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

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

The New York Times [10/18/2025 1:41 PM, Eric Schmitt, Charlie Savage and Carol Rosenberg, 135475K] reports the Trump administration has decided to repatriate two survivors of a deadly U.S. strike this week on suspected drug runners in the Caribbean Sea rather than prosecute them or hold them in military detention, people with knowledge of the matter said on Saturday. The men who survived were being returned to their home countries, Colombia and Ecuador, the people with knowledge of the matter said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operational and diplomatic matters. It was not clear if the government of either nation would prosecute the men upon their return, or simply release them. President Trump has previously described people aboard suspected drug-smuggling boats, which the United States has targeted in several deadly airstrikes since early September, as “unlawful combatants.” He has claimed the authority, widely disputed by legal experts, to summarily kill such suspects in military strikes as if they were enemy soldiers in a war. The decision to transfer the two survivors, however, was in line with the Coast Guard’s practice of repatriating or handing off to friendly countries people who were intercepted outside the United States as suspected traffickers. It also avoided the dilemma of what to do with the first people captured in what Mr. Trump has declared a formal armed conflict against drug cartels. The Hill [10/18/2025 3:54 PM, Filip Timotija, 12595K] reports that the transfer of the survivors comes after they were detained on Thursday, following the strike, and transferred to a Navy ship where they received medical treatment. The four alleged drug traffickers were traveling in a semi-submersible that Trump said was heading to the U.S. on a "well-known narcotrafficking transit route" and that the vessel mostly had fentanyl, but also other illegal drugs. "It was my great honor to destroy a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE that was navigating towards the United States on a well known narcotrafficking transit route," the president wrote in a post on Truth Social. "U.S. Intelligence confirmed this vessel was loaded up with mostly Fentanyl, and other illegal narcotics.” Trump said that no U.S. forces were injured in the operation and claimed that 25,000 Americans would have died if the submersible reached the U.S. shore. "Under my watch, the United States of America will not tolerate narcoterrorists trafficking illegal drugs, by land or by sea," Trump said. "Thank you for your attention to this matter!". The Thursday strike appears to be the first one since the U.S. began striking alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea that had survivors. It was the sixth strike since early September. The first five strikes against alleged drug-trafficking vessels off the coast of Venezuela have killed 27 people, according to the administration. The administration has ramped up its military presence in the Caribbean and turned up the pressure against Venezuela’s authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro, whom the administration deems an "illegitimate" leader. On Thursday, a Pentagon official said that there are around 10,000 U.S. forces supporting counternarcotics operations in the region. Trump seemingly confirmed on Wednesday that he authorized the CIA to conduct operations in Venezuela. The AP [10/18/2025 6:33 PM, Konstantin Toropin and Chris Megerian, 28013K] reports Colombian President Gustavo Petro confirmed Saturday on X that the Colombian man who was detained aboard what he called a “narco submarine” was home. “We are glad he is alive, and he will be prosecuted according to the law,” Petro wrote in a brief post. The press office for Ecuador’s government said Saturday it was not immediately aware of plans for repatriation. With Trump’s statement on his Truth Social platform of the death toll, that means U.S. military action against vessels in the region have killed at least 29 people. The president has justified the strikes by asserting that the United States is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels. He is relying on the same legal authority used by the George W. Bush administration when it declared a war on terrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks, and that includes the ability to capture and detain combatants and to use lethal force to take out their leadership. Trump is also treating the suspected traffickers as if they were enemy soldiers in a traditional war. The repatriation avoids questions for the Trump administration about what the legal status of the two would have been in the U.S. justice system. It may also sidestep some of the legal issues that arose out of the detention of enemy combatants in the global war on terrorism as well as challenges to the constitutionality of the current operation. To some legal scholars, Trump’s use of such military force against suspect drug cartels, along with his authorization of covert action inside Venezuela, possibly to oust President Nicolás Maduro, stretches the bounds of international law. On Friday, Trump seemed to confirm reports that Maduro has offered a stake in Venezuela’s oil and other mineral wealth in recent months to try to stave off mounting pressure from the United States. Venezuelan government officials have also floated a plan in which Maduro would eventually leave office, according to a former Trump administration official. That plan was also rejected by the White House, The Associated Press reported.

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Reuters [10/18/2025 2:08 PM, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, 36480K]
ABC News [10/18/2025 5:23 PM, Anne Flaherty and Lalee Ibssa, 30493K] Video: HERE
CNN [10/18/2025 8:10 PM, Natasha Bertrand, Zachary Cohen, 606K]
NewsMax [10/18/2025 5:24 PM, James Morley III and Eric Mack, 4109K]
Daily Caller [10/18/2025 6:17 PM, Mark Tanos, 835K]

Washington Examiner [10/18/2025 4:52 PM, Zach LaChance, 1394K] reports President Donald Trump confirmed the U.S. military destroyed a drug submarine that was moving toward the United States carrying fentanyl and other illegal drugs. Trump previously mentioned a U.S. strike on an alleged "drug-carrying submarine" in the Caribbean during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, though Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to go into specifics. Trump’s announcement on Saturday affirmed that earlier statement, including unclassified footage of the strike. "It was my great honor to destroy a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE that was navigating towards the United States on a well known narcotrafficking transit route. U.S. Intelligence confirmed this vessel was loaded up with mostly Fentanyl, and other illegal narcotics. There were four known narcoterrorists on board the vessel," the president posted on Truth Social. Of those four on the vessel, two were killed, while the others will be returned to their home countries of Ecuador and Colombia, respectively. No U.S. forces were harmed in the strike, Trump said. "At least 25,000 Americans would die if I allowed this submarine to come ashore," he added. "Under my watch, the United States of America will not tolerate narcoterrorists trafficking illegal drugs, by land or by sea.” The strike on the submarine is the latest effort from Trump to crack down on drug cartels and the surging of illegal drugs into the U.S. Previous U.S. military actions as part of that mission have included multiple strikes on smaller alleged drug vessels operating off the coast of Venezuela. Trump has also floated the possibility of land strikes in that country, and recently authorized CIA operations there as well. In response, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has mobilized his country’s military, police, and a civilian militia.

Breitbart [10/19/2025 1:34 AM, Staff, 2416K] reports Colombia’s president accused on Saturday Washington of violating his country’s sovereignty and killing a fisherman, shortly after US leader Donald Trump confirmed that US forces carried out another strike in his military campaign against "narcoterrorists." Trump has waged an unprecedented military campaign that he says is aimed at choking the flow of drugs from Latin America to the United States. Washington says its operations have dealt a decisive blow to drug trafficking, but it has provided no evidence that the people killed — at least 27 so far — were drug smugglers. Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on X that "US government officials have committed murder and violated our sovereignty in our territorial waters. Fisherman Alejandro Carranza had no ties to drug traffickers and his daily activity was fishing." Carranza was reportedly killed in a September strike by US forces on his boat while he was fishing the Caribbean, according to video testimony of his family members shared by the president on X. Experts say such summary killings are illegal even if they target confirmed narcotics traffickers. "The Colombian boat was adrift and had its distress signal on," Petro said, referring to the strike that killed Carranza. Trump said Saturday that the United States was sending two suspected drug traffickers back to their native Ecuador and Colombia, after a military strike on their "drug-smuggling submarine" in the Caribbean that killed two others. "It was my great honor to destroy a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE that was navigating towards the United States on a well known narcotrafficking transit route," Trump said on his Truth Social platform, adding that the vessel was loaded with fentanyl and other drugs. "Two of the terrorists were killed. The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their Countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution." Petro confirmed that the Colombian suspect had been repatriated and would face prosecution. "We are glad he is alive and he will be prosecuted according to the law," Petro said on X. The 34-year-old Colombian was in serious condition upon his return, according to the Interior Ministry. "He arrived with brain trauma, sedated, drugged, breathing with a ventilator," Interior Minister Armando Benedetti said. At least six vessels, most of them speedboats, have been targeted by US strikes in the Caribbean since September, with Venezuela alleged to be the origin of some of them. Washington has not revealed the departure point of the alleged drug-smuggling submarine in the latest strike. Semi-submersibles built in clandestine jungle shipyards have for years been used to ferry cocaine from South America, particularly Colombia, to Central America or Mexico, usually via the Pacific Ocean. Petro’s government has repeatedly criticized the US campaign. Last month, he called at the United Nations for criminal proceedings to be opened against Trump over the strikes.

The New York Times [10/18/2025 10:42 AM, Catie Edmondson, 135475K] reports the Department of Homeland Security has purchased two Gulfstream private jets for Kristi Noem, the secretary, and other top department officials at a cost of $172 million, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times. The jets, which a department official said were needed for safety, are the latest expenditures on behalf of Ms. Noem to draw scrutiny from Democrats and other critics who have noted her lavish spending on living and other expenses during her time in public life. The Coast Guard put in its budget earlier this year a request to purchase a new long-range Gulfstream V jet, estimated to cost $50 million, to replace an aging one used by Ms. Noem. “The avionics are increasingly obsolete, the communications are increasingly unreliable and it’s in need of recapitalization, like much of the rest of the fleet,” Kevin Lunday, the acting commandant of the Coast Guard, told members of Congress at a hearing in May. He said a new aircraft was necessary to provide agency leaders with “secure, reliable, on-demand communications and movement to go forward, visit our operating forces, conducting the missions and then come back here to Washington and make sure we can work together to get them what they need.” Documents that were posted to a public government procurement website and reviewed by The Times show that the department has since signed a contract with Gulfstream to buy not one but two “used” G700 jets, touted by the company as having the “most spacious cabin in the industry.” The total contract value is listed as a little over $172 million. It was not immediately clear where the funding for the jets came from. In an emailed statement, a public affairs official at the Department of Homeland Security called the purchase “a matter of safety” and said the department’s existing jet was over 20 years old and “well beyond operational usage hours for a corporate aircraft.” The statement did not respond to inquiries as to why the contract had expanded beyond the department’s initial budget request. In a letter reviewed by The New York Times, Representatives Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the senior Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, and Lauren Underwood of Illinois, the top Democrat overseeing its homeland security panel, asked Ms. Noem to “clarify the funding source.” “In addition to raising serious questions about your ability to effectively lead an agency whose procurement strategies appear to vary on a whim, the procurement of new luxury jets for your use suggests that the U.S.C.G. has been directed to prioritize your own comfort above the U.S.C.G.’s operational needs, even during a government shutdown,” the lawmakers wrote. “We are deeply concerned about your judgment, leadership priorities, and responsibility as a steward of taxpayer dollars.” Republicans included roughly $25 billion in new funding for the Coast Guard earlier this year in their marquee tax cut and domestic policy legislation, including about $2.3 billion for the “procurement and acquisition of rotary-wing aircraft.” Ms. Noem said this week that she was tapping some of those funds to ensure that members of the Coast Guard did not miss a paycheck during the shutdown. Ms. Noem has implemented a requirement at the department that she personally approve any expense over $100,000. But her own spending habits have come under scrutiny. She faced criticism this year from Democrats for staying rent-free at the waterfront home reserved for the Coast Guard’s commandant, as reported by the Washington Post, which also noted her frequent use of the Coast Guard’s private jet for personal travel. A spokeswoman for the department said at the time that the housing arrangement was necessary to ensure Ms. Noem’s safety after she received an onslaught of threats. She also said the secretary had paid “tens of thousands of dollars” to reimburse the government for personal travel on the jet after the publication of the Post story. Before coming to Washington, Ms. Noem, the former governor of South Dakota, also attracted attention for her spending habits. The Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported in 2021 that she had spent $68,000 in taxpayer money on a redecoration of the governor’s mansion that included rugs, chandeliers and the installation of a sauna. The Associated Press reported in March that South Dakota taxpayers had covered about $150,000 in Ms. Noem’s personal and political travel costs including while she was campaigning for Mr. Trump; taking a six-day trip to Paris that included a speech at a right-wing gathering; and on a bear hunt in Canada with her niece. The Washington Post [10/18/2025 4:26 PM, Marianne LeVine and Gerrit De Vynck, 24149K] reports that in August, The Post reported that Noem was living rent-free at a home reserved for the Coast Guard’s top admiral. Noem’s use of the Coast Guard’s existing jet for personal travel has also been criticized by Democrats and ethics watchdogs. A spokesperson for DHS did not return a request for comment. DHS spokespeople previously said Noem’s use of the Coast Guard residence was temporary and that she had reimbursed the government for private travel on Coast Guard-owned aircraft. Reuters [10/18/2025 6:51 PM, David Shepardson, 36480K] reports that the U.S. Coast Guard entered into a sole-source contract on Friday, according to a government contracting website. The jets will be used for the Coast Guard’s Long Range Command Control fleet of aircraft. DHS said in a statement late Friday that the new jets are needed because it currently relies on a Gulfstream CG-101 G550 jet that is over 20 years old, outside of the aircraft’s service life "and well beyond operational usage hours for a corporate aircraft." The department said it would not allow the federal shutdown "to slow down this process" of replacing the jet, but Democrats want to know where the money is coming from. "Your first priority should be to organize, train and equip a Coast Guard that is strong enough to meet today’s mission requirements. Instead, it appears your first priority is your own comfort," Democratic Representatives Rosa DeLauro and Lauren Underwood wrote in a letter to Noem. This week, DHS said it would pay more than 70,000 sworn police officers, including TSA air marshals but not the 50,000 TSA security personnel that operate airport checkpoints. Representative Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee, called for a probe of the purchase. "Such spending is blatantly immoral — and probably illegal — and Congress must investigate," Thompson said in a statement on Saturday. Thompson said Congress rejected a DHS request for a $50 million jet earlier this year. He noted Coast Guard service members are using some mission-critical aircraft dating back to the 1980s.

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USA Today [10/18/2025 6:15 PM, Zac Anderson, 67103K]

FOX News [10/18/2025 12:10 PM, Michael Dorgan, Shannon Bream, Bill Mears, 40621K] reports the Trump administration has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the deployment of the National Guard in Chicago to protect federal personnel and federal property amid protests over immigration enforcement in the area. Solicitor General D. John Sauer, Trump’s top Supreme Court lawyer, urged the justices to step in immediately after a judge ruled last week that National Guard troops sent to Illinois by President Donald Trump to combat crime can remain in the state but can’t patrol or deploy to protect federal property. A federal appeals court had refused to put the judge’s order on hold. U.S. District Judge April Perry said she found no convincing evidence that a "danger of rebellion" exists in Illinois amid Trump’s immigration enforcement push. Sauer wrote in the emergency filing that the judge’s ruling "intrudes on the president’s authority and needlessly puts federal personnel and property at risk." The Supreme Court has asked for the opposition’s response to the Trump administration’s emergency filing by 5 p.m. on Monday. The court is then expected to offer that the administration file a reply.

Blaze [10/18/2025 3:10 PM, Candace Hathaway, 1442K] reports the Trump administration urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to approve the deployment of National Guard soldiers in Chicago, where persistent protests outside local immigration facilities have disrupted operations. ‘Federal agents are forced to desperately scramble to protect themselves and federal property, allocating resources away from their law enforcement mission to conduct protective operations instead.’. The administration planned to mobilize approximately 500 National Guard troops from Texas and Illinois to the Chicago area for at least 60 days. The deployment was intended to protect federal agents and facilities as Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers face a 1000% increase in assaults, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Last week, an appeals court blocked the deployment in response to a lawsuit filed by Illinois against the administration. Meanwhile, protests continue to regularly gather outside an ICE facility in Broadview. On Friday, demonstrators clashed with Illinois State Police. Fifteen individuals were detained. U.S. District Judge April Perry, who issued a temporary restraining order on October 9 preventing the mobilization of troops, stated that she did not find evidence that a "danger of rebellion" exists. "The unrest Defendants complain of has consisted entirely of opposition (indeed, sometimes violent) to a particular federal agency and the laws it is charged with enforcing," Perry wrote, adding that it does not amount to "opposition to the authority of the federal government as a whole.” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in a Friday appeal that the ruling "intrudes on the president’s authority and needlessly puts federal personnel and property at risk.” "Federal agents are forced to desperately scramble to protect themselves and federal property, allocating resources away from their law enforcement mission to conduct protective operations instead," the administration’s filing stated. Sauer noted that federal officers have been repeatedly "threatened and assaulted" and that they "have been forced to operate under the constant threat of mob violence.” Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) responded to the administration’s emergency filing in a post on social media. "Donald Trump will keep trying to invade Illinois with troops — and we will keep defending the sovereignty of our state," Pritzker stated. "Militarizing our communities against their will is not only un-American but also leads us down a dangerous path for our democracy. What will come next?". Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) similarly pledged to oppose President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts. "Regardless of what the Supreme Court decides, we will continue to fight to end the war on Chicago," he wrote. "Through Know Your Rights information, executive orders, and partnerships with local organizations, we will pursue every avenue to protect Chicago from Trump’s attacks.” "We will make the case that Chicago does not need or want National Guard troops on the streets of our city," Johnson added.

CNN [10/18/2025 7:00 AM, Eric Levenson, Josh Campbell] reports a series of public statements from the Department of Homeland Security during its migrant crackdown in Chicago and across the country has been contradicted or undermined by local officials, a civil rights attorney and a legal filing. These issues have been particularly notable in three prominent incidents: the arrest of a WGN employee, the shooting of a US citizen accused of ramming police vehicles and ICE’s detention of a 13-year-old in Massachusetts. A closer look at the incidents underscores the broader skepticism of the Department of Homeland Security’s statements as federal agents have moved into city streets in Chicago and elsewhere. A judge openly questioning the credibility of law enforcement reflects a larger problem and raises questions as to what recourse ordinary citizens or immigrants have when accused. To understand this credibility issue, CNN took a closer look at DHS statements about the three high-profile incidents involving federal immigration enforcement. Asked about the contradictions between the DHS statements and other evidence, a spokesperson said, "We stand by everything we have previously said."

Los Angeles Times [10/19/2025 12:20 AM, Jaweed Kaleem and Christopher Buchanan, 14862K] reports police on Saturday evening declared an unlawful assembly and issued a dispersal order for a small portion of downtown Los Angeles next to the Metropolitan Detention Center where demonstrators from "No Kings Day" protests had converged. Tense standoffs took place between police and the crowd in the area of Alameda Street and Aliso Street, with demonstrators accusing law enforcement of escalating tensions amid the carryover from peaceful daytime rallies. "A dispersal order for the area of Alameda between Aliso and Temple has been ordered ... All persons in the area of Alameda and Aliso/Commercial must leave the area," the LAPD posted on social media at 6:55 p.m. "All persons in the area have 15 minutes to comply. If you remain in the area you may be subject to arrest or other police action." The day’s protests, which drew throngs of crowds in Southern California and across the nation, made pointed critiques of President Trump’s actions on transgender rights, foreign policy, the federal government shutdown, university funding and other matters. Protesters also took on the the the White House’s push to deport immigrants without legal authorization to be in the U.S. by undertaking raids in U.S. cities including Los Angeles. The Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal facility, has become a focal point over anti-ICE sentiment. On Saturday, tensions grew around 7 p.m., after LAPD declared the unlawful assembly and began to press a line of protesters outside the facility. Police shot multiple nonlethal rounds, used tear gas and brought in a fleet of horses in an attempt to push back crowds. By 8:30 p.m., protesters had largely abandoned their stand near the detention center while police tried to reestablish a line on the street in front of federal building. As of 9 p.m., LAPD had reported no arrests.

Bloomberg [10/18/2025 10:00 AM, Myles Miller, 18207K] reports gift cards, one of the most basic financial products in the US retail market, have become the backbone of a billion-dollar criminal economy that investigators say is moving American money into China. Homeland Security Investigations agents say Chinese organized-crime groups have built a laundering network that uses US retailers, mobile wallets and cryptocurrency to steal and export wealth. Operatives inside the US drain compromised gift cards, buy high-value goods such as iPhones and laptops, and ship them to China, where they are resold for profit. The proceeds are then converted into digital currency and funneled through Chinese payment platforms, creating what investigators describe as a hidden pipeline of American capital leaving the country. “The end goal is to cash out stolen money from fraud or other criminal activity,” said Adam Parks, an assistant special agent in charge with Homeland Security Investigations. “When you’re talking about China, the trade relationship gives them the perfect exit.” The DHS operation, known as Project Red Hook, has exposed a web of China-based organizations using stolen card data and digital wallets to turn everyday US consumer spending into a revenue stream. Parks said the agency has identified more than $1 billion in fraud losses over the past two years tied to the same groups. Criminals purchase stolen card numbers in bulk through Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat app, pay for them with cryptocurrency and load the balances onto mobile wallets. Teams in the US use those wallets to buy electronics and other high-demand products that can be sold for two or three times their value in China. “The system operates with the efficiency of a supply chain,” said Dariush Vollenweider, a senior Homeland Security agent who helps oversee the investigation. “You have the takers, the tampers, the placers, the redeemers, the supporters. By the time a consumer loads money onto a card, that balance is already gone.” Investigators say the same networks also operate large-scale text-message scams that feed the card-draining operations. Messages posing as highway-toll, postal-fee or delivery notices direct recipients to fake payment sites. Victims who enter their information supply the data used to steal funds. Parks said criminals in China monitor the spoofed sites in real time, load victims’ card details into mobile wallets and make purchases in the US through phones they control. Investigators also have identified what are known as SIM farms — rooms filled with devices that can send thousands of text messages at once by cycling through mobile phone SIM cards. The setups are used to blast phishing messages in bulk, including some operated from within the US. In September, federal agents dismantled a covert network near the United Nations in New York that contained more than 300 SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards, according to the Secret Service. At first, investigators were worried the equipment was connected to a possible threat against President Donald Trump, who was headed to New York to speak at the UN, but they were later tied to the longstanding financial scheme. Homeland Security officials say the economic motive reaches back decades. China’s restrictions on foreign currency and luxury imports fostered a gray market known as daigou, or “buying on behalf of,” in which overseas buyers purchased goods that were scarce or heavily taxed at home. The Treasury Department in an August report identified about $9.6 million in such suspicious transactions, with the buyers in the US using cash from laundering networks.

Reuters [10/18/2025 12:50 PM, A.J. Vicens and Raphael Satter, 36480K] reports people who take part in Saturday’s mass "No Kings" protest against President Donald Trump’s administration may be targeted for federal government surveillance with a range of technology that could include facial recognition and phone hacking, civil libertarians said. "No Kings" organizers expect 2,600 rallies across all 50 U.S. states. But the level of surveillance at protests and the type of technology in use is likely to be both location-specific and dependent on the police forces present, said Thorin Klosowski, a security and privacy activist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said Friday. One federal law enforcement agency, the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has been implementing Trump’s immigration crackdown and has amassed a digital surveillance arsenal, according to various news outlets. That includes facial recognition and phone hacking tools, as well as cell site simulators, which can allow for granular surveillance of protesters’ mobile phones. Multiple federal agencies have deployed social media monitoring, according to the Brennan Center. Department of Homeland Security officials didn’t directly respond to a query about potential surveillance of "No Kings" protesters.

The New York Times [10/18/2025 2:45 AM, Corina Knoll, 135475K] reports they were teachers and lawyers, military veterans and fired government employees. Children and grandmothers, students and retirees. Arriving in droves across the country in major cities and small towns, they appeared in costumes, blared music, brandished signs, hoisted American flags and cheered at the honks of passing cars. The vibe in most places was irreverent but peaceful and family-friendly. The purpose, however, was focused. Each crowd, everywhere, shared the same mantra: No kings. Collectively, the daylong mass demonstration against the Trump administration on Saturday, held in thousands of locations, condemned a president that the protesters view as acting like a monarch. Many had attended a similar event in June, but the months since had seen President Trump make a dizzying array of changes in quick succession. This time, the crowds included a new round of protesters, those who said they were outraged over immigration raids, the deployment of federal troops in cities, government layoffs, steep budget cuts, the chipping away of voting rights, the rollback of vaccine requirements, the reversal on treaties with tribes and the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill. Many were also united in saying the administration needed to show basic humanity. “We can argue and debate policies and ways that we can solve problems,” said Chris Scharman, a lawyer who attended a rally in Salt Lake City. “But we shouldn’t be debating the value of people.” In major metropolitan areas, like Washington, D.C., the crowds were huge. A rally in Atlanta that drew thousands at one point covered three city blocks. A protest in San Francisco poured across five. One rally in Chicago stretched over 22. Officials in New York said that more than 100,000 people demonstrated across all five boroughs of the city. One of the largest turnouts was in Times Square, where the streets were awash in a carnival-like atmosphere with flashy, flippant signs, one that announced “I Pledge Allegiance to No King.” Protesters sported the inflatable frog ensemble that activists in Portland, Ore., began wearing to poke fun at the White House’s attempt to portray activists as anarchists or domestic terrorists. “No more Trump!” the crowd chanted as they waved American flags. “We’ve got to speak up for our rights, especially if we’re lucky enough to be citizens,” said Bianca Diaz whose 6-year-old daughter, Luna, came dressed as an axolotl, a kind of salamander. “I wanted her to witness this,” Ms. Diaz said. Known as No Kings Day, a follow-up to a demonstration in June, the events were scheduled at roughly 2,600 sites across all 50 states. They were organized by national and local groups and well-known progressive coalitions including Indivisible, 50501 and MoveOn. The rallies came even as Mr. Trump’s approval ratings at the polls have not changed significantly. Republican leaders denounced the protests, blaming them for prolonging the government shutdown and calling the event the “hate America rally.” Univision [10/18/2025 7:54 PM, Staff, 5004K] reports that protesters filled Times Square in New York City , Boston Common and Grant Park in Chicago ; and also gathered outside state capitols in Tennessee, Arizona , and Indiana and at a courthouse in Billings, Montana, as well as hundreds of smaller public spaces. More than 2,600 demonstrations were planned for the day.

New York Post [10/18/2025 7:48 PM, Ella Morrison and Geoff Earle, 42219K] reports tens of thousands of lefty "No Kings" protesters descended on NYC and across the country Saturday, waving vulgar signs to protest President Trump — with the progressive mayor of Chicago urging locals to get ready to "fight." In the Windy City — where residents have repeatedly clashed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers carrying out Trump’s deportation efforts — Mayor Brandon Johnson called on protesters to be "ready." "Are you ready to defend this democracy? Are you ready to fight fascism? Are you prepared to destroy authoritarianism once and for all!" he bellowed. "Let the world hear you: no kings!". About 100,000 turned out in Midtown, according to the NYPD, which said no arrests had been made. In Manhattan, anti-Israel protesters chanted "Free Palestine," while also calling for the president — who recently brokered an historic peace between Israel and Hamas — to get out of office. Others touted foul-mouthed signs blaring, "F–k Trump," and calling the president a "fascist" and a "tyrant." Several signs spotted in Midtown also bore the words "ANTIFA" next to the faces of comedian Jimmy Kimmel, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom — labeling the trio as allies of the far-left movement, according to photos and video posted on X by journalist Savannah Hernandez. Demonstrators also slammed ICE, comparing the federal law enforcement agency to the KKK. One protester was recorded celebrating the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, saying in a clip posted to X by journalist Collin Rugg, "Charlie Kirk is a piece of garbage. Hitler is dead. I’m glad Hitler’s dead. Evil people have no place in my world. He was a hateful human being. It was disgusting the things he said and did." In Washington DC, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders told the crowd, "It is in danger when we have a president who wants more and more power in his own hands and in the hands of his fellow oligarchs." Trump denied being a monarch. "They say they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king," Trump told Fox News Friday. Many of his top allies, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, have called the protests a "hate America" rally. The march was organized by a coalition that includes the American Civil Liberties Union, Indivisible, 50501, and dozens of others. They claim there were 2,600 events organized around the country. The George Soros-funded Open Society Action fund gave $3 million to Indivisible. Trump has repeatedly accused Democrats of paying protesters who turn out against his administration. Meanwhile the White House mocked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries on X, reposting meme portraying the two Democrats as cartoon princesses with a "No Kings" caption. The account also posted an image of Schumer wearing a sombrero. ‘NY king of sombreros," it called him.

New York Post [10/18/2025 9:19 PM, Joe Marino, Anna Young and Tina Moore, 42219K] reports a deranged upstate man was arrested in New York City Saturday afternoon after allegedly claiming he had firebombs that he planned to use at a "No Kings" protest to attack federal agents – a bust that comes as some of the anti-Trump rallies around the US spiraled out of control. David Cox, 54, was hit with terrorism charges after bragging to a stranger at a Kwik Fil gas station in Owego – about 198 miles from the Big Apple – Friday night that he had weapons in his trunk and planned to "fight ICE agents" at a Manhattan rally, police and sources said. The innocent bystander then reported the threat to cops after Cox left the gas station. The NYPD tracked down the Newark Valley lunatic after his car was flagged by a license plate reader — nabbing him around 2:25 p.m. Saturday as roughly 100,000 people demonstrated in Midtown. Police said no firebombs or weapons were found in his vehicle. He was charged with making a terroristic threat, false report of terrorism and making a threat of mass harm, police said. Tens of thousands of "No Kings" protesters flooded Manhattan and cities nationwide hurling profanities and waving vulgar signs on Saturday rallying against President Trump and his policies. Demonstrators – who called for the president to resign – also slammed US Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents, comparing the federal agency to the KKK. While no arrests were made in Manhattan, protests in other parts of the country descended into chaos late Saturday – with federal authorities forced to fire tear gas at a rowdy crowd that turned violent in Portland, according to Fox News. At least three agitators were detained after an alleged assault at a downtown Portland rally, where unrest at a local immigration detention center has caused chaos since June, according to the Portland Police Bureau, the outlet reported. In Los Angeles, police ran down protesters flooding the streets, injuring one amid the mayhem, photos showed.

Breitbart [10/18/2025 5:11 PM, Staff, 2416K] reports Nadja Rutkowski said protest is her way of life: she immigrated to the US from Germany at 14 and demonstrates for fear fascist history could repeat itself. She was among the thousands of New Yorkers who marched down Broadway from Times Square Saturday during mass anti-Trump protests, where demonstrators rejected what many referred to as the "tyranny" of today’s White House. As pro-democracy chants rang out, Rutkowski voiced outrage over what she called the Republican president’s attack on human rights that includes an aggressive crackdown on undocumented migrants. "I come from a country where what is happening now has happened already before in 1938," she told AFP, her dog Bella — who is also a seasoned protester — in tow. "People are being snatched up from the streets," she said. "We know, we see it, it’s happening in real time. So we’ve got to stand up.” The sentiment was an unequivocal theme of Saturday’s demonstration in New York, the city where Donald Trump was born and made his name — but where the majority of residents vehemently spurn him. "I like my Manhattan straight up no ICE," read one of many similar placards, referring to the whisky cocktail bearing the name of New York’s most prominent borough. ICE is the federal enforcement agency that has been detaining undocumented migrants and even American citizens in escalating raids across the United States — and the target of fury from protestors. "We are in a crisis," said Colleen Hoffman, 69, citing "the cruelty of this regime" and its aura of "authoritarianism.” "If we don’t stick together, if we don’t raise our voices, then we’ve surrendered to it. I refuse to surrender.” Saturday’s peaceful protest in New York was among some 2,700 nationwide; there were multiple demonstrations just within the city’s five boroughs. Demonstrators were fervent in message but jovial in spirit: colorful costumes included one person dressed as the Mr. Met baseball mascot, wielding a sign that said "No Kings But Queens" in a reference to the borough the beloved baseball team comes from. Gavin Michaels is a 26-year-old actor currently in an off-Broadway play about the rise of Nazi Germany — in which he portrays a young soldier "easily seduced" by the promises of a job and health care. He called the role in "Crooked Cross," a dramatization of a prophetic 1930s-era novel, "terrifyingly relevant" to today’s America. "You see the administration pulling health care away from people but offering sign-up bonuses if you join ICE," he told AFP. But Michaels said he was heartened by joining his fellow New Yorkers on the streets: "It’s exciting," he said, to see "other people who care.” "We spend so much of our lives inside or on the internet and it’s nice to actually see people in person willing to do something or say something or stand up for something. Along with signs bearing anti-fascist, anti-racist, anti-Trump messaging, many protestors wielded American flags. Some even wore them: Mike Misner donned the Stars and Stripes as a cape. "I want to say this is our flag too," he told AFP, bemoaning the fact that conservative factions in the US have "made the flag theirs, as if they’re the only ones who could be patriotic.” "Our country is under attack. Our democracy is under attack," he said. "And this flag to me represents democracy.”

FOX News [10/18/2025 5:37 PM, Andrew Mark Miller, Deirdre Heavey, 40621K] reports at least 100,000 people descended upon New York City’s Times Square on Saturday for the "No Kings" protest and Fox News Digital spoke to more than half a dozen of them about why they took to the streets to rally against President Trump. "Because I’m an American and I learned from history, unlike a lot of other people in this country. History repeats itself," a man named Ed told Fox News Digital when asked why he came to the rally. "People don’t seem to understand that, and we’re going down a slippery slope, probably halfway down there already, and if we don’t stand up and protest and expand our message across America, we’ll be just another one of what Trump called the s***hole countries. That’s where he’s leading us.” The rally was peaceful as protesters gathered in Times Square and marched down 7th Avenue holding a variety of signs, some more inflammatory than others. "No fuhrers," one sign said along with a crossed-out swastika. Another sign read, "ICE melts faster under pressure," a reference to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an agency where agents have faced a 10-fold increase in violence against them over the past few months. "We have a fascist government in America abetted by a fascist media," a man named Brad told Fox News Digital. "And people need to have their voices be heard. There’s this idea that somehow that Trump stands for America. He stands for nothing like that, he stands for hate, he stands for everything against the Constitution, everything our values are built upon, and he stands for himself and his friends and not for the great American people.” A woman named Nicole told Fox News Digital part of her motivation for attending is that she is recovering from cancer and her husband was recently diagnosed with cancer and says she received a notice their health insurance would be canceled in July 2026. "So we can bomb random boats off the coast of Venezuela, spend all this money on ICE terrorizing people, so we can take food and health care away from families," Nicole said. "It’s disgusting.” Laura, who said she is from Seattle but was on vacation in New York City and decided it was important to come to the rally, told Fox News Digital of her belief that if people don’t "collectively" get the message of disapproval out "then we’re going to just give up.” "We just might as well bend over," Laura said, adding that she is married to a woman and is concerned that under Trump, that marriage "might not be valid anymore.” "That’s f****** bull****," Laura said. Fox News Digital watched as a man dressed in yellow placed an Antifa sticker onto a street sign as protesters walked by. Several users on social media posted signs mentioning Antifa, which Trump designated as a domestic terrorist organization earlier this year. Many of the signs at the protest used the term "fascist" to describe Trump and several labeled Trump and members of his administration as "Nazis." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Univision [10/18/2025 7:19 PM, Staff, 5004K] reports a crowd of people gathered in downtown Tampa on Saturday to participate in the “No Kings 2.0” protest , a national movement denouncing what organizers describe as an authoritarian shift by Donald Trump’s administration and federal corruption . The demonstration, which is taking place for the second time in the city, covered several downtown streets , demonstrating a peaceful spirit of unity among the participants. Paola, a Colombian immigrant who has lived in Tampa for four years, explained why she decided to join the march. “ We are outraged to see all the injustices happening in a country of freedom . Our fundamental rights are being taken away, affecting our right to go out and protest,” she commented. Paola participated accompanied by a group of fellow Colombians, who carried signs with messages like “Speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves,” alluding to the need to defend those who cannot speak for themselves. The atmosphere at the protest was described by participants as encouraging and peaceful. “ People are outraged, but happy to share a kind heart . There are so many of us, and that gives me a lot of strength,” Paola added as she watched the crowd move through the center. The demonstration featured creative banners, inflatable costumes, and flags from different communities, including Mexican and Palestinian, as well as messages against family separation and deportations. Among the attendees was a group of young daughters of Mexican immigrants, who held signs demanding the removal of ICE from their communities. “ Here in the United States, there is no queen or king; it’s a government of the people . We all have the right to decide what we want to do,” said one of them, displaying a butterfly drawn on her sign, a symbol of freedom and democracy. The Tampa protest joins more than 2,500 demonstrations planned nationwide, including 81 in Florida, as part of a day of historic scope. The city’s central event took place in front of Tampa City Hall , organized by local groups such as Common Cause, Tampa Bay Together, and Tampa Bay SDS, along with activist Eric Harmon. During the march, messages of rejection of ICE, the monarchy, and the deportation policies that have affected thousands of families in Florida were observed. According to the State Immigration Board, approximately 4,000 arrests were made in the last two months, with a small percentage linked to serious crimes. Despite the large turnout, some members of the immigrant community remained detained or afraid to speak , reflecting the lingering concerns among those living under the risk of deportation. However, their presence was evident through signs, slogans, and participation in the mobilization. The event is scheduled to continue until 7:00 p.m., with protesters lining downtown walkways, chanting and displaying their messages in creative and respectful ways. The "No Kings 2.0" movement thus reaffirms its commitment to defending civil rights, civic participation, and democracy, in a context marked by political uncertainty and the closure of federal programs. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Chicago Tribune [10/18/2025 3:31 PM, Amy Lavalley, 4829K] reports that, from a man dressed in an inflatable squirrel costume shouting "Trump is nuts!" to a handmade sign that read "Proud anti-fascist," organizers estimated more than 1,000 people marched and chanted through downtown Valparaiso Saturday for a "No Kings" protest. The No Kings protest in Valparaiso was part of roughly 2,500 similar demonstrations against the Trump administration planned across the country and globe. Participants, many of whom took part in a similar, smaller protest in June, said the larger crowd and higher energy could be attributed to the growing displeasure over the actions of President Donald Trump in the ensuing months, including an immigration crackdown, tariffs and climbing prices, and attacks on Trump’s perceived enemies. "Increasing concerns about our democracy and what’s at stake transcend political affiliation, and I think we’re at a juncture I haven’t seen in my lifetime," said Valparaiso attorney Don Evans, who attended the protest with his wife, Kathy. He participated in the June No Kings protest in Michigan City but said Saturday’s event had more urgency. "The undermining of key institutions of democracy has progressed and is very disturbing," he said, noting the gutting of healthcare, the shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s assistance around the globe, and Trump’s use of the Attorney General’s Office against his perceived enemies. Attempts by the Trump administration to equate demonstrations with terrorism, Evans said, are "particularly disturbing, and incongruent with our Constitution’s founding principles.” The large crowd could be attributed to the growing number of people since June’s protest who oppose the Trump administration’s actions, Deb McLeod, one of the protest’s organizers, said. "We have more Republicans, we have more veterans, we have more conservatives. We have more people who realize we have no due process," she said. "We are so much stronger now than we were then.” The protests in the Chicago area were expected to draw significant crowds as pushback against the president’s recent immigration crackdown in the Chicago area, "Operation Midway Blitz," which includes Lake County in Indiana, and a bid to federalize National Guard troops. Northwest Indiana has seen a surge of immigration arrests in recent weeks as part of that action, pushing the leaders of local communities, including Hammond, Gary and East Chicago, to publicly declare that immigration authorities are not welcome to use city property as staging areas.

Chicago Tribune [10/18/2025 2:38 PM, Alexandra Kukulka, 4829K] reports that, Jane Whedbee, 73, came to the Saturday’s No Kings protest in Gary wearing a cardboard crown, a flashlight with a plastic flame on top, and a shawl wrapped around her. Her cardboard sign highlighted the end of the Pledge of Allegiance: With liberty and justice for all. "The Statue of Liberty became a sign of a haven for people, and it’s being trashed," Whedbee said. "This administration needs to see how many people aren’t on board with the things they are doing.” Whedbee was one of around 400 people packed along the four corners of U.S. 12 and Route 20, near the Miller train station, participating in the national No Kings protest. The national No Kings movement opposes President Donald Trump and his administration’s actions, like targeting immigrant families, gutting healthcare, rigging Congressional maps, among other things, according to its website. Whedbee, a Gary resident, said she’s horrified every time she sees news reports about Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers taking immigrants from their homes, jobs or outside their children’s school. "It’s like the Gestapo. They are taking citizens. They are taking people who haven’t committed a crime," Whedbee said. Looking to the future, Whedbee said she’s concerned for farm workers, food quality and access, healthcare and the cost of living. "It’s going to look bad for everybody who isn’t rich," Whedbee said. Erin Carreon, 39, who held a poster with the message "fight ignorance not immigrants," said it’s hard to sleep at night because of all the things the Trump administration is taking away from the American people. "People are being kidnapped from their communities. So much is happening. So I thought it was important to be here," Carreon said. "It’s really terrible. We have to stand together with our neighbors.” The protest gave her hope, Carreon said, because it shows that people are resisting. Carreon, a Gary resident, said people can get involved by protesting outside the Gary/Chicago Airport, which is used by ICE to deport people. Linda Hart, 64, held a flag that read "We the People" and "No Kings in America" and waved it as cars drove by and honked in support. "I’m tired of Trump and his people. They are tearing up America," Hart said. Hart, who grew up in Gary, said she is a former federal worker who retired before the government shutdown. Some of her friends and former coworkers have told her that they have been asked to reapply for their jobs, and they are concerned that they will not be rehired. Further, Hart said she’s concerned about the pressure the Trump administration is putting on Indiana Republican legislators to redistrict ahead of the 2026 midterm election. Typically, redistricting occurs after census data is released. "I think they are just trying to steal the election," Hart said.

Axios [10/18/2025 7:11 PM, Carrie Shepherd, 12972K] reports one hundred thousand people flooded Chicago’s Grant Park on Saturday for the "No Kings" protest against President Trump — with many rallying against the Department of Homeland Security’s aggressive immigration crackdown. The big picture: Protesters waving "Abolish ICE" and "Hands Off Chicago" signs and chanting "Immigrants are welcome here" capped weeks of organizing by neighbors and activists pushing back against ICE and CBP raids across Chicago and its suburbs. Since Trump launched "Operation Midway Blitz" in Chicago last month, an ICE officer shot and killed a man in suburban Franklin Park. Federal agents also swept up U.S. citizens and zip-tied children during a raid on a South Shore apartment building, according to witnesses and local advocacy groups. National Guard troops were dispatched, but a judge’s temporary restraining order halted their deployment. Meanwhile, large Latino areas such as Little Village have seen drastic declines in business as many residents are too afraid to leave the house to shop, or even go to work and school. Rapid response groups have trained community members in alerting neighborhoods to ICE’s presence and families have stepped in to protect students whose immigrant parents are being swept up by officers. "When we see ICE, we yell "ICE." It’s good in a way that we see the way that community has come together to help each other out," Isis Espinoza of Ashburn told Axios at Saturday’s march. "The livelihood of places like Little Village has gone down. It’s depressing to see it, because, where is the Hispanic essence in the heart of the Hispanic essence of Chicago?" Mayor Brandon Johnson joined other elected officials such as U.S. Reps. Jonathan Jackson, Delia Ramirez, Chuy Garcia, Mike Quigley and Jan Schakowsky and Sen. Dick Durbin on stage before the march, alongside several alders including Ald. Jesse Fuentes who was handcuffed by ICE as she asked officers to present a warrant for a man they were detaining at a Humboldt Park hospital. Gov. JB Pritzker and others kicked off the march holding a "Hands Off Chicago" sign. Nearly 7 million people gathered in more than 2,700 cities and towns across the U.S., No Kings organizers said.

Chicago Tribune [10/18/2025 5:23 PM, R. Christian Smith, 4829K] reports a large crowd gathered at Aurora’s McCarty Park on Saturday to push back against President Donald Trump and his administration, joining with other "No Kings" protests taking place across the region and country. American and Mexican flags flew alongside signs like "Melt ICE," "Immigration Makes America Great," "No Police State," "Courts Not Cages" and, of course, "No Kings." Children played on the park’s playground while protestors chanted "This is what democracy looks like!". Stephanie Bernet, an organizer of the protest, said it was a shame Aurora didn’t have a "No Kings" protest when other nearby communities previously did. She’s just a regular person, she said, but she signed up to organize it when she saw that no one else had, she told The Beacon-News during the Saturday protest. "We really wanted to make sure that our neighbors, and each other, knew we’re not alone," Bernet said. "We’re here. We see what’s happening.” And what’s happening, she said, is that federal agents — which she called "kidnappers" — are here in the community. Aurora Mayor John Laesch recently condemned increased federal immigration enforcement efforts in the city after protests earlier this month. Bernet said she partnered with Kendall County’s chapter of Indivisible, a national progressive political organization, to make the Aurora protest happen. On Saturday, it appeared to be a regular day at McCarty Park before around 11 a.m., when setup for the protest began. Although the official start time wasn’t until noon, a sizable crowd had already gathered by around 11:30 a.m. The protest kicked off with quick remarks from Bernet before the mic was turned over to Mayor Laesch. During his speech, he said communities across the nation are "experiencing a federal government like no generation ever has," noting immigration enforcement in previously safe areas, the National Guard being deployed domestically and federal funds withheld from the state. These "unprecedented" times require people to work together to protect their community and protect each other, he said. "I want to speak first to the community and let you know that I’m acutely aware of the growing fear and anxiety surrounding recent ICE raids," Laesch said. "The temperature in Aurora is heating up, and it is important that we as a community continue to work together through peaceful demonstrations to exercise our First Amendment rights without inciting violence.” A variety of other community members, including city government officials, followed Laesch in speaking to the gathered crowd. Later, protestors moved out of the park and onto the sidewalk as cars driving by honked in apparent support.

Chicago Tribune [10/18/2025 2:47 PM, Gloria Casas, 4829K] reports hundreds of protesters lined streets in downtown Elgin Saturday for a "No Kings" rally at which they expressed anger and frustration over President Donald J. Trump’s policies and actions on immigration enforcement, the government shutdown, the economy and other issues. "This is what democracy looks like," said Belen Huerta, who used a microphone sound system to make her message heard. Similar No Kings rallies were held all over the country Saturday, the second such gathering since June. The movement’s message, according to its website, is to make it clear that America does not belong to "kings, dictators or tyrants." More than 2,500 events were planned, with protests to be held in every state and Puerto Rico. Elgin’s No Kings rally on Kimball Street and North Grove Avenue brought out people dressed as dinosaurs and in other costumes and carrying signs with messages such as "Stop Hurting Our People," "This Ends When Enough of Us Say No" and "I need to tell my grandkids I did not stay silent.” Kaye Gamble’s sign featured photos of her father, Marion Hamman, a World War II Army veteran who fought in the Battle of the Bulge. It read, "I’m Fighting Fascism Like My Dad Did in World War II.” Gamble said her cause is the same as her dad’s. "I want to honor him. I know he would’ve supported this purpose against fascism," she said. As protesters chanted, cars driving by honked their horns in solidarity. Musician Kevin Lambe played protest songs from the 1960s and ‘70s, which he said remain relevant today. The reasons people turned out for the rally were as different as the signs they held. Many said they were angry with and opposed to the myriad actions Trump has taken since being sworn in for a second term in January. "Everything he does is illegal," said Linnea Carlson, whose sign said, "No Kings Since 1776.” Huerta, who became a U.S. citizen in 2021, said her chief issue was Trump’s immigration enforcement and the fears people are facing as agents for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement target towns like Elgin and Carpentersville, with large Hispanic populations, as part of Trump’s Operation Midway Blitz. "I know what it means to be an immigrant. I know how difficult it is to become a citizen," Huerta said. "It’s very heartbreaking to know that people who come here and work very hard to make America the best country it can be are being taken away from their families.” Knowing she was not alone in her outrage and frustration felt good, she said. "If you look all around, this is what America is," she said. "This is what it’s always been. This is the America I knew existed; this is the America I’m witnessing; this is the America I want to be part of.” Elgin Community College student Nicole Torres said federal agents recently detained her on school grounds. "It caused a lot of us, including me, to be distraught," said Torres, a member of the Organization of Latin American Students. "We just have to fight back. It’s something very important, especially because Elgin is a heavily populated Latino community. A lot of people I know are being affected by this. "Families should not be torn apart," Torres said. "I don’t think it makes America great.”

Univision [10/18/2025 4:17 PM, Staff, 5004K] reports that, with banners, flags, and slogans, thousands of people gathered outside the Arizona Capitol to raise their voices against President Donald Trump’s policies and the country’s immigration situation. "The only way to have any kind of change is to have a lot more people in the streets," says María José, one of the participants. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Los Angeles Times [10/18/2025 6:33 PM, Christopher Buchanan, Jack Flemming and Hannah Fry, 14862K] reports tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across Southern California on Saturday for “No Kings” demonstrations against President Trump, portraying the commander in chief as an aspiring monarch as he continues to engage in what critics argue is government overreach. In Grand Park, protesters gathered under the shade of a 20-foot inflatable of Trump in a diaper as a band belted out an Epstein files-themed parody of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.” Protesters draped in LGBTQ+, Mexican and American flags held signs that read “Liberty,” “No Kings” and “Veto The Cheeto.” “We’re here to fight fascism, and we’re not afraid,” said 25-year-old Jess Sanchez, who has had family members targeted in recent immigration raids. “This is our city and our country.” The gathering in Grand Park was just one of thousands that unfolded across the country on Saturday as part of a nationwide effort to push back not only against the president, but his administration’s policies on immigration, education, healthcare and environmental protections. More than 2,700 “No Kings” demonstrations were scheduled across the country, roughly 600 more events than in June. Demonstrations in New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Boston drew massive crowds. In June, roughly 5 million demonstrators rallied across the nation for the first “No Kings” protests as the Trump administration’s agenda began coming into focus. At that time, the Department of Homeland Security had begun carrying out large-scale immigration raids across Southern California, and Trump deployed military troops to Los Angeles in response to mass protests. Since then, many Americans believe that Trump’s actions — doubling down on immigration raids in major cities, deploying National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., and embarking on an aggressive campaign against political opponents — have only become more severe. Trump pushed back against the underlying premise of the protests in an interview with Fox News on Friday. “They’re referring to me as a king,” he said. “I’m not a king.” Pedro Sanchez, who immigrated to the United States from Mexico more than 50 years ago, said the protest was an expression of the 1st Amendment, which he said the administration has continued to challenge. He pointed to last month’s temporary suspension of Jimmy Kimmel after the talk show host made remarks following the death of Republican activist Charlie Kirk as a key example. “Look at what happened to Kimmel — if that could happen to him, it can happen to any of us,” Sanchez said. “We want our rights back; we can’t take this anymore.”

The Hill [10/18/2025 3:15 PM, Ryan Mancini, 12595K] reports the U.S. Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday urged U.S. citizens to stay away from American government facilities in the Caribbean country. The security alert was issued due to "a heightened state of alert," and urged Americans to be aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious activity to local authorities. Americans were also urged to monitor "reputable news outlets.” American visitors to the country were also told to tell friends and family to sign up for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to receive alerts and updates from the embassy. The alert was based on threats toward Americans that "could be linked" to ongoing tensions in the region, Trinidad and Tobago Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander told The Associated Press. Trinidad and Tobago is located off the northeastern coast of Venezuela, where President Trump has increased military pressure on Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, President Nicolás Maduro. The Trump administration has also carried out several military strikes against alleged drug trafficking boats in international waters near the country. Trump, during a Friday lunch meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, warned Maduro against conducting any military action against the U.S. The Venezuelan president "offered everything" during diplomatic talks with the U.S. before they were called off, Trump said. "He has offered everything," Trump said. "He’s offered everything. You’re right. You know why? Because he doesn’t want to f‑‑‑ around with the United States.” The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. By signing up, I agree to the Terms of Use, have reviewed the Privacy Policy, and to receive personalized offers and communications via email, on-site notifications, and targeted advertising using my email address from The Hill, Nexstar Media Inc., and its affiliates. On Wednesday, Trump confirmed that he authorized the CIA to carry out covert land operations within Venezuela. Seen by most of the international community as Venezuela’s illegitimate president, the U.S. indicted Maduro on charges of leading a drug cartel in 2020. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio increased a reward to $50 million for any information leading to Maduro’s arrest.

Reported similarly:
Los Angeles Times [10/18/2025 10:10 PM, Anselm Gibbs, 14862K]
AP [10/18/2025 6:22 PM, Staff, 2416K]
CBS News [10/18/2025 4:08 PM, Staff, 39474K]
Telemundo [10/18/2025 10:48 PM, Staff, 2218K]

New York Post [10/18/2025 6:13 PM, Charles Gasparino, 42219K] reports officials in President Trump’s Justice Department have been scrutinizing crime data in recent months — they’ve found evidence that Democratic politici`ans have been skewing crime stats for their own benefit ahead of the midterm elections, The Post has learned. Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker — a vocal opponent of Trump’s use of federal troops for both immigration enforcement and fighting big-blue-city crime — has lately touted double-digit declines in Chicago crime rates where "shootings and homicides on our highways are down 60, 70, 80% depending on where you look.” But the number of felonies in Chicago — not to mention New York, Los Angeles and Portland, Ore. — is declining only because woke prosecutors are knocking down felonies to something less severe for political reasons, DOJ sources say. Famous among them is Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney who has continued to allow ­violent offenders to plead to mis­demeanors instead of felonies even after committing robberies or violent assaults. One Trump DOJ source pointed to the recent case of David Mazariegos, the sword-wielding maniac who was arrested last week for the allegedly unprovoked killing of straphanger Nicola Tanzi, stomping him on the head repeatedly outside a Brooklyn subway station. Mazariegos has a long criminal record and yet this past July, just before his latest alleged wanton act, an NYC judge lowered his bail in an assault case because prosecutors didn’t charge him with a felony and instead settled for a mis­demeanor. People inside the Trump DOJ say Mazariegos isn’t an outlier, but the norm in big cities run by leftist politicians who are purposely obscuring the results of their lax policing policies. "If these public officials were CEOs who purposely manipulated losses into earnings, they would face serious criminal fraud charges," said one Trump DOJ official who asked not to be quoted by name. A White House spokeswoman declined to comment on the matter. A spokesman for the Manhattan DA didn’t return a request for comment. When the DOJ’s stats are released, possibly in the coming weeks, they should be a wake-up call for the Democratic Party. That’s because these big-city economies will continue to sour as more taxpaying residents leave for places that provide safety. Of course, the Dem leadership must also find the necessary guts to push back against the woke policies and policing edicts of far-leftists like AOC and Zohran Mamdani who are ascendant in their party. DOJ sources believe Pritzker’s recent talking points are part of a concerted effort by the national Dems to hide the various forms of blight created by their support for police defunding measures to appease the social justice types who believe law enforcement is racist. In the meantime, maybe they can change public perception enough that they can win back the House and the Senate in the upcoming midterms.

New York Times [10/18/2025 7:26 AM, Tom Suozzi, 135475K] reports that, when it comes to fixing our immigration system, Democrats and Republicans in Congress both need to admit where they have been wrong. This includes acknowledging that for decades, both parties ignored the main problem: the cartels that have made billions of dollars smuggling people, drugs and weapons into the United States. Democrats must concede that Donald Trump was right about the importance of securing the border. He was right about the need to create a joint task force — involving multiple government departments, agencies and military branches — to fight the cartels. And he was right about the need to deport violent criminals who are in this country illegally. But Republicans have to realize that the Trump administration risks squandering the progress it has made by conducting raids on workplaces and neighborhoods throughout the country, such as the disastrous crackdown it began five weeks ago in Chicago. These raids — rounding up people who often have lived here for decades, raised families, held jobs and committed no crimes beyond lacking proper documentation — are economically unwise, socially destructive and morally wrong. The raids remove workers from businesses that rely on them. They erode trust between law enforcement officers and the communities they police. And they separate families. While Democrats must denounce these raids, we do need a crackdown — on the cartels. The cartels and the human traffickers known as coyotes who work for them teach migrants to exploit loopholes in our immigration law and deliberately overwhelm our asylum system. In the chaos, they smuggle drugs, traffic people and expand their grip on both sides of the border. I recently visited the southern border in Arizona with a bipartisan group of fellow U.S. representatives. We met with immigration officials, law enforcement officers, Border Patrol agents and intelligence officers, all of whom issued the same warning: Though the border is officially closed to asylum seekers between the ports of entry, the cartels and coyotes are still hard at work, spreading false promises and luring families north. The cartels are well organized, well funded, tech-savvy transnational enterprises. Fighting them at the border requires investing in drones, movement sensors, physical barriers and rapid-response units. It requires continuing to support the joint task force that is working to disrupt their financial networks and their leadership. It requires using law enforcement resources wisely: Every federal officer who is focused on arresting a farmhand, factory worker or landscaper could be better used to fight the cartels. The Trump administration’s crackdown in Chicago is also a reminder that only Congress can permanently fix our immigration system. It cannot be done by executive orders, presidential decrees, lawsuits or agency directives. One president can issue an order, the next can reverse it. Judges can block policies or gut them. Cabinet officials can change enforcement priorities overnight. That’s not real leadership; it’s political theater. Instead, we need legislation — ideally bipartisan. Lawmakers should reform our asylum system, which hasn’t been meaningfully updated in decades, so that it works quickly, fairly and with finality. Legitimate claims should be honored; meritless ones should be resolved swiftly with deportation.

San Diego Union Tribune [10/18/2025 4:57 PM, Sal Rodriguez, 1538K] reports that, according to a report from the Pew Research Center published in August, the number of illegal immigrants in the United States surged from a low of 10.2 million in 2019 to 14 million by the end of 2023. Of that total population, about 4.2 million had been in the country for less than five years , another 3.8 million had been in the country for 5 to 17 years, and another 4.3 million had been in the country for 18 or more years. Many of the newer immigrants are people who fled socialist tyranny in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela and were given work permits and temporary protection from deportation. Many others were from the perpetually devastated nation of Haiti, who were also given temporary protections and work permits. Once upon a time, victims of socialism were people Republicans saw as natural allies, but at some point the American right decided it didn’t really care about them except as a rhetorical cudgel against Democrats. So, Trump sought to remove their protections and deport them. And, in one of the dumbest and most obviously racist postr taken by a presidential candidate, at some point Republicans became fixated on the idea that Haitian migrants were stealing pets for food in the Midwest. Following up on this,Trump likewise moved to strip away protections for Haitian migrants. Then, there are the people who have been here a really long time. Again, most of the population of illegal immigrants in the country are people who have been here a long time. In 2019,Pew reported that upwards of two-thirds of illegal immigrants had been in the country for a decade or longer. There are the immigration hardliners who insist that "illegal means illegal" and so everyone has to go, no exceptions. And, sure, there’s a logic to it. Laws are laws, laws should be followed to the absolute limit, and, if you don’t like it, change the law. As applied to illegal immigration: people in the country illegally broke the law and so they should leave or face punishment, no exceptions. First, this argument faces a practical reality: 14 million people, and counting, is a lot of people. A lot. For all of the upset and tumult of the ongoing deportations of the Trump administration, the Department of Homeless Security projects that about 600,000 deportations will take place by the end of the year. It doesn’t take more than elementary math to see that, even if this pace is carried through the entirety of Trump’s final term, it won’t even erase the gains in the illegal immigrant population from 2019 to 2023. That aside, there’s a broader problem with the absolutist position: It assumes that because something is law that it is right and that because something is in violation of the law that it is wrong.

Washington Post [10/19/2025 5:15 AM, Amudalat Ajasa and Daniel Wolfe, 32099K] reports detainees at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities may be more vulnerable to extreme heat exposure than people housed in federal, state and county prisons, according to a Washington Post analysis, and this disparity is likely to grow as ICE expands the nation’s immigration system. The agency intends to nearly double the number of people it can hold from roughly 55,000 to more than 107,000 people by the end of this year, according to internal planning documents obtained by The Post. Prisoners are especially vulnerable to heat risks given their holding conditions, experts say, and these plans could make the situation worse, because ICE detention centers experience disproportionately high temperatures, according to The Post’s analysis. The facilities endure an average of 29 days of dangerous heat per year — 11 more than other prisons at federal, state and county levels. The hottest 10 percent of ICE facilities experience an average of 93 days of unhealthy temperatures each year. Elected officials, watchdog agencies, academic researchers and immigration advocates have frequently reported problems with air conditioning in detention centers, almost exclusively based on the accounts of detainees. Comprehensive data on internal temperatures in the facilities is not publicly available. Cascade Tuholske, an assistant professor of geography at Montana State University who has researched the exposure of incarcerated people to extreme heat, mapped the increase in hazardous heat days for more than 4,000 prisons, jails and detention facilities throughout the country. To define when heat becomes dangerous, the study relied on Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards, which link extreme heat to health impact risks. Conditions in detention centers have long been under scrutiny, although a lack of access has hampered efforts at oversight. A DHS advisory council’s report on private immigration detention centers in 2016 found that detainees at every investigated facility complained about heat and cooling. In unannounced inspections of ICE facilities between 2020 and 2023, the DHS inspector general’s office found that agency staff “struggled to comply” with detention standards “related to environmental and health safety,” according to a report released last year. Conditions at ICE’s Eloy Detention Center, about 60 miles south of Phoenix, underscore some of the potential dangers posed by federal detention facilities. The number of days surpassing the heat threshold there averaged three months last year, placing Eloy in the top 10 percent of ICE facilities exposed to extreme heat. Liz Casey, a social worker at Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, an immigrant advocacy group that provides legal and social services to detainees in Arizona, said the state’s immigrant detention centers have struggled for years with extreme heat, as well as power and water outages. Air conditioning, she said, can be inconsistent from one housing unit to another and cell to cell. DHS denied the Eloy center had experienced air conditioning problems. Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary for public affairs, said the center is fully air-conditioned and equipped with portable units and backup generators in case of power outages.

Univision [10/18/2025 12:02 PM, Staff, 5004K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is seeking to expand its surveillance of social media, sparking controversy among privacy advocates and civil liberties organizations. The agency plans to create a permanent monitoring team to review posts on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, for which they could hire up to 30 analysts, per shift, who would work from two intelligence centers: one in Vermont and one in California. Civil rights advocates warn that this type of surveillance could jeopardize the privacy and freedom of expression of U.S. citizens and could even affect activists and journalists. Although the project is currently in the proposal phase, if it moves forward, it could change the way the government addresses social media and the digital privacy of its citizens.

CBS News [10/18/2025 4:31 PM, Anna Schecter, 39474K] reports the rules of engagement for federal agents amid President Trump’s immigration crackdown have come under scrutiny, with one former Immigration and Customs Enforcement director telling CBS News that agents have been put "in a terrible position" and are being tasked with operations "in a city where they don’t belong.” From vehicle crashes to forceful takedowns, encounters with federal agents captured on cellphone video have gone viral amid the crackdown. Recent incidents have involved ICE as well as U.S. Border Patrol, whose agents are trained to catch drug traffickers and human smugglers in the deserts along the U.S. southern border. Now, though, many of those Border Patrol agents have been deployed on the streets of cities like Chicago. "What strikes me immediately is how this administration has put these agents in a terrible position," John Sandweg, former acting director of ICE, told CBS News. "...These are units that are designed to address high-risk threats and bring overwhelming force to bear. And I think the big flaw here is, not, I don’t blame these agents. I blame the administration for putting agents, who are trained in this manner, in a city where they don’t belong.” Federal agents deployed tear gas on a crowd on Tuesday on the South Side of Chicago following a crash involving a federal vehicle. That use of tear gas prompted a federal judge Thursday to express concern and issue an order Friday that agents in Chicago wear body cameras in response to a lawsuit brought by several media organizations over allegations that forceful tactics were being used by federal agents against protesters and journalists. "I’m glad that the judge is stepping up, doing the right thing," Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker told reporters. "I think we’re going to see more cases brought against ICE and CBP.” ICE and Border Patrol are part of the Department of Homeland Security. Sandweg says the rules of engagement for agents within DHS are "generally" the same as those for local law enforcement. "The use of force policies for DHS are pretty consistent with law enforcement agencies around the country," Sandweg said. "The use of force that you use needs to be reasonable to the threat that you face. You are required to try to de-escalate a situation first.” CBS News showed some of the viral clips to DHS. In response, a DHS spokesperson told CBS News in a statement that the videos show "a growing and dangerous trend of illegal aliens and agitators obstructing and attacking law enforcement.” Jerry Robinette, who has 34 years of law enforcement experience as a police officer and a special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations, an agency within DHS, said the situation is "stressful" for "both sides" – the protesters and the federal agents. "The agents have a mission, and they’re only going to tolerate so much," Robinette said. "And when somebody crosses that line, you know, the administration has pretty much given them orders that they are not to back down.” Robinette said he believes the U.S. is in uncharted territory as it relates to these immigration raids and the protests that have stemmed from them. "We’ve never had to deal with these kinds of extreme confrontations," Robinette said. "You know, there have been isolated incidents, but nothing like we’re seeing today. And for us, obviously, this is something totally foreign to us.”

Breitbart [10/18/2025 9:07 AM, Bob Price, 2416K] reports federal immigration officers and law enforcement partners arrested more than 1,400 illegal alien offenders during a weeks-long enforcement blitz targeting violent criminals, gang members, and foreign fugitives hiding out across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Dubbed Operation Patriot 2.0, the surge ran from September 4 to September 30. The targeted enforcement action resulted in the apprehension of 1,406 illegal aliens, including murderers, rapists, child sex predators, drug traffickers, and documented members of transnational gangs such as MS-13, Tren de Aragua, Trinitarios, and 18th Street. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New England led the operation in partnership with the FBI, CBP, ATF, DEA, DSS, and the U.S. Marshals Service. Officials report that more than 600 of the illegal aliens have significant criminal histories. The operation targeted egregious criminal alien offenders, including transnational criminal organizations known to operate in and around Boston and throughout Massachusetts. These organizations include the notorious MS-13, Tren de Aragua, Trinitarios, and 18th Street gangs. Six of those arrested were documented members of transnational criminal gangs. Several others were gang associates.

Telemundo [10/18/2025 10:15 AM, Staff, 2218K] reports the organization Lawyers for Civil Rights demanded this Friday an "immediate" investigation into the arrest of a 13-year-old boy by police in Everett, Massachusetts, who was then transferred to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Boston-based civil rights group sent a letter to Democratic Gov. Maura Healey and Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell asking them to appoint an independent investigator to determine whether Everett police violated state law by “unlawfully” facilitating the arrest of the minor by immigration agents. Last Thursday, the 13-year-old boy, who emigrated from Brazil to the U.S. with his family, was arrested by police in Everett, where he lives, and then handed over to immigration custody, where he was sent to a detention center in Virginia, far from his family. According to Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria, police arrested the minor after authorities received a tip that a teenager was walking to his school carrying a gun, allegedly to harm another 12-year-old boy. Upon searching him, they found he was carrying a knife, leading to his arrest. The Department of Homeland Security asserted on social media that the boy "posed a threat to public safety" and had "a lengthy criminal history, including violent assault with a dangerous weapon, battery, burglary, and destruction of property."

ABC News [10/19/2025 6:12 AM, Laura Romero, Ely Brown, and Matt Rivers, 31733K] reports the Rivera family of Raleigh, North Carolina, spent a recent weekend playing board games, cheering at a soccer game and visiting a local park. But unlike most families out and about that weekend, those routine moments marked an emotional farewell. Fidel Rivera, a husband and father who has been in the U.S. for 30 years without legal status, decided to return to Mexico, leaving his U.S. citizen wife and two daughters behind. He said his decision was the result of the Trump administration’s promise to "arrest and deport" anyone without lawful status. Rivera, who left Mexico at 18, is one of a growing number of people compelled to self-deport out of fear of arrest and detention. The administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement has escalated the risk: Nearly 60,000 people are currently being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. According to the agency’s own data, almost half of those detainees have no criminal record -- their violations are limited to immigration offenses. "The decision is to give peace to my wife and to my kids," Rivera told Raleigh ABC station WTVD. "I don’t want [them to] see me in handcuffs with chains in the jail." "As we started seeing people that were being picked up for dumb things -- like, not criminals -- and picked up and put in detention centers, I did not want my husband wrapped up in that," Rivera’s wife Jennifer Rivera said. "I cannot see him being tied up in any of that." Because Rivera entered the country without authorization, he cannot adjust his legal status, even though Jennifer and his daughters are U.S. citizens. "Even though he’s married to a U.S. citizen, even though we have two U.S. citizen children, even though he pays taxes, and even though he is not a criminal -- he has to leave the country," Jennifer said. The Rivera family’s decision reflects a national trend. Rivera is one of the 1.6 million people the Department of Homeland Security says have self-deported amid the threat of arrest.

Chicago Tribune [10/18/2025 10:30 AM, Meredith Colias-Pete and Amy Lavalley, 4829K] reports for months, immigration enforcement agents have sporadically arrested some Lake County and Porter County defendants without U.S. citizenship in the middle of their criminal cases, Indiana lawyers say. That’s added an extra layer of uncertainty — sometimes leaving both their families and attorneys scrambling to find them.

USA Today [10/19/2025 6:01 AM, Lauren Villagran, 75552K] reports months after leaving immigration detention, Camila Muñoz can still remember the ice-cream scooper used to ladle food onto plastic trays and the "sour feeling" after every meal. Hunger. "You have to eat no matter what, or the night is going to get you," she told USA TODAY. "We were really hungry." In Louisiana – a major hub of the Trump administration’s mass deportation effort – detainees and their representatives say people in custody are going hungry on a diet of processed foods that are barely edible, often expired and never filling. A week’s menu served at Richwood in August, obtained by USA TODAY, offers a glimpse into the lives of detained immigrant women and how they are fed. At the Richwood lock-up, the breakfast scoop of oatmeal or powdered eggs aren’t worth waking up for, they say. A ration of pasta with canned meat and canned green beans at lunch leaves them hungry. Sunday dinner – a thin slice of bologna between white bread and an ounce of potato chips – isn’t enough. Women detained long-term say they haven’t had fresh fruit in months. Of the nearly 750 immigrant women being held there in August, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement data – 97% had no criminal record. In an emailed response, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said ICE detainees "are provided with proper meals (and) potable water" following national detention standards.

Chicago Tribune [10/18/2025 3:24 PM, Michelle Mullins, 4829K] reports Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant on Friday issued an executive order prohibiting the use of county-owned property for serving as a staging area or operations base for federal immigration enforcement. The executive order was designed to clarify how county government will respond to increased federal immigration actions. "I am deeply concerned about reports I am receiving about federal immigration activity occurring locally and tactics causing fear throughout the community," Bertino-Tarrant said in a statement. "… All people should be safe in their neighborhoods and supported in their community.” Under the executive order, county-owned properties under the control of the executive’s office will be prohibited from serving as staging areas for federal immigration operations such as assembling, mobilizing or deploying vehicles. This includes buildings, parking lots, vacant lots or garages under the executive’s office, the order said. Some of the county buildings under this order include the county office building in Joliet, the health department, animal protection services, the Sunny Hill Nursing Home and the Children’s Advocacy Center, among others, said Mike Theodore, spokesman for the executive’s office. The executive order does not apply to the Will County Courthouse, which is under the jurisdiction of Chief Judge Daniel Kennedy, he said. The order also does not apply to buildings the county leases. According to the executive order, federal agents must present a warrant before conducting immigration enforcement operations on county-owned property under the control of the executive’s office. Agents also need to remove face coverings and ensure continuous visibility of a badge, the order said. The executive order states residents throughout Will County have expressed concerns about the scale and methods of federal immigration enforcement, including due process violations. There have been reports that citizens and legal residents were detained without charges during immigration enforcement, which has lead to an increased fear of harassment, according to the executive order. Bertino-Tarrant also announced a partnership with the Illinois Commission for Immigrant & Refugee Rights for residents who are concerned about their legal rights regarding federal immigration enforcement. County personnel is directing residents to the commission’s hotline at 855-435-7693. The executive order Friday comes just over a week after the County Board’s Legislative Committee proposed a resolution that would ask the state and federal government to prohibit immigration enforcement in courthouses, schools and other sensitive community spaces. While the resolution passed the Legislative Committee along party lines, members of the Executive Committee did not advance it to the full County Board and said it needed more work.

Telemundo52 [10/19/2025 3:58 AM, Karma Dickerson and Elizabeth Chavolla, 76K] reports that, during a protest near the federal building in downtown Los Angeles, hours after the planned "No Kings" demonstration ended nearby, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) ordered a dispersal. A small crowd was observed gathering at around 5:30 p.m. at the intersection of Alameda and Aliso Streets, in the area between the federal Metropolitan Detention Center and Highway 101. The group grew rapidly, with protesters chanting, dancing, and speaking over loudspeakers, calling on the Los Angeles Police Department to denounce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Political graffiti was visible in the area, although it was unknown when it was posted. Around 7:00 p.m., LAPD officers began ordering the crowd to disperse. Police said lasers and industrial lights had been directed at officers on the ground and a department helicopter. The crowd did not immediately obey and the officers began to advance. NewsChopper4 footage showed people being detained. Clashes erupted, including what appeared to be an officer firing a non-lethal projectile that struck a woman in the torso or lower body, according to video from the scene. One protester, dressed as a maid in reference to concerns about reproductive rights, remained seated after the dispersal order and was detained and bound with zip ties. "I was prepared for this to happen, and my goal wasn’t to resist," said Jennifer Johnson, who was among those arrested. "I know they have a job to do. My job was to go out and protest peacefully." Johnson said the officers grabbed her by the shoulders, lifted her up, and dragged her to the sidewalk before arresting her. Johnson was released shortly afterward. It is not known for sure how many people were detained or whether any arrests were made. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Telemundo [10/18/2025 7:37 PM, Staff, 2218K] reports the leader of a Southern California union group who was arrested this summer while protesting an immigration raid now faces a less severe criminal charge. Court documents show that the charges against David Huerta were reduced this weekend from the felony charges of "obstructing or resisting an officer" and "conspiring to impede an official" that were initially brought against him to a misdemeanor. Huerta chairs the Service Employees International Union California, which represents thousands of janitors, security guards, and other workers across the state. The activist was arrested on June 6 while demonstrating in front of a Los Angeles business where immigration agents were present. He was released on bail a few days later. The arrest was because Huerta was sitting in front of a vehicle entrance to the business and at one point told the other protesters to move in circles so that the agents could not leave, according to the criminal complaint filed by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The agency is part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). An officer ordered Huerta to get out of the way and grabbed him to move him, according to the complaint. Huerta tried to resist, according to the indictment, and then the officer threw him to the ground to arrest him. Huerta’s arrest in June caused an uproar, with activists considering it excessive amid protests against the Trump administration’s immigration actions. Huerta’s attorneys, Abbe David Lowell and Marilyn Bednarski, said in a statement Saturday that they will seek to have the trial "as expedited as possible" so that Huerta can be "exonerated." "In the four months since David’s arrest, it has become especially clear that there was no justification for charging him or for how he was treated," they wrote. "This case does not seek justice in good faith, but rather to retaliate against dissenters in a way that reflects how the Trump administration has sought to turn prosecutors into a weapon against those it considers its opponents."

The Hill [10/18/2025 2:13 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 12595K] reports a new study released Friday says President Trump’s immigration enforcement policies will decrease the country’s workforce by 15 million people over the next decade. "The Trump administration’s policies on illegal and legal immigration would reduce the projected number of workers in the United States by 6.8 million by 2028 and by 15.7 million by 2035 and lower the annual rate of economic growth by almost one-third, harming U.S. living standards," the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) wrote in its analysis of deportation efforts led by the White House. The research organization said the new migrant policies will "substantially" increase the federal debt by $1.74 trillion and reduce gross domestic product (GDP) by $12.1 trillion throughout the span of the next 10 years. "The reductions in legal immigration include suspending and reducing refugee admissions, the travel ban enacted in 2025, ending Temporary Protected Status and humanitarian parole programs, prohibiting international students from working on Optional Practical Training and STEM OPT after completing coursework and other changes, such as an expected public charge rule, to restrict legal immigration," researchers wrote. "The analysis does not include the likely significant economic impact of restricting U.S. companies’ access to high-skilled foreign nationals through regulatory and administrative action, which could affect productivity growth," they added. The Hill reached out to the White House for comment. The Trump administration has set a goal of removing at least 1 million immigrants in the country illegally per year. The Labor Department recently warned that the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts could drive up food prices due to a dwindling workforce in the agriculture industry. The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. By signing up, I agree to the Terms of Use, have reviewed the Privacy Policy, and to receive personalized offers and communications via email, on-site notifications, and targeted advertising using my email address from The Hill, Nexstar Media Inc., and its affiliates. Taxpayer funds are currently being used to bolster border and immigration enforcement, including the White House’s $45 billion investment to increase Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention capacity. The NFAP said as expenditures rise, so will the country’s debt. "Increasing the federal debt will reduce living standards in the United States by leading to higher levels of taxation, inflation and interest rates than without such debt," researchers wrote. "Labor force growth is a crucial part of the economic growth that advances a country’s living standards and facilitates the financing of existing debts and obligations. With the U.S.-born population aging and growing at a slower rate, immigrants have become an essential part of American labor force growth," they added.

Telemundo Amarillo [10/18/2025 6:46 PM, Staff, 4K] reports Maria cleaned schools in Florida for $13 an hour. Every two weeks, she received a salary of $900 from her employer, a contractor. Not much, but enough to cover the rent for the house she and her 11-year-old son share with five other families, as well as electricity, a cell phone, and groceries. In August, it was all over. When she showed up for work one morning, her boss told her she could no longer work there. President Donald Trump’s administration had canceled his predecessor Joe Biden’s parole program, which granted legal work permits to Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans, and Nicaraguans like her. “I feel desperate,” said Maria, 48, who requested anonymity to discuss her ordeal for fear of being detained and deported. “I don’t have anything to buy. My account has $5. I’m left with nothing.” Trump’s drastic immigration crackdown has left foreigners like María jobless and shaken the US economy and labor market. This comes at a time when hiring is already deteriorating due to uncertainty over Trump’s erratic trade policies. Immigrants do jobs that most native-born Americans don’t—cleaning houses, picking tomatoes, painting fences—and for less money. But they also bring the technical skills and entrepreneurial spirit that have made the United States the world’s economic superpower. Trump attacks immigration from both ends of the spectrum: deporting low-wage workers and discouraging skilled foreigners from bringing their talents to the United States. And it targets the influx of foreign workers that eased labor shortages and upward pressure on wages and prices at a time when most economists thought taming inflation would require sky-high interest rates and a recession—a fate the United States avoided in 2023 and 2024. “Immigrants are good for the economy,” said Lee Branstetter, an economist at Carnegie-Mellon University. “Because of the high immigration we’ve had over the last five years, the inflationary surge hasn’t been as severe as many expected.” The fact that more workers are taking more jobs and spending more money has also boosted economic growth and created even more job openings. Economists fear that Trump’s deportations and restrictions on even legal immigration will have the opposite effect. In a July report, researchers Wendy Edelberg and Tara Watson of the Brookings Institution, a centrist nonprofit that conducts research to improve policy at all levels of government, and Stan Veuger of the center-right American Enterprise Institute, a think tank that conducts research on government, politics, economics, and social welfare, estimated that the loss of foreign-born workers will cause monthly U.S. job growth “to be near zero or negative for years to come.” Hiring has already slowed significantly, with a monthly average of just 29,000 jobs from June through August. (The September jobs report has been delayed due to the federal government shutdown.) In contrast, during the post-pandemic hiring boom from 2021 to 2023, employers added an impressive 400,000 jobs per month. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) lowered its U.S. economic growth forecast for this year to 1.4% from the 1.9% it previously expected, and to 2.5% in 2024.

AP [10/18/2025 1:38 PM, Paul Wiseman and Gisela Salomon, 31753K] reports Maria worked cleaning schools in Florida for $13 an hour. Every two weeks, she’d get a $900 paycheck from her employer, a contractor. Not much — but enough to cover rent in the house that she and her 11-year-old son share with five families, plus electricity, a cellphone and groceries. In August, it all ended. When she showed up at the job one morning, her boss told her that she couldn’t work there anymore. The Trump administration had terminated President Joe Biden’s humanitarian parole program, which provided legal work permits for Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans as well as Nicaraguans like Maria. “I feel desperate,’’ said Maria, 48, who requested anonymity to talk about her ordeal because she fears being detained and deported. “I don’t have any money to buy anything. I have $5 in my account. I’m left with nothing.’’ President Donald Trump’s sweeping crackdown on immigration is throwing foreigners like Maria out of work and shaking the American economy and job market. And it’s happening at a time when hiring is already deteriorating amid uncertainty over Trump’s erratic trade policies. Immigrants do jobs — cleaning houses, picking tomatoes, painting fences — that most native-born Americans won’t, and for less money. But they also bring the technical skills and entrepreneurial energy that have helped make the United States the world’s economic superpower.

Washington Post [10/19/2025 5:00 AM, David Ovalle, 32099K] reports Leymi Reyes Figueredo had already decorated her daughter’s new room with teddy bears and a small Statue of Liberty figurine. After three years apart, their reunion hinged on what should have been a simple interview at the U.S. Embassy in Havana. But that August morning, an official handed her 15-year-old daughter a slip of paper stating that her visa had been denied. The reason: President Donald Trump’s travel ban restricting Cubans from traveling to the United States in the name of protecting the country from terrorists and other national security threats. “I understand why you have to protect the country,” said Figueredo, 42, a U.S. resident who arrived in Miami legally through a family visa program three years ago. But, she wondered, “How is a child a terrorist?” Four months after they were implemented, Trump’s travel restrictions are devastating Cuban American families in Florida by cutting off the already slow visa pipeline that allows relatives to reunite after years apart. The wave of rejections has amplified tensions within Florida’s Cuban American community over Trump’s immigration policies. While exiles have historically been a bedrock of support for Trump and the Republican Party, newer arrivals are now facing deportation in growing numbers as the president curtails legal pathways from the communist island racked by poverty, hunger and electrical outages. Some Cuban families denied visas for their loved ones told The Washington Post they feel betrayed by Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, himself the son of Cuban immigrants. They resent the silence of fellow Cuban Americans who have not rallied to their cause, though many hope Trump will reverse course. The State Department and the White House did not respond to requests for comment. In his proclamation, Trump said the Cuban government is a state sponsor of terrorism and does not “cooperate or share sufficient law enforcement information with the United States” in justifying why the country was placed on his list. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Examiner [10/19/2025 6:00 AM, Anna Giaritelli, 1563K] reports President Donald Trump is swiftly moving forward with a keystone campaign promise from his first term: to build the border wall. Within six months of returning to the White House, Trump has been able to acquire nearly $5 billion in congressional funding to finish the border wall he first set out to construct in 2017 but did not complete before leaving office in 2021. Unlike in his first term, the second Trump administration has a significant head start on building and should have no problem finishing the project by 2029. But there is one technical difference: This time around, the project is called a “smart wall.” Although technology was utilized in the border barrier system during Trump’s first term, it plays an even larger role in safeguarding the country now. In fact, every one of the 1,954 miles of the border with Mexico will have a “smart wall,” allowing the White House to carry out what it first set out to accomplish nearly a decade ago.

Chicago Tribune [10/18/2025 6:05 PM, Alice Yin, 4829K] reports that, for the second time this month, federal immigration agents targeted rideshare drivers at O’Hare International Airport despite recent vows from Mayor Brandon Johnson to prevent more raids. About 9:15 a.m. Saturday, agents were seen detaining rideshare drivers parked in a designated staging area off Balmoral Avenue as they waited for pickup requests, Service Employees International Union Local 1 spokesperson Bailey Koch said. Koch — whose union is part of a labor coalition seeking to organize Illinois rideshare workers — said she did not immediately have information on the identities or whereabouts of the drivers. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin released a statement saying that Border Patrol agents conducted a "targeted operation near Chicago O’Hare airport parking lots" Saturday morning and arrested 11 immigrants who were in the country illegally. McLaughlin cited criminal histories such as domestic battery and driving under the influence but did not provide their names. Without their identities, the Tribune could not verify McLaughlin’s claims related to criminal histories. "The fact of the matter is those who are in this country illegally have a choice. They can use the CBP Home app and receive a free flight and a $1,000 check or they can be arrested, detained, and deported," McLaughlin wrote. Border Patrol field boss Gregory Bovino also responded to a user asking "When are y’all going to clean up the o’Hare airport?" on X with: "We arrested dozens of illegal alien ride share operators taking jobs from American citizens out there last week. More to come.” Koch said the Johnson administration had agreed to provide 24/7 security for the lot to ensure "only people with the correct credentials" could enter, but the mayor’s spokesperson did not immediately confirm that. Saturday’s immigration raid was the latest flashpoint in a roiling turf war between the Johnson and Trump administrations, the latter of which has been waging a mass deportation campaign in the city — including on airport grounds. On Oct. 10, Border Patrol officers arrested 18 people at O’Hare, DHS confirmed. Immigration agents also targeted the same staging area for rideshare drivers, known as the Transportation Network Providers "Alpha Lot," Koch said. The progressive mayor, for his part, has sought to resist the president’s crackdown via a flurry of executive orders and invocations of Chicago’s sanctuary city policy that bans local police from assisting with immigration enforcement. But with federal agents still on the streets of Chicago for "Operation Midway Blitz," city leaders are seeing the limits of some of their stances.

New York Post [10/18/2025 6:58 PM, Ariel Zilber, 42219K] reports a sprawling storm system barreling out of Texas is slamming the Mississippi Valley with dangerous weather Saturday, threatening more than 50 million Americans with tornadoes, large hail and destructive winds. Warm, humid air surging north from the Gulf of Mexico collided with a powerful cold front sweeping through the nation’s midsection, setting off explosive conditions across the Ark-La-Tex region and the Ozarks, according to Fox Weather. National Weather Service had issued tornado watches for parts of Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas through Saturday night. Severe thunderstorm watches stretched east across the lower Mississippi Valley, Fox Weather reported. The storm systems are said to be capable of producing large hail, damaging winds and possibly tornadoes well into Saturday evening. Meteorologist Nick Kosir said a "big cold front" is driving the chaos. "Conditions are expected to become more unstable as we go throughout the day with all severe weather threats on the board," Kosir said. "Some of these areas — Little Rock, Fort Smith (Arkansas) and some of the spots just to the south are a bit in the bullseye when it comes to the potential for severe weather." The system is expected to lash cities including Memphis, Tenn.; Jackson, Miss.; Shreveport, La.; and Springfield, Ill. with powerful gusts, torrential rain and hail up to an inch and a half in diameter. Forecasters said isolated tornadoes could spin up quickly within the storms. Winds of up to 75 mph are possible, capable of downing trees and power lines. "October, we see tornadoes popping up, but not as common," meteorologist Bayne Froney said. "It’s just a good reminder to always be aware and keep your wits about you, even as we move into those cooler weather days." Froney added that residents should also brace for flash floods. "This is kind of our second severe season that we see coming into the fall as those temperatures start to collide, but also to watch out for that flash flood warning, or flash flood threat that’s going to be imminent too, because that rain is going to be packing a punch," Froney said. The Storm Prediction Center placed more than 13 million people in a level 2 out of 5 risk for severe weather — covering Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Missouri and parts of Oklahoma and Texas. Another 40 million across the Gulf Coast, southern Plains and Ohio Valley were under a level 1 threat. Meteorologists said isolated supercells could merge into a larger line of storms later Saturday, increasing the risk of damaging winds and brief tornado spinups overnight as the front presses toward the Gulf Coast. The volatile system will continue marching east Sunday into Monday, spreading thunderstorms across the Southeast and Appalachians.

USA Today [10/18/2025 10:01 AM, Jeanine Santucci, 67103K] reports heavy rain, severe thunderstorms and even a chance of tornadoes were forecast to threaten Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and surrounding states in the afternoon and evening of Oct. 18, forecasters said. An "increasingly active weather pattern" was set to bring the stormy weather from the mid- and lower-Mississippi Valley region on Oct. 18 and move through the Midwest and Great Lakes region by Oct. 19, according to the National Weather Service. A population of over 13 million people in parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri and Illinois could see the most severe weather later in the day, the Storm Prediction Center said. The main potential hazards are damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes. Major cities most at risk include Memphis, Tennessee; Shreveport, Louisiana; Little Rock, Arkansas; Jackson, Mississippi; and Springfield, Missouri.

Bloomberg [10/18/2025 2:06 PM, Jake Bleiberg, Jordan Robertson, and Margi Murphy] reports the state-backed hackers who breached cybersecurity company F5 Inc. broke in beginning in late 2023 and lurked in the company’s systems until being discovered in August of this year, according to people who were briefed by F5 about the incident. The attackers penetrated F5’s computer systems by exploiting software from the company that had been left vulnerable and exposed to the internet, according to the people. F5 told customers that the hackers were able to break in after the firm’s staff failed to follow the cybersecurity guidelines it provides customers, said the people, who spoke on the condition that they not be identified because they were not authorized to discuss the matter. Chinese state-backed hackers were behind the attack, according to people familiar with the matter. A Chinese official called the claim “groundless accusations made without evidence.” F5 has said that the hackers stole information for a small percentage of customers, and that it was not aware of active exploitation of any undisclosed vulnerabilities. There is also no evidence that the company’s source code has been modified, according to an F5 statement.

Washington Examiner [10/18/2025 5:20 PM, Staff, 1394K] reports a national electronics retailer asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to quell the uncertainty around tariffs for businesses that must import products. Crutchfield, a Virginia-based company, asked for relief in a candid plea to the nation’s highest court. The retailer, which started as a car stereo catalog in the 1970s, said it can’t plan because it doesn’t know how much the products it sells will cost. "If tariffs can be imposed, increased, decreased, suspended or altered, not through the deliberate legislative process in which both chambers of Congress must agree and the President must sign the legislation, but instead through the changing whim of a single person, then Crutchfield cannot plan for the short term, let alone the long run, because it cannot possibly predict what the household electronics it sells will cost," attorney Peter Brann wrote in a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the company. The company said it has no choice but to pay tariffs because finding a U.S. supplier isn’t an option. Crutchfield noted that some of the products it sells are only made in foreign countries, so it must import them for the consumers it serves in America and Canada. Crutchfield wrote the brief in support of the arguments of other groups that have filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s tariff authority. A group of small businesses, some Democrat-led states, and two education firms have challenged the president’s tariff authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. Trump has used tariffs to reorder global trade to give U.S. businesses a home-field advantage. But his frequently changing tariffs have left businesses and consumers frustrated. Trump used the 1977 law, which doesn’t mention tariffs, to put import duties of at least 10% on every nation that does business with the U.S. Some nations, including many U.S. allies, face much higher tariff rates. The tariff challenge is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, which scheduled oral arguments for Nov. 5. Trump has said the case is so important that he may personally attend, a break from presidential precedent. Crutchfield’s brief opened with a plain request on behalf of all retailers that must import products. "First, before considering the merits, it is important to recognize that high and highly volatile tariffs, and not trade deficits, are the ‘unusual and extraordinary threat’ to American retailers that must import the products they sell," Brann wrote. "Crutchfield wants to avoid the economic harm not only of the tariffs, but also of the chaos and uncertainty resulting from wild gyrations in the tariffs that make rational business planning impossible.” Crutchfield imports about 60% of the products it sells.

Reuters [10/18/2025 7:01 PM, Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell, 36480K] reports the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday, adding its reopening will depend on Hamas handing over bodies of deceased hostages as the two sides continued to trade blame over ceasefire violations. Netanyahu’s statement came shortly after the Palestinian embassy in Egypt announced that the Rafah crossing, the main gateway for Gazans to leave and enter the enclave, would reopen on Monday for entry into Gaza. Netanyahu’s government and Hamas have been trading blame over violations of the U.S.-mediated ceasefire for days. Late Saturday in Washington, the State Department said it had received "credible reports" indicating Hamas would violate the pact. "Should Hamas proceed with this attack, measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire," the department said in a statement, without providing further details. Trump had said he would consider allowing Israeli forces to resume fighting in Gaza if Hamas fails to uphold its end of the ceasefire deal that he brokered. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for additional information. Hamas also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Hamas, in a statement late on Saturday, said Netanyahu’s decision "constitutes a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement and a repudiation of the commitments he made to the mediators and guarantor parties." It also said the continued closure of the Rafah crossing would prevent the entry of equipment needed to search for and locate more hostage bodies under the rubble, and would thus delay the recovery and handover of the remains. Israel said it received two more bodies late Saturday, meaning 12 out of 28 bodies have been handed over under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal agreed between Israel and Hamas last week. The war has caused a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, with nearly all inhabitants driven from their homes, a global hunger monitor confirming famine and health authorities overwhelmed. The dispute over the return of bodies, and shipment of life-saving humanitarian aid, underlines the fragility of the ceasefire and still has the potential to upset the deal along with other major issues that are included in U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war. As part of the deal, Hamas released all 20 living Israeli hostages it had been holding for two years, in return for almost 2,000 Palestinian detainees and convicted prisoners jailed in Israel. But Israel says that Hamas has been too slow to hand over bodies of deceased hostages it still holds. The militant group says that locating some of the bodies amid the vast destruction in Gaza will take time. The deal requires Israel to return 360 bodies of Palestinian militants for the deceased Israeli hostages and so far it has handed over 15 bodies in return for each Israeli body it has received. Rafah has largely been shut since May 2024. The ceasefire deal also includes the ramping up of aid into the enclave, where hundreds of thousands of people were determined in August to be affected by famine, according to the IPC global hunger monitor. After cutting off all supplies for 11 weeks in March, Israel increased aid into Gaza in July, scaling it up further since the ceasefire. Around 560 metric tons of food had entered Gaza per day on average since the U.S.-brokered truce, but this was still well below the scale of need, according to the U.N. World Food Programme. Formidable obstacles to Trump’s plan to end the war still remain. Key questions of Hamas disarming and how Gaza will be governed, the make-up of an international "stabilization force" and moves towards the creation of a Palestinian state have yet to be resolved.

NBC News [10/19/2025 6:23 AM, Nick Duffy and Matt Bradley, 43603K] reports Israel accused Hamas on Sunday of violating the ceasefire by carrying out attacks on its forces in Gaza, while Hamas accused Israel of working to “fabricate flimsy pretexts” for its own actions. Israeli and Palestinian media reported that the IDF carried out airstrikes in southern Gaza early Sunday, in what would be its first such attacks since the start of the truce that halted its assault on the besieged Palestinian enclave. Two Palestinian eyewitnesses told AFP that fighting erupted in part of the southern city of Rafah still under Israeli control, followed by two air strikes. NBC News has not verified the reports, and the Israeli military did not confirm the strikes. The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect on October 10, when the group agreed to release all Israeli hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees under the first phase of a deal brokered by the United States. Both sides have accused the other of violating the terms of the deal. On Saturday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that the Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt would remain closed "until further notice," citing the hostage dispute. There have been flashes of violence within Gaza during the ceasefire, marked by at least one public execution and Hamas clashes with rival factions as the militant group tried to reassert control amid the ceasefire in the war-torn territory. On Saturday, the U.S. Department of State said in a post on social media that there had been “credible reports indicating an imminent ceasefire violation by Hamas against the people of Gaza.” Hamas rejected the suggestion.

AP [10/19/2025 4:08 AM, Staff, 31753K] reports China on Sunday accused the U.S. National Security Agency of carrying out cyberattacks on its national time center following an investigation, saying any damage to related facilities could have disrupted network communications, financial systems and power supply. The Ministry of State Security alleged in a WeChat post that the U.S. agency had exploited vulnerabilities in the messaging services of a foreign mobile phone brand to steal sensitive information from devices of the National Time Service Center’s staff in 2022. It did not specify the brand. The U.S. agency also used 42 types of “special cyberattack weapons” to target the center’s multiple internal network systems and attempted to infiltrate a key timing system between 2023 and 2024, it said. It said it had evidence but did not provide it in the post. It said the time center is responsible for generating and distributing China’s standard time, in addition to providing timing services to industries such as communications, finance, power, transport and defense. It had provided guidance to the center to eliminate the risks. “The U.S. is accusing others of what it does itself, repeatedly hyping up claims about Chinese cyber threats,” it said. Western governments in recent years have alleged hackers linked to the Chinese government have targeted officials, journalists, corporations and others. The ministry’s statement could fuel tensions between Washington and Beijing, on top of trade, technology and Taiwan issues. The U.S. Embassy did not immediately comment.

Reported similarly:
Reuters [10/19/2025 12:12 AM, Staff, 36480K]

Reuters [10/18/2025 6:20 PM, Karen Freifeld, 36480K] reports U.S.-based electronic components distributor Arrow Electronics (ARW.N) said on Saturday the U.S. government was reversing trade restrictions placed on Arrow’s China-based affiliates for facilitating the sale of U.S. components found in weaponized drones used by Iran-backed groups like the Houthis. Arrow (China) Electronics Trading Co and another Arrow entity with six aliases in Hong Kong were added to the Commerce Department’s Entity List on October 8 in a Federal Register posting. Licenses are required to export goods and technology to companies on the list and are likely to be denied. Firms are placed on the list over U.S. national security or foreign policy interests. On October 8, Commerce said that drones operated by Iran-backed groups and their debris recovered in the Middle East since 2017 had U.S. components traced to sales tied to these Arrow-related entities. Arrow said on Saturday the Commerce Department told it the department would soon publish the reversal in the U.S. Federal Register and sent a letter Friday removing the restrictions in the meantime. "We have received official communication from the U.S. Commerce Department," Arrow spokesman John Hourigan said in an email. "Arrow is authorized to resume shipping to and from these entities under the same conditions that applied prior to October 8.” Asked about the matter, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security said in an email: "BIS is committed to ensuring that export restrictions are appropriately targeted to protect national security.” Hourigan said the company operates in compliance with all laws and regulations. Centennial, Colorado-based Arrow Electronics had global 2024 sales of $28 billion. Hourigan said that Arrow Electronics (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd, which he described as a subsidiary when it was added to the Entity List, was not actually affiliated with Arrow Electronics. However, the six aliases tied to the Hong Kong company in the Federal Register posting are affiliated with Arrow and, the company said, would be removed from the Entity List.

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