitiello said on Newsmax’s "Wake Up America.” Trump, accompanied by FBI Director Kash Patel at the White House on Wednesday, announced the results as part of his broader initiative to target crime in Democrat-led cities. He said he plans to expand the efforts to include San Francisco, a city he described as having "lost its way" due to decades of progressive leadership. "He’s doing more of the same as it relates to bringing common sense to a problem that we’ve all suffered with for a really long time," Vitiello said. "Quality of life in these cities has degraded because of the woke policies like no-cash bail, the lack of consequences, [and] sanctuary cities for people who are in the country illegally." Vitiello said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the president have made it clear they back federal agents on the front lines, calling their continued work "critical" to national safety.

NewsNation [10/16/2025 4:30 PM, Anna Skog, 8017K] reports on Friday, 120 Michigan Army National Guard soldiers will prepare to deploy to the southwest border to help federal law enforcement, the state announced Thursday. Michigan Army National Guard’s 1430th Engineer Company, which is based out of Traverse City, will be helping the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s "mission along the Southwest Border," according to from a release from the Michigan Department of Military and Veteran Affairs. They will help with border security and the mission will last up to a year. "Under the direction of U.S. Northern Command and Joint Task Force North, their mission is to assist CBP. The Soldiers will provide mission enhancing support to CBP’s border security operations to enable CBP agents to conduct their law enforcement mission," the state wrote in a release.

Axios [10/16/2025 12:45 PM, Kate Murphy and Avery Lotz, 12972K] reports San Diego International Airport is one of many across the country refusing to air a video of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blaming the ongoing government shutdown on congressional Democrats. The Trump administration released the video for TSA checkpoints earlier this month, but some transportation authorities have pulled it, citing concerns that it violates the Hatch Act. That law aims to ensure federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion. Airports do regularly display videos from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary, though those typically focus on safety or travel procedures, not partisan messaging, the Washington Post reports. Noem’s video says the TSA aims to ensure efficient, pleasant and safe travel — but "Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government." "Because of this, many of our operations are impacted, and most of our TSA employees are working without pay," Noem continues.

San Francisco Chronicle [10/16/2025 4:40 PM, Sara DiNatale, 4722K] reports Oakland International Airport’s 340 federal security workers only got half their paycheck over the weekend because of the government shutdown. Now, they don’t know when the next one is coming, even as they show up for 12-hour shifts manning security checkpoints that start as early as 2:30 a.m. As the no-pay days stack up and childcare bills come due, employee attendance is already waning, said Joseph Cerletti, who represents security officers at the Oakland airport through a federal workers union. The loss of pay has been especially challenging for single parents, he said. As the government shutdown — which began Oct. 1 — stretches on, thousands of the Bay Area’s federal employees are either working without pay or furloughed with no clear end in sight. In Alameda County, the financial squeeze is especially apparent — the county has close to 10,400 federal workers, the highest count of any county in the greater Bay Area.

Reuters [10/16/2025 8:39 AM, Courtney Rozen and Jason Lange, 36480K] reports the Trump administration plans to shift terrorism prevention funding from Democratic-led states toward those led by Republicans, government records show, as it overhauls a $1 billion program created after the 9/11 attacks. Twelve Democratic-led states are suing to block the cuts, alleging that the Trump administration is trying to punish them for not cooperating with federal immigration agents. The Trump administration released estimates in late summer for how much money each state should expect to receive from the program. But it later changed the totals, according to notices the states received in late September from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Wisconsin, North Carolina and Ohio, which Trump won in 2024, saw the biggest percentage increase among states, according to federal records reviewed by Reuters. Democratic-party leaning Washington, D.C., Illinois and New Jersey saw particularly sharp decreases, with Washington’s total cut by 70%, Illinois by 69% and New Jersey by 49% compared to what the administration previously said they would receive. California also lost 31%. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, said in a statement that the new funding totals give "greater weight" to threats from transnational organized crime, defined as criminal organizations that operate across international borders. It also accounts for "illegal border crossings," the spokesperson said.

New York Times [10/16/2025 1:40 PM, Scott Dance, 135475K] reports that life is inching back to normal in the town of Cave City seven months after a tornado slammed into its corner of northeastern Arkansas. The only grocery store is about to reopen. Crews are starting to dig the foundation for a rebuilt funeral home. But the town — like so many others facing daunting recoveries from recent disaster — has had to go it alone, Mayor Jonas Anderson said. The Trump administration denied Cave City’s requests for Federal Emergency Management Agency money to help it recover. Mr. Anderson was forced to forge ahead anyway, racking up a bill of about $300,000 he said could end up eating 15 percent of the small town’s annual budget. Some of the nearly 2,000 residents have gotten federal help. FEMA agreed to cover repairs to the more than 50 homes damaged or destroyed when 165 mile per hour winds struck in March. The state pledged relief money, too. But Mr. Anderson said Cave City is carrying more of the burden of recovery than expected. “We’re making a really good recovery not because of some big FEMA reimbursement we got, but in spite of not getting it,” Mr. Anderson said. “People here are super resilient.” This could be the future for more communities across the country, based on Mr. Trump’s vision for emergency management in the United States: one that would transfer responsibility for disaster recovery from the federal government to the states in all but the largest catastrophes. For many places, it is already the reality.

New York Post [10/16/2025 12:45 PM, Ben Kochman, 42219K] reports a New York federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to send $34 million in anti-terrorism grants to the MTA — calling its abrupt bid to yank the cash a "blatant violation of the law.” Manhattan federal Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to disperse the funds to the Big Apple to be used to "help protect the people who every day ride the MTA’s subways, commuter trains and buses and who use its bridges and tunnels against terrorist attacks." FEMA had sent a presentation to congressional staffers in September revealing that it would be withholding the funds — which would in part lead to fewer cops patrolling the subway — because of New York City’s status as a sanctuary city, the ruling said. "Having considered all of the evidence, this court now holds that the withholding of these funds is arbitrary, capricious, and a blatant violation of the law," the judge wrote. Kaplan noted in his ruling that New York City has "remained a prime target" for terrorists after the Sept.11 attacks, and that, according to the NYPD, "the subways alone have been the subject of at least eight terrorist plots" since that devastating day. The funding grants, which were created in the wake of 9/11, are meant to be disbursed solely based on the risk of terrorist activities. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said earlier this month that the sudden decision to withhold the funding was meant to root out wasteful government spending. But DHS "does not dispute the authenticity" of the document that divulged that the funds were in fact being yanked because of New York City’s status as a sanctuary city — a term that describes cities that limit their cooperation with the administration’s aggressive deportation efforts, the ruling said.

AP [10/16/2025 1:28 PM, Staff, 2983K] reports that a federal judge has permanently blocked the Trump administration from withholding nearly $34 million in funding earmarked to protect New York’s transit system from terrorist attacks. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said in a ruling Thursday that the Republican administration’s decision, based on the Big Apple’s "sanctuary city" protections for immigrants in the United States illegally, was "arbitrary, capricious, and a blatant violation of the law." The post-9/11 Transit Security Grant Program, Kaplan noted in granting a permanent injunction, was created with instructions that money be allocated solely on the basis of terrorism risk. The judge had previously issued an order temporarily freezing the move. The state sued Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency after they said last month that they were eliminating funding for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the city’s transit system. A FEMA official disclosed in a court filing that the transit authority "did not receive funding because the applicant is based in New York City, a designated Sanctuary Jurisdiction city." The MTA said its allocation, the largest of any transit agency, pays for targeted counterterrorism patrols, security equipment, infrastructure enhancements, cybersecurity technology and weapons detection technologies. In a statement, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James praised Kaplan’s ruling as "a victory for every New Yorker who rides our subways, buses, and commuter rails." "A court has once again affirmed that this administration cannot punish New York by arbitrarily wiping out critical security resources and defunding law enforcement that keeps riders safe," Hochul and James, both Democrats, said.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [10/16/2025 3:57 PM, Benjamin Weiser, 135475K]
ABC News [10/16/2025 5:27 PM, Aaron Katersky, 30493K]

AP [10/16/2025 2:42 PM, Emily Foxhall, 31753K] reports that only about one-fifth of applicants for federal disaster assistance from Kerr County, Texas, have been deemed eligible to get financial help so far, leaving hundreds without governmental aid more than three months after deadly floods ravaged the county on July 4. As of Oct. 11, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials had referred only 46% of Kerr County applications for its Individuals and Households Program to the next stage, where they are evaluated to receive money, a Texas Tribune analysis of federal data shows. That means 1,749 applications out of 3,228 still hadn’t been reviewed past the initial stage. And among those from Kerr County that officials did review for specific funding, FEMA found only 704 applications eligible — or about 22%. The agency denied 775, largely because people weren’t responding or were withdrawing their applications. By comparison, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace researcher Sarah Labowitz found that following 170 disasters from 2015 through May 2024, FEMA found 39% of applicants for individual and household aid were eligible. The low proportions of referrals and approvals stand in contrast to nine other Central Texas counties that saw significant flood damage around the holiday weekend. The other counties had fewer applicants and reported less extensive damage, and have received a higher proportion of approvals from FEMA. The agency has approved $37 million so far. The disparity has advocates questioning what’s going on in Kerr County, where most of the flood deaths occurred when the Guadalupe River surged up in the early morning hours of July 4. FEMA did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

NewsNation [10/16/2025 11:34 AM, Sandra Sanchez, 8017K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday announced that U.S. Coast Guard employees will get paid this week, despite the government shutdown. The announcement came after President Trump announced active military personnel will also get paid on Wednesday, which is their next scheduled paycheck. Noem said funds for Coast Guard officials are coming from the Big Beautiful Bill, which was signed by President Trump on July 4. "Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and the One Big Beautiful Bill, the brave men and women of the US 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 statement. "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. "The U.S. Coast Guard has been defending our maritime borders, stopping the flow of deadly narcotics and illegal immigration into our country, and countering America’s adversaries around the world." The Senate has scheduled a vote on whether to reopen the government for Tuesday afternoon.

USA Today [10/16/2025 5:45 PM, Jeanine Santucci, 67103K] reports the National Transportation Safety Board has released its final report on the cause of the Titan submersible’s catastrophic implosion, blaming the company that operated it for shoddy design and failure to test the vessel before its fateful trip in June 2023. The 22-foot submersible made of carbon fiber imploded on June 18, 2023, on its dive to visit the Titanic wreckage site, killing all five people on board, because of an "inadequate engineering process" and damage to the vessel that went unnoticed, the NTSB’s 87-page report released on Oct. 15 found. The report comes after the Coast Guard concluded in August that a combination of factors, including inadequate design, improper maintenance and a toxic workplace culture at OceanGate, all contributed to the disaster. The Coast Guard report found that had he lived, OceanGate’s CEO may have been criminally charged. Titan was damaged in an earlier dive that weakened its pressure vessel, which was responsible for maintaining the atmospheric air pressure for human occupants, the NTSB found in its investigation. The agency recommended the U.S. Coast Guard change its PVHO regulations and urged international standards that would ensure "consistency in design, construction, and operation requirements."

CBS News [10/16/2025 7:18 AM, Staff, 39474K] reports faulty engineering led to the implosion of an experimental submersible that killed five people on the way to the wreck of the Titanic, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded in a report Wednesday. The NTSB made the statement in its final report on the hull failure and implosion of the Titan submersible in June 2023. Everyone on board the submersible died instantly in the North Atlantic when Titan suffered a catastrophic implosion as it descended to the wreck. The report also notes that the submersible sustained damage during previous dives that "further deteriorated and weakened the pressure vessel." "The existing delaminations and additional damage that deteriorated the condition of the pressure vessel between dive 82 and the casualty dive (dive 88) resulted in a local buckling failure that led to the implosion of the Titan," the report states. The NTSB report says that the faulty engineering of the Titan "resulted in the construction of a carbon fiber composite pressure vessel that contained multiple anomalies and failed to meet necessary strength and durability requirements." It also stated that OceanGate, the owner of the Titan, failed to adequately test the Titan and was unaware of its true durability. The report also said the wreckage of the Titan likely would have been found sooner had OceanGate followed standard guidance for emergency response, and that would have saved "time and resources even though a rescue was not possible in this case.” The NTSB report dovetails with a Coast Guard report released in August that described the Titan implosion as preventable. The Coast Guard determined that safety procedures at OceanGate, a private company based in Washington state, were "critically flawed" and found "glaring disparities" between safety protocols and actual practices. The Coast Guard also said OceanGate used "intimidation tactics" to "evade regulatory scrutiny" in the years leading up to the disaster.

AP [10/16/2025 3:10 PM, Becky Bohrer and Jesse Bedayn] reports one of the most significant airlifts in Alaskan history is underway by helicopter and military transport plane, moving hundreds of people from coastal villages ravaged by high surf and strong winds from the remnants of Typhoon Halong last weekend. The storm brought record high water to two low-lying Alaska Native communities and washed away homes, some with people inside. At least one person was killed and two are missing. Makeshift shelters were quickly established and swelled to hold about 1,500 people, an extraordinary number in a sparsely populated region where communities are reachable only by air or water this time of year. The remoteness and scale of the destruction created challenges for getting resources in place. Damage assessments have been trickling in as responders have shifted from initial search-and-rescue operations to trying to stabilize or restore basic services. Damage was also serious in other villages. Water, sewer and well systems were inoperable in Napaskiak, and the Coast Guard on Thursday was expected to arrive in another village to assess a spill of up to 2,000 gallons of waste oil.

USA Today [10/16/2025 11:32 AM, Christopher Cann, 67103K] reports rescue crews in Alaska airlifted hundreds of people out of remote villages devastated by remnants of Typhoon Halong last weekend, as authorities worked to shelter survivors and restore power and water services to hard-hit communities. The storm brought damaging winds and a powerful surge of water over 6 feet high to the state’s western coast, according to the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Hundreds were displaced as the water pushed homes off their foundations and into the sea. One woman in the rural village of Kwigillingok was killed and two people remain missing, the state’s emergency management agency said Wednesday, Oct. 15, as it shifted from a rescue mission to a recovery effort. In the aftermath of the storm, officials launched one of the state’s largest rescue missions in recent history. On Oct. 15, Alaska National Guard troops airlifted 300 residents from a shelter in Bethel that had reached capacity. Survivors were taken to warm shelters in Anchorage and other cities that avoided the worst impacts of the storm. "We’ve confirmed that a number of homes cannot be reoccupied, even with emergency repairs, and that infrastructure has been compromised in several communities," said Mark Roberts, a commander at the State Emergency Operations Center, in a news story on the National Guard’s website. The ongoing rescue operations were being carried out using multiple Blackhawk helicopters and other military aircraft. Along with the state’s National Guard, the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, the Alaska Organized Militia, the Red Cross and the U.S. Coast Guard were participating in the rescue effort. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said on X that President Donald Trump was monitoring the situation. Dunleavy pledged to help those displaced by the storm, writing "more help is on the way."

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Washington Post [10/16/2025 8:00 AM, Leo Sands, Ben Noll, Joshua Partlow, and Nicolás Rivero, 24149K]

AP [10/16/2025 4:19 PM, David Klepper, 31753K] reports Russia, China, Iran and North Korea have sharply increased their use of artificial intelligence to deceive people online and mount cyberattacks against the United States, according to new research from Microsoft. This July, the company identified more than 200 instances of foreign adversaries using AI to create fake content online, more than double the number from July 2024 and more than ten times the number seen in 2023. The findings, published Thursday in Microsoft’s annual digital threats report, show how foreign adversaries are adopting new and innovative tactics in their efforts to weaponize the internet as a tool for espionage and deception. America’s adversaries, as well as criminal gangs and hacking companies, have exploited AI’s potential, using it to automate and improve cyberattacks, to spread inflammatory disinformation and to penetrate sensitive systems. AI can translate poorly worded phishing emails into fluent English, for example, as well as generate digital clones of senior government officials. Government cyber operations often aim to obtain classified information, undermine supply chains, disrupt critical public services or spread disinformation. Cyber criminals on the other hand work for profit by stealing corporate secrets or using ransomware to extort payments from their victims. These gangs are responsible for the wide majority of cyberattacks in the world and in some cases have built partnerships with countries like Russia. Increasingly, these attackers are using AI to target governments, businesses and critical systems like hospitals and transportation networks, according to Amy Hogan-Burney, Microsoft’s vice president for customer security and trust, who oversaw the report. Many U.S. companies and organizations, meanwhile, are getting by with outdated cyber defenses, even as Americans expand their networks with new digital connections. Companies, governments, organizations and individuals must take the threat seriously if they are to protect themselves amid escalating digital threats, she said. "We see this as a pivotal moment where innovation is going so fast," Hogan-Burney said. "This is the year when you absolutely must invest in your cybersecurity basics,". The U.S. is the top target for cyberattacks, with criminals and foreign adversaries targeting companies, governments and organizations in the U.S. more than any other country. Israel and Ukraine were the second and third most popular targets, showing how military conflicts involving those two nations have spilled over into the digital realm. Russia, China and Iran have denied that they use cyber operations for espionage, disruption and disinformation. China, for instance, says the U.S. is trying to " smear " Beijing while conducting its own cyberattacks. In a statement emailed to The Associated Press on Thursday, Iran’s mission to the United Nations said Iran rejects allegations that it is responsible for cyberattacks on the U.S. while reserving the right to defend itself.

Reuters [10/16/2025 6:34 PM, Dan Catchpole and Allison Lampert, 36480K] reports hackers took over the public address systems on Tuesday at four airports, three in Canada and one in the United States, to broadcast messages praising Hamas and criticizing President Donald Trump, according to officials and news reports. An "advertisement streaming service" at the Kelowna International Airport in British Columbia "was briefly compromised and unauthorized content was shared," according to the Kelowna Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The RCMP said it is investigating the hack with other agencies and declined to provide further details. Hackers broadcast messages in a foreign language and music over the PA system at Victoria International Airport in British Columbia, according to an airport spokesperson. The hackers breached third-party software to access the PA system, and the airport switched to an internal system to regain control, the spokesperson said. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security is assisting the airport and the RCMP with the investigation. Hackers similarly took control of the PA system at Harrisburg International Airport in Pennsylvania, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a social media post on Wednesday. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and airport officials are investigating the breach, he said. Hackers also breached the flight information display screens and public address system Tuesday evening at Windsor International Airport in Ontario, and displayed "unauthorized images and announcements," according to airport officials. The breach was to a "cloud-based software provider" used by the airport, and "our systems returned to normal shortly thereafter," according to the airport’s statement.

Reuters [10/16/2025 4:05 PM, Daniel Wiessner, 36480K] reports the largest U.S. business lobbying group filed a lawsuit on Thursday challenging President Donald Trump’s $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers. The lawsuit by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which says it represents 300,000 businesses, is the group’s first against the Trump administration since the Republican president took office for a second term in January. The Chamber says in the lawsuit that Trump’s September proclamation imposing the fee on new H-1B visa applications was beyond his powers and would disrupt the complex visa system created by Congress. The H-1B program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty fields, and technology companies in particular rely heavily on workers who receive H-1B visas. The program offers 65,000 visas annually, with another 20,000 visas for workers with advanced degrees, approved for three to six years. The fee would force businesses that rely on the H-1B program to choose between dramatically increasing their labor costs or hiring fewer highly-skilled workers, the Chamber said. "Many members of the U.S. Chamber are bracing for the need to scale back or entirely walk away from the H-1B program, to the detriment of their investors, customers, and their own existing employees," the group said in the lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C., federal court. The H-1B fee is being challenged in at least one other lawsuit filed this month by unions, employers, and religious groups in a California federal court.

Daily Caller [10/16/2025 11:36 AM, Mark Tanos, 835K] reports a hacker hijacked Harrisburg International Airport’s loudspeaker system Tuesday night and broadcast profanity-laced political messages for 10 minutes, prompting authorities to search a Delta flight before takeoff. The unauthorized broadcast included pro-Palestinian messages with vulgar references to President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to airport spokesman Scott Miller, WGAL reported. "It was not a threat, that’s the important thing," Miller said. "Our IT department discovered it, they took it down, we referred it to the police department, and they’re doing an investigation.” Airport operations continued normally despite the incident, though authorities delayed one outbound Delta flight for approximately 35 to 40 minutes as a precaution. The flight departed safely and reached its destination without incident. Miller assured travelers no security concerns remained and staff identified how the breach occurred, though he declined to provide specifics. "The only impact was a loud political message for several minutes," Miller said.

The Hill [10/16/2025 1:04 PM, Harry Murphy and Alton Horthup, 12595K] reports that an incident where an unauthorized user gained access to Harrisburg International Airport’s public address system could have been much worse, a security expert said. Police at the Pennsylvania airport are investigating after someone breached the system and played a pre-recorded message Tuesday evening. In a recording that captured the incident, a computer-generated voice reads off a list of hackers claiming responsibility for the takeover of the system before stating, "[Expletive] Netanyahu and Trump," an apparent reference to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump. (A portion of the message can be heard at Nexstar’s WHTM.). "If this had been someone with more nefarious intentions, this would have been much worse," said John Sancenito, president of Information Network Associates Incorporated, an investigative service and security solutions provider. "In this particular case, they chose a political message, but they could have actually instilled widespread panic by claiming that there was some kind of bomb on the plane or by forcing an evacuation, a panic evacuation. The situation could have been much worse." The incident caused security to search a boarding Delta flight. However, operations at the airport continued normally after the incident. Still, many passengers and employees were left worried and confused.

CyberScoop [10/16/2025 6:22 PM, Matt Kapko] reports North Korean operatives that dupe job seekers into installing malicious code on their devices have been spotted using new malware strains and techniques, resulting in the theft of credentials or cryptocurrency and ransomware deployment, according to researchers from Cisco Talos and Google Threat Intelligence Group. Cisco Talos said it observed an attack linked to Famous Chollima that involved the use of BeaverTail and OtterCookie — separate but complementary malware strains frequently used by the North Korea-aligned threat group. Researchers said their analysis determined the extent to which BeaverTail and OtterCookie have merged and displayed new functionality in recent campaigns. GTIG said it observed UNC5342 using EtherHiding, malicious code in the form of JavaScript payloads that turn a public blockchain into a decentralized command and control server. Researchers said UNC5342 incorporated EtherHiding into a North Korea-aligned social engineering campaign previously dubbed Contagious Interview by Palo Alto Networks. Cisco and Google both said North Korean threat groups’ use of more specialized and evasive malware underscores the efforts the nation-state attackers are taking to achieve multiple goals while avoiding more common forms of detection.

Daily Caller [10/16/2025 1:44 PM, Derek VanBuskirk, 835K] reports that Trump administration officials shared how the president is following through on his plan to dismantle Antifa’s networks in America, according to a Wednesday report. Two individuals involved with the investigations told independent journalist Ken Klippenstein the administration is gathering intelligence on Antifa "affinity" groups, canvassing the FBI’s informant networks and searching financial records in an effort to dismantle the network of leftist extremists. These actions follow President Donald Trump’s designation of Antifa as a "domestic terrorist organization" in September, and he recently announced his plans to designate the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). The administration is tackling these groups with investigations rivaling those used by former President Joe Biden against the now-pardoned Jan. 6 defendants, sources told Klippenstein "Lawsuits will undoubtedly follow, as will much bellyaching about the Trump team not following established procedures, but no one should doubt the orders that have come down from on high to destroy Antifa," a senior career Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official told Klippenstein. The People’s Forum also allegedly has ties to the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), which supported the Los Angeles anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) riots in June. As of publication, the Daily Caller has not received a response to requests for comment from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Justice (DOJ), or the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) for confirmation of the officials’ claims or any further statements.

USA Today [10/17/2025 12:56 AM, Marty Roney and Thao Nguyen, 67103K] reports a third person has been arrested and charged in connection with a mass shooting in downtown Montgomery that left two people dead and a dozen others injured in early October, police said. Javorick Whiting, 19, has been charged with attempted murder, according to Lt. Ernestina McGriff, a spokeswoman for the Montgomery Police Department. Whiting was taken into custody on Oct. 16 by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and booked into the Montgomery County Detention Facility, she said. The Montgomery Advertiser, part of the USA TODAY Network, could not reach Whiting for comment, and jail records do not show if he has an attorney. Whiting is the third suspect to be charged in the Oct. 4 shooting that occurred in the city’s busy nightlife district, according to Montgomery Police Chief James Graboys. Multiple people had opened fire in a large crowd, leaving two people dead, including a teenager and a woman. On Oct. 10, Montgomery police arrested an unnamed juvenile male, who was charged with one count of capital murder, nine counts of assault in the first degree, and three counts of assault in the second degree, McGriff said. Police did not release the suspect’s age or name. Earlier this week, 19-year-old Dantavious McGhee was charged with one count of capital murder, nine counts of assault in the first degree, and three counts of assault in the second degree, according to McGriff. McGhee was taken into custody on Oct. 13 and placed in the Montgomery County Detention Facility, she said. Those killed in downtown Montgomery shooting include teen and woman. Graboys previously said gunfire erupted at around 11:30 p.m. local time on Oct. 4. There was a large group standing on the sidewalk near a business when the incident started, according to Graboys. Police believe one of the victims was targeted, and several people began firing in the densely crowded area after initial shots rang out. The shooting was caused "by a disagreement that could have been avoided, should have been avoided," Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed said at a news conference. "This was a senseless situation," and the shooter "could have walked away," Graboys said at the news conference. "A bullet, once fired, does not come back.” Authorities identified the two victims killed in the shooting as Jeremiah Morris, 17, and Shalanda Williams, 43, both of Montgomery. Twelve others were also injured in the shooting, including seven victims under the age of 20, with the youngest being 16 years old, police said.

AP [10/16/2025 5:48 PM, Staff, 31753K] Video: HERE reports nine people have now been arrested in connection with a mass shooting in the Mississippi Delta town of Leland that left six people dead, an FBI special agent said Thursday. Robert Eikhoff, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Jackson Field Office, appeared at briefing but gave no additional details of the new arrests or charges those people face. Authorities had earlier said five people were in custody. The downtown street where the shooting took place was still littered with shards of broken glass Thursday afternoon. Nearby, someone had placed three stuffed animals and a few candles on a street corner. State and local law officers who spoke at Thursday’s news conference asked the public to share what they know with authorities. “We believe there are people who have valuable information who have not yet spoken with law enforcement,” Eikhoff said. Several suspects have been charged with capital murder in the shooting last Friday around midnight that left more than a dozen people injured in addition to the six killed. Two of the injured are in critical condition, Eikhoff said. The FBI’s Jackson Field Office has been posting pictures of suspects wanted for questioning in the mass shooting. It happened as people celebrated homecoming weekend in downtown Leland shortly after a high school football game. “It’s still kind of numbness at this point,” Leland Mayor John Lee said Thursday. “Families are still grieving, and they don’t have closure right now. We’re talking about funerals not even prepared yet.” The shooting happened at a community event that’s been held for years in the small downtown area on homecoming weekend “where everybody will gather in the streets and have a good time,” the mayor said.

NewsNation [10/16/2025 9:51 PM, Salvador Rivera, 8017K] reports Baja California’s Attorney General, María Elena Andrade Ramírez, confirmed this morning that a cartel used three drones to drop explosive devices on a state police installation targeting the anti-kidnapping unit. The incident happened Wednesday night at the state police offices in Tijuana’s beach area. No one was injured, although three vehicles were damaged, according to the investigation. Andrade Ramirez says drones were used to drop and detonate plastic bottles filled with nails, pellets and other metal pieces. She said the bottles were not Molotov cocktails. "It was not an incendiary device, the bottles were set off.” Baja’s AG said the incident was being investigated as an act of terrorism, saying the attack was directed at the office in general and not one particular agent. "It was an attack directly on the patio of our installation," she said. "As a way to ease the public’s mind, this was not an attempt on the residents, and we don’t believe it has anything to do with our proximity to the border.” She also denied there were any shots fired at drones flying moments later in the area and did not blame any particular cartel or organized group in Mexico. "We will continue to carry out our objective and follow all leads.” On September 21, the anti-car-theft and anti-kidnapping offices of the state police in Ensenada, located about 60 miles south of Tijuana, were vandalized as several police vehicles were set on fire. According to Andrade Ramirez, seven people were detained in connection with that arson case. She said Wednesday night’s attack in Tijuana is likely related to the incident in Ensenada and the ensuing arrests, and stated cartels are retaliating due to the ongoing crackdown on their illicit activities and the decommissioning of hundreds of drug shipments. The attack generated a warning from the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana asking Americans to stay away from the area where the explosive devices were set off. It also tells Americans to let friends and relatives know about their status and movements.

Reported similarly:
San Diego Union Tribune [10/16/2025 5:10 PM, Alexandra Mendoza, 1538K]

The Wall Street Journal [10/16/2025 7:22 PM, Sadie Gurman and C. Ryan Barber, 646K] reports the Justice Department on Thursday secured an indictment against John Bolton for allegedly mishandling classified information, making President Trump’s former national security adviser the latest of his prominent critics to face prosecution. Prosecutors said in court papers that Bolton, 76 years old, shared with two relatives more than 1,000 pages of “diary-like” entries that contained classified information about his daily activities as national security adviser. He would send the entries electronically, sometimes from his private AOL and Google email accounts, prosecutors said. The documents don’t identify the recipients, but people familiar with the matter said they were Bolton’s wife and daughter. The indictment indicates classified information may have been exposed when Iranian hackers got into Bolton’s personal email account and gained access to the material he had shared. A Bolton representative told the FBI his emails had been hacked in July 2021, but didn’t say that classified information was shared through the account. Bolton described the charges as part of an effort to intimidate Trump critics. “I look forward to the fight to defend my lawful conduct and to expose his abuse of power,” Bolton said in a statement. The 18-count indictment in Maryland federal court is the latest to target one of Trump’s adversaries. The Justice Department recently launched prosecutions against former FBI Director James Comey and New York’s Democratic Attorney General Letitia James, after the president demanded them. At Trump’s urging, prosecutors have also opened probes of his other favored targets, including former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director Christopher Wray, and he has promised more to come. During a gathering with his top three law-enforcement officials at the White House on Wednesday, Trump pointed to other people he thought should be prosecuted, including Jack Smith, the former special counsel who indicted him twice. FOX News [10/16/2025 4:48 PM, Brooke Singman and David Spunt, 40621K] reports "BOLTON also unlawfully retained documents, writings, and notes relating to the national defense, including information classified up to the TOP SECRET/SCI level, in his home in Montgomery County, Maryland.” The documents Bolton transmitted were sent to two individuals unauthorized to view classified documents. Those documents, according to the indictment, revealed intelligence about future attacks by an adversarial group in another country; a liaison partner sharing sensitive information with the U.S. intelligence community; intelligence that a foreign adversary was planning a missile launch in the future; a covert action in a foreign country that was related to sensitive intergovernmental actions; sensitive sources and methods used to collect human intelligence; intelligence about an adversary’s knowledge of planned U.S. actions; intelligence about adversary’s plans for attack conducted against U.S. Forces in another country; human intelligence using sensitive sources and methods; a covert action program; intelligence collected on the leader of an adversary nation’s military group; intelligence on an adversary’s leaders; intelligence concerning a foreign country’s interactions with an adversary; a direct statement collected via intelligence sources and methods on a foreign country; a foreign country’s intelligence describing an adversary’s planned attack on a facility; sensitive sources and methods used to collect intelligence on a foreign country; a covert action and sources and methods used; intelligence on covert action planned by the U.S. Government; intelligence confirming a foreign adversary was responsible for an attack; and intelligence on covert action conducted by the U.S. Government, a liaison partner country, and specific information about the action. The AP [10/16/2025 8:09 PM, Eric Tucker, 31753K] reports that the indictment sets the stage for a closely watched court case centering on a longtime fixture in Republican foreign policy circles who became known for his hawkish views on American power and who served for more than a year in Trump’s first administration before being fired in 2019 and publishing a scathingly critical book about the president. The case, the third against a Trump adversary in the last month, will also unfold against the backdrop of concerns that the Justice Department is pursuing the president’s political enemies while at the same time sparing his allies from scrutiny. Bolton foreshadowed that argument in a defiant statement Thursday in which he denied the charges and called them part of an “intensive effort” by Trump to “intimidate his opponents.” “Now, I have become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he deems to be his enemies with charges that were declined before or distort the facts,” he said. Even so, the indictment is significantly more detailed in its allegations than earlier cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Unlike the other two cases filed over the last month by a hastily appointed U.S. attorney, this one was signed by career national security prosecutors. And though the investigation burst into public view in August when the FBI searched Bolton’s home in Maryland and his office in Washington, the inquiry was already well underway by the time Trump took office a second time this past January.

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [10/16/2025 7:18 PM, Perry Stein, Jeremy Roebuck, and Katie Mettler, 24149K]
CBS News [10/16/2025 8:09 PM, Jake Rosen, 39474K] Video: HERE
USA Today [10/16/2025 6:50 PM, Aysha Bagchi and Bart Jansen, 67103K]
Univision [10/16/2025 6:39 PM, Staff, 5004K]

The Hill [10/16/2025 10:19 PM, Max Rego, 12595K] Video: HERE reports former national security adviser John Bolton, who was indicted Thursday, said he is “the latest target” in what he alleges are President Trump’s efforts to weaponize the Justice Department (DOJ). Bolton, who served as the national security adviser during Trump’s first term before becoming a sharp critic of the president, was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on eight counts of transmitting and 10 counts of retaining national security information. “I have become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those [Trump] deems to be his enemies with charges that were declined before or distort the facts,” said Bolton in a statement. Prosecutors allege that, starting in April 2018 until at least August of this year, Bolton “abused his position” as national security adviser to share over a thousands pages of information regarding his daily activities with two relatives without security clearances. The Associated Press reported Thursday that the two relatives were Bolton’s wife and daughter. The information was allegedly sent to the two individuals in “diary-like entries” through non-governmental messaging apps and email accounts. The investigation into Bolton began under the Biden administration, and ramped up once Trump returned to office in January. In August, agents searched Bolton’s home and office. According to an affidavit later unsealed in court, the bureau suspected Bolton of improperly keeping national defense information related to his memoir, “The Room Where It Happened.” In his statement, Bolton referenced the Trump administration’s attempts to prevent the book from being published. He said the book, published in 2020, was “reviewed and approved by the appropriate, experienced career clearance officials.” The indictment also alleges that in July 2021, a representative for Bolton alerted the FBI that one of his personal accounts had been hacked by Iran. However, the representative did not say that Bolton shared classified information via the account or that the hackers had obtained access to government secrets. Bolton, though, said Thursday that the FBI was “made fully aware” of the hack, and noted that “in four years of the prior administration, after these reviews, no charges were ever filed.” Two other frequent Trump targets, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) and former FBI Director James Comey, have also been indicted in recent weeks in federal court in Virginia. If convicted, Bolton faces up to 10 years for each of the 18 counts. “These charges are not just about [Trump’s] focus on me or my diaries, but his intensive effort to intimidate his opponents, to ensure that he alone determines what is said about his conduct,” Bolton said. “Dissent and disagreement are foundational to America’s constitutional system, and vitally important to our freedom. “I look forward to the fight to defend my lawful conduct and to expose his abuse of power.”

Reuters [10/16/2025 7:44 PM, Staff, 36480K] reports John Bolton, Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, was indicted on Thursday (October 16) on charges of retaining and transmitting national defense information, marking the third time in recent weeks the Justice Department has secured criminal charges against one of the Republican president’s critics. Asked by reporters at the White House about the Bolton indictment on Thursday, Trump said: "He’s a bad guy." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS News [10/16/2025 2:03 PM, Staff, 39474K] reports that President Trump on Thursday posted to social media that he had a "very productive" call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. CBS News intelligence and national security reporter Olivia Gazis has more. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

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