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

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

NBC News [10/19/2025 5:15 PM, Yamiche Alcindor, Alexandra Marquez and Jonathan Dienst, 34509K] reports the U.S. Secret Service on Thursday discovered a suspicious hunting stand near Palm Beach International Airport with a direct sight line to where President Donald Trump exits Air Force One, the agency confirmed to NBC News on Sunday. The FBI is now leading an investigation into the discovery, Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesperson for the Secret Service, said in a statement. "The U.S. Secret Service is working closely with the FBI and our law enforcement partners in Palm Beach County. During advance security preparations prior to the Palm Beach arrival, which included the use of technology and comprehensive physical sweeps, our teams identified items of interest near Palm Beach International Airport," Guglielmi said. He added that "there was no impact to any movements and no individuals were present or involved at the location.” Fox News first reported the discovery. A senior official familiar with the investigation said that the perch is across the street from part of the airport where private planes will often park, including Trump’s private plane. The official said Air Force One does not normally park in the area, but will be parked there due to recent construction and has used the area in the past. The Hill [10/19/2025 3:59 PM, Max Rego, 12595K] reports that the Secret Service "discovered what appeared to be an elevated hunting stand within sight line of the Air Force One landing zone" prior to President Trump arriving at Palm Beach International Airport. "No individuals were located at the scene. The FBI has since taken the investigatory lead, flying in resources to collect all evidence from the scene, and deploying our cellphone analytics capabilities," Patel added. When reached for comment, Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications at the Secret Service, said the agency "is working closely with the FBI and our law enforcement partners in Palm Beach County." He also confirmed that the FBI is leading the investigation. "During advance security preparations prior to the Palm Beach arrival, which included the use of technology and comprehensive physical sweeps, our teams identified items of interest near Palm Beach International Airport," Guglielmi added. "There was no impact to any movements, and no individuals were present or involved at the location." The Washington Examiner [10/19/2025 3:38 PM, David Zimmermann, 1394K] reports that without disclosing specific details, a spokesman for the Secret Service confirmed the discovery in a statement to the Washington Examiner. "The U.S. Secret Service is working closely with the FBI and our law enforcement partners in Palm Beach County," communications chief Anthony Guglielmi said. "During advance security preparations prior to the Palm Beach arrival, which included the use of technology and comprehensive physical sweeps, our teams identified items of interest near Palm Beach International Airport. There was no impact to any movements and no individuals were present or involved at the location."

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Breitbart [10/19/2025 4:46 PM, Elizabeth Weibel, 2416K] reports FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed Sunday that the Secret Service discovered a hunting stand with a view of President Donald Trump as he disembarks Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida. "USSS spotted a suspicious stand near the AF1 zone in Palm Beach," Patel wrote in a post on X, which included a screenshot of a Fox News article. "The FBI is investigating.” In a statement to Fox News, Patel explained that the Secret Service "discovered what appeared to be an elevated hunting stand" that had a view of the President exiting Air Force One. Patel added that "no individuals were located at the scene.” "Prior to the President’s return to West Palm Beach, USSS discovered what appeared to be an elevated hunting stand within sight line of the Air Force One landing zone," Patel said in his statement, adding that the Federal Bureau of Investigation "has since taken the investigatory lead" regarding the hunting stand. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi explained to the outlet that the Secret Service’s discovery of the hunting stand came as they were conducting "advance security preparations" ahead of Trump coming to Palm Beach. "While we are not able to provide details about the specific items or their intent, this incident underscores the importance of our layered security measures," Guglielmi told the outlet.

The New York Times [10/19/2025 3:27 PM, Carol Rosenberg, Charlie Savage, and Eric Schmitt, 153395K] reports the U.S. military has killed three men and destroyed another boat it suspected of running drugs in the Caribbean Sea, this one alleged to have been affiliated with a Colombian insurgency group, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Sunday. It was the seventh boat known to have been attacked since early September as part of the Trump administration’s use of the military to kill people suspected of smuggling drugs as if they were enemy soldiers in a war, rather than arresting them as criminals. The latest strike took place on Friday, and Mr. Hegseth said in a social media post on Sunday that it had targeted a vessel associated with the National Liberation Army, a Colombian rebel group known as the E.L.N. So far, the Trump administration has acknowledged killing 32 people in the strikes, whose legality has been widely disputed by outside legal specialists. Mr. Hegseth’s post said, “The vessel was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was traveling along a known narco-trafficking route, and was transporting substantial amounts of narcotics.” He did not provide evidence for his assertions. Accompanying his post was a 27-second aerial surveillance video that showed a boat on the water and then a fiery explosion. The White House has told Congress that President Trump has “determined” that the United States is in a formal armed conflict with various drug cartels that his team has deemed terrorists, making the boat crews “unlawful combatants.” Sunday’s announcement was the first time the Trump administration had specifically described the E.L.N. as a target of a strike. In previous attacks, the administration described the suspects as having ties to either Tren de Aragua, a gang based in Venezuela, or no specific cartel. FOX News [10/19/2025 1:24 PM, Stephen Sorace, 40621K] reports "There were three male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel during the strike—which was conducted in international waters.” "All three terrorists were killed and no U.S. forces were harmed in this strike," [Hegseth] added. Hegseth also shared unclassified video showing the moment of the strike. Colombia’s Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) is a Designated Terrorist Organization. Hegseth likened the Colombian rebel group to the Al Qaeda terror group founded by Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. "These cartels are the Al Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere, using violence, murder and terrorism to impose their will, threaten our national security and poison our people," Hegseth wrote. "The United States military will treat these organizations like the terrorists they are—they will be hunted, and killed, just like Al Qaeda.” Colombian President Gustavo Petro disputed that the vessel was affiliated with ELN, calling it a fishing boat that belonged to a "humble family.” "The fisherman’s boat from Santa Marta was not from the ELN; it belonged to a humble family, lovers of the sea, from which they drew their food," Petro wrote in a post on X. "What do you say to that family? Explain to me why you helped assassinate a humble fisherman from Santa Marta, the land where Bolívar died, and which they say is the heart of the world.” "What do you say to the family of the fisherman Alejandro Carranza? He was a humble human being," Petro continued. CNN [10/19/2025 11:52 AM, Alison Main and Natasha Bertrand, 606K] reports that the strikes are a part of the Trump administration’s hardening stance against South American countries allegedly involved in smuggling illicit drugs into the US. The president recently authorized the CIA to operate in Venezuela and has been weighing military action inside the country as part of a pressure campaign to oust President Nicolás Maduro. Trump has also clashed publicly with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who accused the US last week of murdering an innocent Colombian national during one of its Caribbean strikes. Trump announced Sunday he would cancel all US payments and subsidies to the country. Petro responded on X, calling Trump "ignorant" and denying his involvement in illegal drug trade. The Trump administration has produced a classified legal opinion seeking to justify lethal strikes against a secret and expansive list of cartels and suspected drug traffickers, CNN has reported. The opinion is significant, legal experts previously told CNN, because it appears to give grounds for the president designating drug traffickers as enemy combatants and having them summarily killed without legal review. Historically, people involved in drug trafficking have been considered criminals with due process rights, with the Coast Guard interdicting drug-trafficking vessels and arresting smugglers.

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AP [10/19/2025 8:53 PM, Chris Megerian, Dánica Coto and Astrid Suárez, 31753K] reports the United States will slash assistance to Colombia because its leader, Gustavo Petro, "does nothing to stop" drug production, President Donald Trump said Sunday, escalating the friction between Washington and one of its closest allies in Latin America. In a social media post, Trump referred to Petro as "an illegal drug leader" who is "low rated and very unpopular." The Republican president warned that Petro "better close up" drug operations "or the United States will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely.” Hours later, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the latest U.S. strike on a vessel that was allegedly carrying "substantial amounts of narcotics.” He said the vessel was associated with a Colombian rebel group — the National Liberation Army, or ELN — that has been in conflict with Petro’s government. He did not provide any evidence for his assertions, but he shared a brief video clip of a boat engulfed in flames after an explosion on Friday. Petro, who can be as vocal on social media as his American counterpart, rejected Trump’s accusations and defended his work to fight narcotics in Colombia, the world’s largest exporter of cocaine. "Trying to promote peace in Colombia is not being a drug trafficker," Petro wrote. He suggested that Trump was being deceived by his advisers, described himself as "the main enemy" of drugs in his country and said Trump was being "rude and ignorant toward Colombia.” The Colombian Foreign Ministry described Trump’s statement as a "direct threat to national sovereignty by proposing an illegal intervention in Colombian territory." Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez told reporters that the country "has used all its capability and also lost men and women fighting drug trafficking.” Trump’s latest broadside against Petro raises the possibility of an expanding clash in Latin America, where the U.S. has already increased pressure on neighboring Venezuela and its leader, Nicolás Maduro. American naval ships, fighter jets and drones are deployed in the region for what the administration has described as an "armed conflict" with drug cartels. Trump also authorized covert operations inside Venezuela. Unlike Venezuela, Colombia is a longtime U.S. ally and the top recipient of American assistance in the region. But coca cultivation reached an all-time high last year, according to the United Nations, and there has been fresh violence in rural areas where the government spent years battling insurgents before reaching a peace deal a decade ago. Bloomberg [10/19/2025 2:58 PM, Patricia Laya and Skylar Woodhouse, 18207K] reports Trump claimed drug trafficking “has become the biggest business in Colombia” and said Petro “does nothing to stop it” despite years of US funding. “AS OF TODAY, THESE PAYMENTS... WILL NO LONGER BE MADE,” the US president wrote Sunday on social media. The announcement follows Trump’s September decision to “decertify” Colombia as a partner in fighting narcotics, relegating the longtime US ally to the same category as Venezuela, Bolivia, Afghanistan and Myanmar. The move comes amid the largest cocaine boom in history, with most of the supply originating in Colombia, and threatens one of Washington’s closest security alliances in Latin America. Petro hit back, saying on X that “Trump is being deceived” by advisers, and adding that he has done more than any other leader to expose links between drug traffickers and Colombia’s political elite. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said Sunday that he spoke with Trump and that the president plans to impose tariffs on Colombia either Sunday or Monday. “He informed me that he is going to be hitting Colombia, not only their drug dealers and traders, but also where it hurts, in the wallet,” Graham wrote in a post on X. Colombia has received about $14 billion in US aid this century, including roughly $500 million since 2017 for military modernization, demining, and counternarcotics operations. Petro, who took office in 2022, has sought “total peace” through negotiations with guerrillas and crime groups rather than force — a strategy that has yet to curb violence or cocaine output. Unable to seek reelection when his term ends next August, Petro has tried to rally the left to preserve his agenda, portraying Trump as a foil and himself as a global leader of progressive causes. Breitbart [10/20/2025 1:15 AM, Staff, 2416K] reports that the back-and-forth between the pair comes as Trump has conducted a series of strikes targeting alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean. Critics question the legality of the strikes, with the Trump administration defending them on citing undisclosed intelligence confirming the boats are trafficking narcotics. Petro has accused Trump of killing a Colombian fisherman, identified as Alejandro Carranza, in a mid-September strike. Petro on Sunday, before Trump’s announcement, accused the United States of "murder" and of violating Colombia’s sovereignty in territorial waters over Carranza’s killing. "The Colombian boat was adrift and had its distress signal up due to an engine failure," Petro said in a statement.

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Reuters [10/20/2025 2:12 AM, Jeff Mason, Andy Sullivan and David Ljunggren, 42219K] Video: HERE reports U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday night he would raise tariffs on Colombia and stop all payments to the South American nation, escalating a feud that stems from the U.S. military’s strikes on vessels allegedly transporting drugs in the region. Earlier in the day, Trump called Colombian President Gustavo Petro an "illegal drug leader," while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said U.S. forces had attacked a vessel associated with a Colombian rebel group. Petro said the boat belonged to a "humble family," not a rebel group, while his government called Trump’s remarks offensive. Trump’s latest comments marked a new low in relations between Washington and Bogota, which Trump accuses of being complicit in the illicit drug trade. "They don’t have a fight against drugs — they make drugs," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. Petro has objected to the U.S. military’s strikes against vessels in the Caribbean, which have killed dozens of people and inflamed tensions in the region. Many legal experts and human rights activists have also condemned the extraordinary series of military actions. Trump said U.S. financial aid would be cut off to the country and details about the new tariffs would be unveiled on Monday. "I’m stopping all payments to Colombia," he said. It was not clear what funding support Trump was referring to. Colombia was once among the largest recipients of U.S. aid in the Western Hemisphere, but the flow of money was suddenly curtailed this year by the shuttering of USAID, the U.S. government’s humanitarian assistance arm. Colombia currently pays 10% tariffs on most imports to the United States, the baseline level Trump has imposed on many countries. Colombia’s foreign ministry vowed to seek international support in defense of Petro and the country’s autonomy. "These accusations represent an extremely serious act and undermine the dignity of the president of Colombians," it said in a statement. Hegseth wrote on X that the Pentagon had destroyed a vessel and killed three people on Friday "in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility," which includes the Caribbean. He said the ship was affiliated with the leftist rebel group National Liberation Army and was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, without offering evidence to back the claim. The Pentagon said it had nothing to add beyond Hegseth’s initial post. Petro condemned the bombing, saying the boat belonged to a "humble family," not the National Liberation Army. He also hit back at Trump’s remarks. "Mr. Trump, Colombia has never been rude to the United States... but you are rude and ignorant to Colombia," Petro said on X. "Since I am not a businessman, I am even less a drug trafficker. There is no greed in my heart." Earlier this month, Petro said one of the strikes hit a Colombian vessel, an allegation the Trump administration denied. Last month, the United States revoked Petro’s visa after he joined a pro-Palestinian demonstration in New York and urged U.S. soldiers to disobey Trump’s orders. Colombia is fighting its own longstanding drug problems. Last year, Petro pledged to tame coca-growing regions in the country with massive social and military intervention, but the strategy has brought little success. In September, Trump designated countries such as Afghanistan, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia and Venezuela among those the United States believes to have "failed demonstrably" in upholding counternarcotics agreements during the past year.

ABC 7 Sarasota [10/19/2025 4:03 PM, Thad Randazzo, 31733K] reports on October 20, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will host a media briefing in Sarasota to provide an update on ICE operations and Trump administration enforcement efforts. More than 480,000 arrests of high-priority individuals, allegedly in the country illegally, have been made in just over 270 days, law enforcement reports. The conference will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Monday.

CNN [10/20/2025 4:01 AM, Cindy Von Quednow, 18595K] reports days before he was ordered to appear in front of a US district judge to answer pressing questions about the immigration crackdown in Chicago, the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement field director is heading out of town and two other officials are set to testify Monday instead. The judge at the center of the discussion said she didn’t want to meddle in who testifies before her, as long as they answer her questions about what’s been going on during clashes between federal agents and demonstrators in Chicago, the latest target of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Last week, the judge expanded her existing restraining order restricting federal tactics against ICE protesters by instructing agents to turn on body-worn cameras while encountering demonstrators. Tensions continue to flare as federal agents have been deployed across the city in recent weeks for what the Trump administration calls “Operation Midway Blitz,” an ICE effort that has resulted in more than 1,000 arrests of migrants across Illinois between September 8 and October 3, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

CNN [10/19/2025 7:00 AM, Natasha Bertrand and Avery Schmitz, 606K] reports the US military has been steadily massing a large number of troops, naval and air assets in the Caribbean over the last two months, conducting training missions off the coast of Venezuela, reopening a military base in Puerto Rico that had been shuttered for decades, and attacking speedboats carrying suspected drug traffickers from Venezuela and Colombia. As of Tuesday, a significant percentage of all deployed US naval assets globally are also now located in US Southern Command, the US military’s command responsible for operations in the region, according to a fleet tracker published by the United States Naval Institute’s news portal. That includes the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, amounting to more than 4,500 Marines and sailors, three guided-missile destroyers, an attack submarine, a special operations ship, a guided missile cruiser and P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft. At the same time, the US has deployed 10 F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico, which has become a hub for the US military as part of the increased focus on the Caribbean. The US has also deployed at least three MQ-9 reaper drones to the island, according to images captured by Reuters in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.

Breitbart [10/19/2025 11:19 AM, Kurt Zindulka, 2416K] reports a letter signed by a group of 19 EU member states and Norway has called on Brussels to green light the return of illegal and criminal Afghan migrants back to the Taliban-run state. Belgian Minister for Asylum and Migration Anneleen Van Bossuyt revealed on Friday that Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Germany, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Sweden have signed a letter this week backing the deportation of Afghan nationals. The countries argued that the failure of the European Commission to negotiate a returns deal with the Islamist Taliban regime is preventing member states from deporting illegals and even convicted criminals. The letter said that this is creating a national security threat and is undermining "public confidence in asylum policy.” "We have sent a clear and strong message to the European Commission: we cannot afford to stand still any longer. It is high time for a decisive and joint approach, so that Europe regains control over migration and security," Minister Van Bossuyt said. "Without comprehensive returns, every asylum and migration policy fails. The EU must send a clear message: those who are not entitled to protection or residency in Europe and, in the process, threaten our society must return," she added. The Belgian minister said that over half of all Afghan asylum applications are rejected, yet 2,815 Afghan nationals who should have been deported remain in reception centres. Van Bossuyt went on to note that Afghans, in particular, pose a security risk in such centres. "In 2024, Afghans were the second most likely to have committed serious incidents in our reception centres," she said. "We cannot continue to ignore that.” The letter to European Commissioner for Asylum and Migration Magnus Brunner stated that across the EU 22,870 Afghans were issued with deportation orders last year. However, only 435 were actually returned to their country of origin, representing a success rate of just 2 per cent. "The organization of voluntary and forced return to Afghanistan is a shared European challenge that requires a coherent and collective response. It is therefore essential that the European Union addresses this matter at the EU level, treating return and reintegration to Afghanistan as a joint responsibility," the letter urged.

Breitbart [10/19/2025 11:26 AM, Pam Key, 2416K] reports Sunday on NBC’s "Meet the Press," Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) claimed President Donald Trump’s military strikes against suspected drug boats were not legal. Host Kristen Welker said, "President Trump has authorized military strikes against suspected drug boats in the Caribbean, as you know, so far more than 20 people, senator, have been killed in six different strikes. Do you believe that these strikes against these suspected drug boats are legal?". Paul said, "No, they go against all of our tradition. When you kill someone if you’re not in war, and not in a declared war you really need to know someone’s name, at least. You have to accuse them of something and you have to present evidence. All of these people have been blown up without us knowing their name and without evidence of a crime. For decades and if not centuries when you stop people at sea in international waters or in your own waters you announce that you’re going to board the ship and you’re looking for contraband, smuggling or drugs. This happens every day off of Miami, but we know from Coast Guard statistics that about 25% of the time the Coast Guard boards a ship there are no drugs. So if our policy now is to blow up every ship we suspect or accuse of drug running, that would be a bizarre world in which 25% of the people might be innocent.”

Washington Examiner [10/19/2025 11:19 AM, Maydeen Merino, 1394K] reports Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said President Donald Trump’s military strikes against suspected Venezuelan drug boats go "against all of our tradition.” The U.S. military carried out a strike on a suspected Venezuelan drug vessel in international waters of the Caribbean on Thursday, leaving several survivors. As of mid-October, the U.S. military has carried out at least six strikes killing more than 20 people as part of Trump’s efforts to crack down on drug trafficking. Paul said on Meet the Press on Sunday that these actions "go against all of our tradition" and added, "All these people have been blown up without us knowing their name, without any evidence of a crime.” "So if our policy now is to blow up every ship we suspect or accuse of drug running, that would be a bizarre world in which 25% of people might be innocent," Paul said. The recent U.S. military strike escalated the administration’s efforts to target vessels transporting narcotics into the United States by sea. Trump confirmed the strike on Saturday, stating on Truth Social, "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 on Wednesday said that he has also authorized the CIA to begin land-based operations against narcoterrorists based in Venezuela. He told reporters that he is "certainly looking at" the possibility of land strikes in Venezuela, "because we’ve got the sea under control.”

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Politico [10/19/2025 11:14 AM, David Cohen, 13586K] reports Sen. Rand Paul on Sunday questioned the wisdom and legality of President Donald Trump’s policies toward Venezuela and suspected drug dealers coming from its coast. Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the Kentucky Republican again raised concerns about the legality of the Trump administration’s strikes on boats that it claims are carrying drug traffickers, as well as the president’s statement that the United States might conduct direct attacks on Venezuela’s territory. “When you kill someone, you should know, if you’re not at war, not in a declared war, you really need to know someone’s name at least,” Paul said. “You have to accuse them of something. You have to present evidence. So all of these people have been blown up without us knowing their name, without any evidence of a crime.” He said that given the distance these boats are from the United States, it’s more likely that if there are indeed drug smugglers, they are bringing them to nearby islands such as Trinidad and Tobago, instead of the U.S. Paul added: “For decades, if not centuries, when you stop people at sea in international waters or in your own waters, you announce that you’re going to board the ship and you’re looking for contraband, smuggling, or drugs. This happens every day off of Miami. But we know from Coast Guard statistics that about 25 percent of the time the Coast Guard boards a ship there are no drugs. So if our policy now is to blow up every ship we suspect or accuse of drug running, that would be a bizarre world in which 25 percent of the people might be innocent.” He also wondered about the wisdom of telling another country that the United States planned to conduct secret operations aimed at its government. “If you announce that you’re going to have covert CIA action, it’s no longer covert,” he said to host Kristen Welker. “So if you’re going to spy on a country you usually don’t announce that you’re going to spy on a country. So it’s a little bit unusual there. I do think there are members of his administration who have been agitating for war with Venezuela for a long, long period of time.” This is not the first time that Paul has challenged American policy on Venezuela, particularly the extra-judicial killing of possible drug smugglers. “What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial,” Paul wrote on X in September after Vice President JD Vance praised the policy. Paul also said that though he is critical of Trump in some policy areas, he holds him in very high regard. “I’ve known the president for over a decade,” Paul told Welker. “I’ve played golf with him many, many times. I enjoy his company. I was one of his biggest defenders on impeachment and would do so again. I think he’s one of the best presidents, if not the best president, of my lifetime. But it doesn’t mean I will sit quietly and say, ‘Oh well, whatever you want to do.’”

The Hill [10/19/2025 12:00 PM, Ellen Mitchell, 12595K] reports the abrupt retirement of the four-star Navy admiral overseeing the U.S. military’s strikes against boats in the Caribbean is raising alarms as to the validity of the attacks and the Trump administration’s broader plans in the region. In a surprise move, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday announced that U.S. Southern Command (Southcom) head Adm. Alvin Holsey would step down at the end of the year, two years ahead of schedule. Southcom oversees all operations in Central and South America, and multiple outlets have reported that Holsey and Hegseth were at odds over the U.S. mission in the Caribbean. Holsey’s unexpected departure, set for Dec. 12, means Southcom is without its top military commander at a time when the Trump administration is building up U.S. forces in the Caribbean and increasingly targeting vessels off the Venezuelan coast it says are transporting drugs — most recently on Thursday — escalating a standoff with the government of President Nicolás Maduro. "Everything we’re seeing is setting off alarm bells," said Brian Finucane, a national security lawyer with the International Crisis Group, an organization focused on conflict resolution. "The military buildup in the Caribbean, these lawless strikes on vessels there … the administration talking about potential action in Venezuela. None of this is being undertaken with congressional authorization.” Holsey’s retirement announcement comes as the Trump administration has steadily escalated its actions and rhetoric toward the Venezuelan government, quietly shifting roughly 10,000 troops in addition to warships, fighter jets and a nuclear submarine to the Caribbean in support of what officials say are counternarcotics operations. The majority of the service members are based in Puerto Rico, with eight Navy ships and one submarine in the region. Hegseth said last week that the Defense Department is forming a new counternarcotics joint task force to "crush" drug cartels, which would operate in the Southcom area of responsibility.

FOX News [10/19/2025 2:41 PM, Madison Colombo, 40621K] reports a suspected terrorist allegedly linked to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel has been arrested in Louisiana. House Speaker Mike Johnson called the revelation "alarming," blaming the former Biden administration’s border policies for allowing the suspect into the country. "I had no idea. It’s alarming to all of us, but I’m certainly glad that we have an administration who is prioritizing rounding up these dangerous people. It’s a great relief to a lot of folks down there," Johnson said on "The Sunday Briefing.” Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub Al-Muhtadi, a Gazan native living in Louisiana, was arrested by the FBI in early October. The Justice Department said Al-Muhtadi was an operative of a paramilitary group that participated in Hamas’ 2023 attack on Israel. The Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israel killed roughly 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials, and sparked the ongoing war in the Middle East that has killed tens of thousands in Gaza. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said records show the suspect entered the United States in September 2024, nearly a year after the attack, using a fraudulently obtained visa. "After hiding out in the United States, this monster has been found and charged with participating in the atrocities of October 7 — the single deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a press release.

The Hill [10/19/2025 4:23 PM, Sarah Fortinsky, 12595K] reports Democrats criticized the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for purchasing, during the government shutdown, two high-end private jets for the secretary and other top officials to use for their official travel. The U.S. Coast Guard entered into a contract with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation on Friday to procure two G700 jets for more than $170 million, according to documents posted to a public government procurement website. The jets, according to a Coast Guard press release, will replace planes that were as much as 20 years old and were "experiencing several unplanned maintenance issues." The Coast Guard said the aircraft "are required to provide official travel" for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar and top commandants of the Coast Guard. "The timing of this investment underscores the Coast Guard’s vital need to modernize its command and control capabilities to meet today’s rapidly evolving operational demands. As maritime activity increases and national security challenges grow more complex, maintaining reliable air mobility is essential to ensuring continuity of operations and mission success," Adm. Kevin Lunday, acting commandant of the Coast Guard, said in a statement. But congressional Democrats say the purchase of the luxury jets does not align with the funding requests originally made for the department, and they raised questions over the source of the funds for the luxury jets. In a letter to Noem, House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) requested additional information on the purchase.

CNN [10/19/2025 8:00 AM, Chelsea Bailey, 606K] reports a nine-letter social media post was all it took for the Department of Homeland Security to spark a torrent of backlash online this week, drawing the ire of politicians and prompting comparisons to Europe’s far right. On Tuesday afternoon, DHS posted a declaration on X for immigrants to "remigrate," threading a link to the agency’s self-deportation app. At first glance, the post could be seen as a straightforward reference to the Trump administration’s long-standing immigration policies, which have called for immigrants to "voluntarily self-deport" back to their home countries. But experts who study and monitor extremism and the far right told CNN they’d urge caution when invoking the word, which has historic roots, including Nazi ideology and, more recently, a violent conspiracy theory that’s inspired terrorist attacks in the US and abroad. Extremism expert Cynthia Miller-Idriss was researching Nazi iconography for her 2019 book when she said she came across an image that made her pause.The picture – emblazoned on a T-shirt – showed Jewish people being loaded onto a ship bound for Madagascar. It was captioned, "Have a nice trip," she said. And it was a reference to the Nazis’ "Madagascar Plan.” In the late 1930s, "before the concentration camps and gas chambers … there was a solution to remigrate Jews to Madagascar," Miller-Idriss explained. Indeed, Adolf Hitler weighed multiple remigration policies and other antisemitic proposals before arriving at his final, devastating solution to the "Jewish Question" – the Holocaust. And although the world vowed "never again," Miller-Idriss said decades later, neo-Nazis were proudly wearing references to the antisemitic remigration proposal on T-shirts. Remigration is "this idea that you should send people ‘who don’t belong in this country’ to another place," Miller-Idriss said. While remigration isn’t often used in daily conversation, Miller-Idriss told CNN in recent years the concept has found a champion in a new far-right conspiracy: The Great Replacement Theory. The far right believes "any particular state that has a White majority population that wants to retain it – or restore it – you would have to get rid of people of color," Miller-Idriss said. "And you either do that violently … or by remigrating them.” Although many have likely never heard of the replacement theory, we’ve all lived through its violent consequences. CNN asked DHS to further explain the policies and context behind Tuesday’s controversial social media post. In response, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin questioned the reporter’s ability to understand English. "Is the English language too difficult for you?" McLaughlin wrote in email, before citing the Collins English Dictionary’s definition of the verb "remigrate.” "We urge all illegal aliens to remigrate and self-deport using the CBP Home app," McLaughlin said. But when pressed to respond to CNN’s initial inquiry about the controversy over the post – and its far-right connotations – McLaughlin did not respond. "The best-case scenario is that’s not what DHS intends, and in that case, they should choose a different word because (remigrate) is a signal," Miller-Idriss said.

New York Times [10/19/2025 8:00 AM, By Corina Knoll, 153395K] 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.

Daily Caller [10/19/2025 6:44 PM, Harold Hutchison, 835K] reports a protester at Saturday’s "No Kings" rally in Seattle was recorded telling a reporter he apparently wanted to kill White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. Dozens of protests against President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies took place Oct. 18 nationwide. Journalist Brandi Kruse posted the video of the protester being interviewed while holding a sign which read, "Would You Like To Kill Nazis [With] Me?” "Who are you gonna kill?" Kruse asked in the video. "Nazis," the man responded. "Who do you define as a Nazi?" the reporter followed up, to which the man asked, "What do you mean?" During multiple campaigns, including the 2024 presidential election and the 2022 midterm elections, numerous Democrats sought to cast President Donald Trump and other Republicans as fascists or threats to democracy. "In this context, who is a Nazi?" Kruse asked. "Stephen Miller is a Nazi," the protestor responded. "You’re going to kill Stephen Miller," the reporter repeated, apparently stunned, before the protester replied, "If I had the chance, yeah, I would.” Kruse later reported the FBI was investigating the man’s threats. Kruse also posted a video showing another protester who said killing Miller would be "justifiable.”

Breitbart [10/19/2025 2:58 PM, Bob Price and Lana Shadwick, 2416K] reports thousands of demonstrators flooded downtown Houston on Saturday in a coordinated series of "No Kings" protests targeting President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies. Organized by the 50501 Movement—a left-wing coalition that emerged online earlier this year—the protests spanned more than a dozen locations across the Houston metro area, including City Hall, Discovery Green, and suburban communities like Katy, Pearland, and The Woodlands. A mostly-white, mostly older crowd gathered near City Hall, where a diverse range of speakers addressed various topics, including anti-ICE immigration enforcement, anti-Trump policies, civil rights, issues affecting "marginalized communities," Free Palestine, housing, healthcare, public safety, the Epstein files, creative resistance, and electoral mobilization. Texas Democrat firebrand Congresswoman Jasimine Crockett fired up the anti-Trump crowd, saying, "We know what lawlessness looks like. Lawlessness looks like ICE going and disappearing people," Houston Public Media reported.

CBS News [10/19/2025 9:05 PM, Scott Pelley, Aaron Weisz, Aliza Chasan, and Ian Flickinger, 39474K] reports Erez Reuveni, a fired Department of Justice lawyer who’s now blowing the whistle, says he witnessed a disregard of due process and for the rule of law at the DOJ. Reuveni previously won commendations for his work and was so effective defending President Trump’s first-term immigration policy that he was promoted quickly in Mr. Trump’s second term. But he says he was put on leave and then fired after refusing to sign a brief in the mistaken deportation case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Reuveni’s whistleblower disclosure helped highlight a growing concern in many courts across the country that the Justice Department is allegedly abusing the limits of the law. "I took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. And my view of that oath is that I need to speak up and draw attention to what has happened to the department, what is happening to the rule of law," Reuveni said. "I would not be faithfully abiding by my oath if I stayed silent right now." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS News [10/19/2025 7:02 PM, Scott Pelley, 39474K] reports Erez Reuveni was on his way up. He was an attorney in the Department of Justice who was so effective defending President Trump’s first-term immigration policy, that he was promoted right away in Trump’s second term. But Reuveni’s 15-year Justice Department career ended suddenly after, he says, he witnessed government lawyers lying in court and evading orders of a judge. These last few months have been a time of upheaval in the Justice Department. Now, Reuveni’s claims are raising concern in courtrooms across the country. The administration has called Reuveni a leaker seeking five minutes of fame. But in his first television interview, Erez Reuveni told us, he’s paid a price: speaking up cost him his dream. Erez Reuveni: Even before I went to law school, I understood what I wanted to do as a lawyer was to be involved in public service. And everyone understood at the time. You do it at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. There’s no better place as a young attorney to just do the sorts of cases where you’re standing up in court as a first-chair attorney on behalf of the United States, doing things that law firm partners don’t do. Scott Pelley: And that meant what to you? Erez Reuveni: That meant I was there on behalf of the American people, on behalf of the millions of citizens of this country to make sure that justice was done. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Telemundo [10/20/2025 12:13 AM, Dennis Romero, 2218K] reports the U.S. Marines launched an investigation this weekend after California Highway Patrol reported that artillery shell shrapnel struck a local law enforcement vehicle. The artillery was detonated "prematurely" during a celebration and demonstration of amphibious forces for the 250th anniversary of the Marines held at Camp Pendleton, attended by Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth . The state government had warned that a demonstration with live ammunition was excessive and "absurd," but White House officials assured them there was no cause for concern. The California Highway Patrol said at least one of its vehicles, which was on Interstate 5 to redirect traffic, was struck during the demonstration, according to a statement from the department. "It’s a concerning and unusual situation," said Tony Coronado, a Marine with the California Highway Patrol’s Border Patrol Division. "It’s very unusual for any explosives training or demonstration firing to occur on an actively used highway," he said. Marine Expeditionary Force spokesman Capt. Gregory Dreibelbis said Sunday that Marine Corps officials "are aware of reports of a possible detonation of a 155mm artillery round outside the designated impact area." Photographs shared by state authorities show holes in the hood of a police vehicle that the CHP said was nearly a mile away from the Marines’ demonstration site at Red Beach on San Diego County’s north coast. According to the CHP report, a motorcycle officer also found shrapnel near his vehicle. California Governor Gavin Newsom had criticized plans to use live munitions so close to the interstate. Newsom, a Democrat who has clashed with the Trump administration, said that holding the demonstration due to the presence of White House officials would affect many people due to the temporary closure of Interstate 5, which typically handles about 80,000 vehicles daily. Newsom said before Saturday’s event that it was a "ludicrous show of force," and on Sunday, following the CHP reports, he denounced that "this situation could have killed people." A spokeswoman for Newsom added that while "we all appreciate our Marines and owe a lot to the people of Camp Pendleton, next time neither the vice president nor the White House should be so careless when they want to hold these vanity events." The White House had not responded to requests for comment as of Sunday evening. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Post [10/20/2025 5:01 AM, David Ovalle, 32099K] reports as the government shutdown drags into its third week, the White House and Republican lawmakers continue to assert Democrats are to blame for the standstill because their health care demands would help undocumented immigrants. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) has focused on the issue during the shutdown debate, claiming Sunday in an ABC “This Week” interview that Democrats “want to reinstate free health care, paid for by taxpayers, to illegal aliens.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) told NBC’s Meet the Press this month that federal law already prohibits the spending of taxpayer dollars to provide health care to undocumented immigrants. The reality of how undocumented immigrants receive health care doesn’t easily match either side’s portrayal, according to health policy experts and the medical providers who serve this population. Immigrants living in the United States illegally are ineligible for federal health plans, including Medicaid and Medicare, as well as insurance sold through Affordable Care Act marketplaces. But federal money can indirectly help those immigrants by reimbursing hospitals that are required to provide emergency care to all patients and by supporting state Medicaid programs that use their own money to offer coverage to patients without legal status. The White House has argued that restoring Biden-era Medicaid benefits “will serve as a magnet for illegal immigration into the United States.” Immigration advocates and Democrats say Republicans have distorted and exaggerated the toll on taxpayers and that the stakes of the shutdown health care standoff primarily affect U.S. citizens. The more common experience for millions of people living in the United States illegally is that they often forgo routine medical appointments, pay out of pocket for specialized care, rely on community clinics and turn to emergency rooms as a last resort, according to health care providers and immigrant advocates.

Wall Street Journal [10/19/2025 4:23 PM, Mary Anastasia O’Grady, 646K] reports U.S. Customs and Border Protection isn’t known for its humility. An admission that it messed up is a big deal. Yet it took that unusual step, in an Oct. 10 press release finally acknowledging that it had been wrong to assert that Brazilian national Filipe Martins entered the U.S. in late December 2022. The CBP correction comes more than 18 months after Mr. Martins, an adviser to the government of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, proved to U.S. authorities that he hadn’t left Brazil at that time. Why did the CBP claim that he had and then refuse, until now, to admit that no such record exists? It’s doubtful it was a mere bureaucratic snafu. The fake CBP electronic logs were used to advance a politically motivated prosecution against him in Brazil, and it’s hard to believe that was coincidental. Justice Alexandre de Moraes of the Brazilian Supreme Court—a staunch opponent of Mr. Bolsonaro and his team—was able to use, in CBP’s words, the “erroneous record to justify Mr. Martins’ monthslong imprisonment.” That incarceration was part of a de Moraes effort to squeeze members of the former president’s inner circle to convict him and his lieutenants of plotting a coup d’état against his successor, President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva. Someone at CBP or the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which supervises the agency, deserves extra credit for exposing this travesty. CBP says the investigation continues, and that’s good because the job isn’t done. The case has all the hallmarks of foreign penetration inside CBP. But the public won’t know until it learns who got into the agency’s system and put Mr. Martins’s name with a false entry date on the website’s “travel history” page and later created the fake legal record, known as an I-94. And why. Also, why did it take so long to correct the I-94 record, and why has the “travel history” page still not been corrected? Mr. Bolsonaro lost a bid for re-election in October 2022. Before and after the vote, he complained bitterly about the lack of a process for auditing the electronic balloting system. But he flew to the U.S. at the end of December 2022 and thus relinquished the office voluntarily. He didn’t attend Lula’s Jan. 1, 2023, inauguration.

ABC’s This Week With George Stephanopoulos [10/19/2025 12:33 PM, Staff, 2162K] reports Speaker Of The House Rep. Mike Johnson called the "No King" rallies, "Hate America" rallies. Johnson congratulated the people he says hate America on being violent free during their free speech exercise. Johnson went on to say that the rallies are ironic. "I was a First Amendment lawyer for 20 years. We defend that right. But the irony of the message is pretty clear for everyone. If President Trump was a king, the government would be open right now. If President Trump was a king, they would not have been able to engage in that free speech exercise out on The Mall, by the way, which was open because President Trump hasn’t closed it. In the last shutdown, 2013 era, President Obama closed The National Mall, closed all the national parks, didn’t allow people to engage in all this.: Johnson comments.

ABC’s This Week With George Stephanopoulos [10/19/2025 12:33 PM, Staff, 2162K] reports during “THE JOE ROGAN EXPERIENCE” the host Joe Rogan comments on the mass deportations and how ICE are handlings them. "The way it looks is horrific. It looks -- it -- when you’re just arresting people in front of their kids and just normal regular people that have been here for 20 years -- That -- everybody who has a heart can’t get along with that." Rogan says solemnly. Speaker Johnson is asked if he thinks that the ICE raids have gone to far, or could go to far. "I think everybody is aware of the optics. But I do believe in the rule of law. And I believe the American people were alarmed that the border was wide open for four years. And by many estimates, as many as 20 million illegal aliens got into the country, many of them hardened, dangerous criminals." Johnsons comments. We are seeing people that have been in the country 20 years or more that have families, that have American citizens as children, as spouses, that are facing rough deportations. Johnson says that no one takes any pleasure in the deportations. "What ICE has prioritized is the dangerous, hardened criminals first. And there was probably a few million of those, OK? So, they’ve been trying to round them up and send them back home, with great success. And by the way, the border is totally sealed now. Almost zero illegal crossings over the last four months. Almost zero. Which proves again the point that President Biden could have done that at any time. He did not want to use that authority. They wanted the wide-open border. So now we all have to deal with the fallout of that. With tens of millions of illegals into the country, ICE has a very difficult job, a very difficult task. And they need to be efficacious and efficient in the way they do this. But they have to ensure that we have the rule of law. If you don’t have a sovereign border, you don’t have a sovereign country." Johnson states.

NBC’s Meet the Press [10/19/2025 11:28 AM, Staff, 2275K] reports President Trump is poised to have a second summit with President Putin in Budapest. Sen. Rand Paul is asked if he thinks that this second summit between Putin and Trump will be worthwhile. "I think the most important thing that Zelenskyy said this morning was that he was willing to negotiate with a ceasefire with troops in place. And I think that’s an important step forward because if we wait and say, "Oh, we’ll negotiate when Russia leaves Ukraine," I think negotiations never start. But I think the other thing that could happen, you know, with President Trump moving forward is everybody talks about, "Well, there needs to be more force on Putin." There may not be enough force to get Putin to do what we want. But there’s also the other half of the equation. There’s the stick, but there’s also the carrot. We have a lot of sanctions. We have almost no trade with Russia. We’ve tried to force the world not to trade with Russia. You know, exchanging that for real peace, re-instituting and opening up trade is a huge carrot. But most people in Congress, when I hear them talk, they say, "Oh, we’re never getting rid of the sanctions until they give the land back." The problem with that is then the carrot’s not effective because Russia says, "We fought for it, and our soldiers died for it, we’re not giving it back." But there’s a possibility of more trade and lessening of tension and lessening of – of the sanctions where they would have more trade with the West, I think that’s a carrot that might induce them to a peace agreement." Senator Paul states.

FOX News Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo [10/19/2025 11:28 AM, Staff] reports President Donald Trump talks China, surveillance on Republican lawmakers and the indictment of former National Security Advisor John Bolton on ‘Sunday Morning Futures.’

FOX News Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo [10/19/2025 11:28 AM, Staff] reports President Donald Trump joins ‘Sunday Morning Futures’ to discuss China’s restrictions on rare earth mineral exports, the legality of his tariff policies and his outlook for the U.S. economy.

FOX News Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo [10/19/2025 11:28 AM, Staff] reports President Donald Trump joins ‘Sunday Morning Futures’ to discuss the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars, efforts to strengthen U.S. relations abroad and the push for lasting peace in the Middle East.

NBC’s Meet the Press [10/19/2025 11:28 AM, Staff, 2275K] reports President Zelenskyy says that Trump didn’t say yes to the Tomahawk missiles but he didn’t say no. In the beginning of the week, President Trump seemed open to giving Ukraine Tomahawk missiles. Then after speaking to President Putin, he changed his tone. President Zelenskyy is asked what he thinks changed Trumps tune. "I don’t know really, because we didn’t meet before this phone call. But for today, it’s good, again, that he didn’t say “no”, yes, but I think that, you know, what he understands, maybe understood after phone call — I don’t know, I was not in during phone call — but I knew about the Tomahawks, it’s very sensitive for Russians. They’re afraid that United States can deliver Ukraine — I think that Putin [is] afraid that United States will deliver us Tomahawks. And I think that he’s really afraid that we will use — and he knows what military goals we know where they are, where the military goals of Russia. And he’s afraid that we can use it. And that’s why we are where we are." Zelenskyy comments. Zelenskyy expressed disappointment that Trumps answer wasn’t a "yes" to the Tomahawks.

NBC’s Meet the Press [10/19/2025 11:28 AM, Staff, 2275K] reports Russia has launched some of its biggest attacks against Ukraine since President Trump’s summit with President Putin in Alaska. President Zelenskyy gives a sense of what’s happening right now on the battlefield. Is Ukraine losing this war or winning this war? "Well, we are not losing this war, and Putin is not winning. And really, his army now [is] in a weak position. I think so, because they really from the beginning of this war, they could occupy 1% of our land, but they spent 1,300,000 people and I think this is high price, yes, for such land. And really I don’t understand why the leader of the country, which has the biggest territory in the world, they need some more kilometers — that’s why I think that this war is not about the land and not about territory for him. It’s about our sovereignty and about our independence. And he can get it how to get different instruments, territories [is] one of the instruments, that’s about it. On the battlefield, he’s not winning. That’s why he really escalates airstrikes. And you are right, he’s using missiles and drones on our — he wants disaster — energy disaster during this winter by attacking us, each day 500 Iranian drones and 20-30 missiles. That’s why we need air defense and long-range. He has to feel what we feel." Zelenskyy states.

NPR [10/19/2025 7:00 AM, Ximena Bustillo, 28013K] Audio: HERE Samantha Surovtsev met her husband, Roman Surovtsev, in 2017 while jet skiing. When they started dating, Surovtsev was honest about his past. He told her that he had come from the former Soviet Union as a refugee at the age of four. And that when he was a teenager, his green card was revoked after pleading guilty to carjacking and burglary charges in California. He explained that after being released from prison, in 2014, he spent time in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody while they tried — and failed — to deport him to Ukraine and Russia. Both countries, according to legal filings reviewed by NPR, could not provide or confirm Surovtsev’s citizenship since he left before the fall of the Soviet Union. They couldn’t give him the travel documents needed for deportation. Since then, each year, Roman Surovtsev did a check-in with ICE. In the meantime, the Surovtsevs’ lives followed the path of thousands of immigrants in the U.S. who are considered stateless. They got married, had kids, and launched a small commercial painting business in Texas. Then, one day in early August, what should have been a 10-minute errand at a kiosk at the Dallas ICE field office for one those regular check-ins turned into 30 minutes of waiting in the parking lot, "praying that he wouldn’t be detained," his wife told NPR. "There were tears involved, just not knowing what was on the other side of that appointment," Samantha Surovtsev recalled. Then she got that call: "I panicked. I panicked because it said, ‘This is a call from a detainee.’". Roman Surovtsev joined the trend of others who are detained at their regularly scheduled check-ins with ICE, to meet the administration’s one-million-person annual deportation target. What makes his case different is that his wife has marshalled a team of lawyers on his behalf. Unlike hundreds of others the Trump administration has vowed to deport as part of its mass deportation goal, Surovtsev has a chance to make his case in front of a judge. According to the Surovtsevs’ lawyers and court filings, ICE has been trying for a second time to deport Roman to Ukraine, which does not have the documentation to prove his citizenship and could draft him into armed conflict. In court filings, his lawyers argue his re-detention is unconstitutional since there’s been no change to make it easier to deport him to his place of birth and that there is "not a significant likelihood that Roman would be removed in the reasonably foreseeable future.” The absurdity of his situation was highlighted at the Bluebonnet Detention Center in Texas. The north Texas detention site, which was over its population capacity this summer, also housed Venezuelan migrants. Surovtsev was given deportation travel paperwork in Ukrainian, according to a court declaration from Zachery Hagerty, the deportation officer processing Surovtsev. Surovtsev, who is fluent in English, does not speak or read Ukrainian. In court filings, the Justice Department, which argues these cases on behalf of the government, said that the re-detention is legal because the agency has once again requested new travel documents from Ukraine.

New York Post [10/19/2025 3:02 PM, Anna Young, 42219K] reports an illegal migrant posted a twisted TikTok video offering $10,000 to anyone who killed an ICE agent — and the feds later found him with a loaded gun, officials said. Eduardo Aguilar, 23, was nabbed Tuesday in Dallas, Texas, after posting the chilling footage Oct. 9 seeking "10 dudes" in the city who would be ready to take down federal immigration agents in exchange for the money, according to the Justice Department and Homeland Security. The Mexican national’s Spanish post said, "10 dudes in Dallas with determination who aren’t afraid to [skull emojis]" — often slang for death — followed by a message offering "10K for each ICE agent.” The menacing text appeared over a photo of Dallas, where the unhinged man lives, court documents showed. "Threats against our law enforcement officers are completely unacceptable," said Nancy Larson, acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, in a statement. "All threats against our agents and officers will be investigated thoroughly, and anyone who threatens or puts a bounty on agents will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent.” Officials said a loaded .9mm handgun was found in Aguilar’s vehicle when he was arrested — a violation of federal law barring illegal migrants from carrying firearms. Aguilar crossed the border illegally in 2018 as an unaccompanied minor, and a year later, a judge issued a final order of removal. He has since piled up liquor-related charges, according to Homeland Security. "We are thankful this illegal alien who had a firearm in his possession was arrested before he could kill one of our law enforcement officers," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. "Our agents are facing ambushes, terrorist attacks, and death threats, all because they dare to enforce the laws passed by Congress. We will not back down from these threats, and every criminal, terrorist, and illegal alien will face American justice.”

Law Enforcement Today [10/120/25 9:04 PM, Pat Droney] reports this may not please Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) or Boston Mayor Michelle Wu (D), but it will make Massachusetts residents and visitors a bit safer. A news release issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reports that over 1,400 illegal aliens have been apprehended throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts “during a week-long immigration enforcement operation.” The operation targeted “transnational organized crime, gangs, and egregious illegal alien offenders.” The operation, named Operation Patriot 2.0, included officers from ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston and ICE Homeland Security Investigations New England, along with partners from the FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the DEA, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, and the U.S. Marshals Service. All told, 1,406 illegal aliens were arrested between Sept. 4 and Sept. 30. “Patriot 2.0 exposed the grave consequences of sanctuary policies and the urgent need for local leaders to prioritize their constituents’ safety over politics,” acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons said. “Every illegal alien we arrested during the operation was breaking U.S. immigration law, and hundreds were violent criminals who should never have been allowed to roam freely in our communities. Local law enforcement agencies released them instead of handing them over to us in a secure environment, and this puts neighborhoods, law enforcement officers, and illegal aliens at risk. Local politicians are responsible for protecting their constituents, so they need to step up and end irresponsible sanctuary policies.” It should be noted that Massachusetts, despite denials to the contrary, is a sanctuary state.

CBS News [10/19/2025 10:24 AM, Lee Cowan, 39474K] Video: HERE reports there is still a place where you can walk freely across an international border, no questions asked. The only protest is the squeaking floorboards near the well-worn boundary line painted on the floor. This is the Haskell Free Library and Opera House, a Victorian palace to art, culture and education that actually has dual citizenship, because part of it sits in Stanstead, Quebec, while the other half stretches into Derby Line, Vermont. It was the vision of Martha Stewart Haskell, a wealthy Canadian who married a wealthy American. She had it built in 1901 as a gift, and it was built straddling the border specifically so it could welcome both communities. "At that time, this was family, both sides," said American Kathy Converse, who has been volunteering here for 20 years. In January, the same day President Donald Trump was sworn into office, U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland was shot and killed during a traffic stop about 15 miles from the library. A Seattle woman has been indicted for his murder. Hundreds turned out on the streets of Burlington, Vt., in January to say goodbye. A week later, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem flew to Vermont to pay her respects. She also made a surprise visit to the library. Asked how that visit went, Sylvie Boudreau, president of the library’s board of trustees, replied, "I have to say she was very polite with me." But a few weeks after Noem’s visit, Boudreau was notified the building’s literary loophole was closing, ending Martha Stewart Haskell’s century-old vision of cooperation. "I’m getting emotional," Boudreau said, "because [Haskell’s] first mission was really to reunite people, not to divide.” Starting this month, Canadians are no longer allowed to use the U.S. sidewalk that leads to the library’s grand front entrance. Instead, they have to report to a legal U.S. port of entry first. In the back of the library, on the Canadian side, was a rarely-used emergency exit. They turned that exit into an entrance, not as welcoming to Canadians as the front perhaps, but for now, it’ll have to do. "It’s like when you’re losing a friend, a dear friend," Boudreau said. "You know, like, you backstab me and it’s gonna take a while before I forgive you.” Canadian Susan Rothwell wasn’t about to take a chance: "We didn’t DARE cross that border," she said. A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the changes were necessary because of incidents of "smuggling and illicit cross-border activity around the library.”

Chicago Tribune [10/19/2025 9:59 PM, Olivia Olander and Adriana Pérez, 4829K] reports Kim Fisher was arriving home from a Sunday morning workout with her husband when she saw them: at least three people in fatigues and masks coming out from her backyard, stepping around a chain link fence. "And I said, ‘What the heck is that?’" said Fisher, a 49-year-old mother of three. "I did not say heck." The Fisher family was just one Mount Prospect household roiled by the presence of masked agents, a handful of circling unmarked cars and a helicopter overhead. Neighbors and advocates said a man being detained by federal immigration agents ran away in handcuffs, prompting a manhunt in the northwest suburb of Chicago as officers searched backyards and stopped vehicles. Several agents had badges and vests that read U.S. Border Patrol or Customs and Border Protection, according to multiple photos and videos from witnesses viewed by the Tribune. Federal agents at the scene said that they were in pursuit of someone who they said escaped into the neighborhood and later called him a "dangerous criminal" and a "Venezuelan gang member." The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the federal Customs and Border Protection, could not immediately be reached for comment. The operation was part of increased federal enforcement activity under the Trump administration’s "Operation Midway Blitz" in the Chicago area since early September, during which 1,500 arrests have been made, the Department of Homeland Security has reported. The sight of agents chasing people and loading them into unmarked vehicles has become common throughout Chicago and its suburbs. With no immediate regard for citizenship or legal status, the agents have repeatedly detained people first and sought information about them later. In Mount Prospect, the Sunday operation — which stretched from about 11 a.m. into the early afternoon — resulted in multiple neighbors videotaping agents, yelling expletives at them and asking them to leave, against a suburban backdrop of falling leaves, brick houses and inflatable Halloween decorations in a predominantly white area. "I was so angry that I was literally shaking," Fisher said. She said she might have considered allowing law enforcement onto her property if they had explained their goals and asked first, but they did not.

FOX 32 Chicago [10/19/2025 11:08 AM, Joanie Lum and Alex Ortiz, 40019K] reports Federal immigration agents arrested 11 people during an operation on Saturday at parking lots near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. The rideshare staging lot at O’Hare International has nearly 500 fewer vehicles these days. Uber and Lyft drivers say they are afraid to work at the airport since federal agents raided the lot multiple times, with the most recent being Saturday. Videos show a driver working legally with a green card. Federal agents were seen questioning drivers waiting to pick up O’Hare passengers. Drivers were taken into custody. Other rideshare drivers say illegal drivers have saturated the market. One driver pointed out that people working illegally make it unsafe for passengers and drivers. Mohammad Rashid, an Uber & Lyft driver for six years, said drivers who don’t have an account operate under another driver’s account. He explained, "For example, you don’t have an account, but I come to ask you, ‘Can you sign in? And I coming to rent that from you and I work under your name.’ There is too many people doing that." Rashid added, "O’Hare is a very sensitive spot as passenger, to pick up a passenger. There is million passengers coming every day. So, we need to protect those people as a driver." Rashid said, "Before you get in the car, check the plate number and you’ll be fine after that. And focus about the face, who driving to you. It’s the same person or not. If you don’t feel comfortable don’t start the trip." The Department of Homeland Security Assistant Sec. Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that Border Patrol arrested undocumented immigrants from Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Mongolia, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, and Venezuela. McLaughlin said the individuals were accused of crimes including domestic battery, DUI, visa overstay, and a final order of removal, although she did not specify who was accused of which alleged crime. "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 said in the statement. Also on Saturday Border Patrol Chief Agent Gregory Bovino said in a post on X, "We arrested dozens of illegal alien ride share operators taking jobs from American citizens out there last week. More to come."

The Hill [10/19/2025 7:07 PM, Max Rego, 12595K] reports Airlines for America CEO Chris Sununu, a Republican and former governor of New Hampshire, said Sunday that air travelers should "pack your patience" as the government shutdown drags on. "People should still plan on having their flights. But we always say, pack your patience, give yourself a little more time," Sununu told Chris Stirewalt on NewsNation’s "The Hill Sunday." Airlines for America is a trade association representing major U.S. airlines. Sununu joined the organization last month. According to the flight-tracking site FlightAware, there were 5,200 flights within, into or out of the U.S. delayed on Sunday, with nearly 100 such flights canceled. On Saturday, more than 5,700 such flights were delayed, with more than 320 canceled. It is unclear, however, how many of those delays and cancellations were due to staffing shortages. Amid the shutdown, which began on Oct. 1, air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration agents are working without pay. In Janury 2019, during the most recent government shutdown, an increase in air traffic controllers taking sick days led to travel issues along the East Coast. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Fox Business on Oct. 9 that the average share of delays stemming from controller shortages, which was 5 percent before the shutdown, had increased to 53 percent.

AP [10/19/2025 12:10 PM, Gabriela Aoun Angueira, 2416K] reports state officials on the front lines of preparing for natural disasters and responding to emergencies say severe cuts to federal security grants, restrictions on money intended for readiness and funding delays tied to litigation are posing a growing risk to their ability to respond to crises. It’s all causing confusion, frustration and concern. The federal government shutdown isn’t helping. "Every day we remain in this grant purgatory reduces the time available to responsibly and effectively spend these critical funds," said Kiele Amundson, communications director at the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency. The uncertainty has led some emergency management agencies to hold off on filling vacant positions and make rushed decisions on important training and purchases. Experts say the developments complicate state-led emergency efforts, undermining the Republican administration’s stated goals of shifting more responsibility to states and local governments for disaster response. In an emailed statement, the Department of Homeland Security said the new requirements were necessary because of "recent population shifts" and that changes to security grants were made "to be responsive to new and urgent threats facing our nation.” Several DHS and FEMA grants help states, tribes and territories prepare for climate disasters and deter a variety of threats. The money pays for salaries and training, and such things as vehicles, communications equipment and software. State emergency managers say that money has become increasingly important because the range of threats they must prepare for is expanding, including pandemics and cyberattacks. FEMA, a part of DHS, divided a $320 million Emergency Management Performance Grant among states on Sept. 29. But the next day, it told states the money was on hold until they submitted new population counts. The directive demanded that they omit people "removed from the State pursuant to the immigration laws of the United States" and to explain their methodology. The amount of money distributed to the states is based on U.S. census population data. The new requirement forcing states to submit revised counts "is something we have never seen before," said Trina Sheets, executive director of the National Emergency Management Association, a group representing emergency managers. "It’s certainly not the responsibility of emergency management to certify population.” They are not sure the methodology will be accepted. But with their FEMA contacts furloughed and the grant portal down during the federal shutdown, they cannot find out. Other states said they were assessing the request or awaiting further guidance. In its statement, DHS said FEMA needs to be certain of its funding levels before awarding grant money, and that includes updates to a state’s population due to deportations.

Wall Street Journal [10/19/2025 5:30 AM, Arian Campo-Flores, Jean Eaglesham, and Carl Churchill, 646K] reports when a torrential flood struck this town nestled on the banks of the Yellowstone River in 2022, it swamped areas that scientists had long predicted were susceptible to flooding. Those included a historic residential neighborhood and land that housed the local hospital, which had to be evacuated when floodwaters cut off access to it. Yet some of those very areas had been removed from a high-risk flood zone a decade earlier after the city successfully challenged a proposed map from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. That map would have restricted development and forced some homeowners to buy flood insurance. “We were relieved” over the appeal’s success, said Mary Beebe, a city commissioner at the time. “But there were also people that were angry…that we were saving the real estate and putting the community at risk.” Livingston is one of hundreds of communities across the U.S. that have successfully fought FEMA’s proposed maps through an appeals process that researchers say is widely gamed by local officials and property owners. The motive is usually money, since homes moved into high-risk zones typically lose value, and developments in high-risk zones are also usually more expensive, if they are allowed at all. Despite the rising toll of flooding, exacerbated in part by climate change, thousands of properties are removed from flood zones each year.

FOX News [10/19/2025 6:54 PM, Greg Wehner and Lucas Y. Tomlinson, 40621K] Video: HERE reports President Donald Trump boarded Air Force One quickly using the small stairs due to "increased security measures" at Palm Beach International Airport on Sunday, a White House official tells Fox News. The heightened measures at the airport follow the Secret Service discovering a suspected hunting stand Friday near the airport with a clear line of sight to Air Force One when Trump boards and departs the presidential plane. Fox News was first to report the discovery of the potential sniper position. No individuals have been arrested. FBI Director Kash Patel said his agency is leading the investigation. Patel said the hunting stand has not yet been connected to any individual. "Prior to the President’s return to West Palm Beach, USSS discovered what appeared to be an elevated hunting stand within sight line of the Air Force One landing zone," Patel told Fox News Digital. "No individuals were located at the scene. The FBI has since taken the investigatory lead, flying in resources to collect all evidence from the scene, and deploying our cell phone analytics capabilities." USSS chief of communications Anthony Guglielmi also confirmed that the organization is "working closely" with the FBI as well as law enforcement in Palm Beach County. [Editorial note: consult video at source link] The Washington Examiner [10/19/2025 7:52 PM, Staff, 1394K] reports that photos released on Sunday night show Trump using the shorter, retractable stairs at the belly of the plane, as he heads back to Washington, D.C., following a weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. He did not take questions from reporters before departing, as he typically does, and his schedule indicates he left Palm Beach slightly later than expected. A White House official told Fox News that this change was due to "increased security measures" at the airport. This comes shortly after FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau is investigating the hunting stand, which was found in a tree with a direct line of sight to the Air Force One landing zone. A Secret Service spokesman told the Washington Examiner that no individuals were found near the hunting stand, which was found during "advance security preparations" before Trump’s arrival at Palm Beach on Friday evening.

Detroit Free Press [10/19/2025 3:24 PM, Susan Tompor, 4030K] reports a 27-year-old man was found dead in Lake St. Clair on Sunday, Oct. 19, according to the New Baltimore Police Department. According to police, authorities responded at around 2:48 a.m. Sunday morning to a report that a man fell off a dock into Lake St. Clair and went underwater. "Officers and firefighters responded to the scene and initially were unable to locate the subject in the water," according to a post on the police department’s Facebook page. A New Baltimore patrol boat, along with vessels from the Harrison Township Fire Department, Macomb County Sheriff’s Office and United States Coast Guard aided in the search, police said. The man’s body was later located under the water, authorities said. The man’s name was not released. Other details were not made public as of 2 p.m. Sunday.

FOX News [10/19/2025 10:17 AM, Kurt Knutsson, 40621K] reports on 2025, it feels like cybercriminals are winning while the world’s biggest data hoarders are losing. One by one, global giants are admitting they’ve been breached, from tech powerhouses like Google to insurance leaders such as Allianz and Farmers and even luxury brands like Dior. The latest company to report a breach is Discord. The popular chat platform confirmed that hackers gained access to a third-party customer support provider, 5CA, exposing user data including names, email addresses, limited billing details and even government ID images. The company confirmed that the breach, which occurred on September 20, did not involve a direct attack on Discord’s servers. Instead, attackers gained unauthorized access to 5CA, one of Discord’s third-party customer service providers. This allowed them to view information from users who had reached out to Discord’s Customer Support or Trust & Safety teams.

FOX News [10/19/2025 6:56 AM, Paul Tilsley, 40621K] reports analysts claim the withdrawal of U.S. and European troops from countries in Africa’s Sahel, and their replacement by Russian mercenaries, has led to a spike in jihadist-driven terrorism. The Sahel is a belt of countries running roughly west to east across the continent just below the Sahara Desert. A total of 3,885 deaths — about 51% of all terrorism-related fatalities globally in 2024 — occurred in the Sahel, according to the Global Terrorism Index. In at least three Sahel states — Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso — military juntas that came to power in coups, notably Niger and Mali, have expelled Western military forces. The U.S. was asked, after 11 years in the country, to halt anti-terror drone operations from two bases in Niger last year. In Mali, French forces were ejected in 2022 after battling Islamist terror groups for nine years. Governments have turned to the Kremlin’s private mercenary army, the Africa Corps — formerly known as the Wagner Group — for protection. But the Russians are reportedly more interested in extracting minerals than helping stop the spread of jihadism. Ordinary people often bear the brunt of jihadist attacks in the Sahel. Last month, Islamist gunmen on motorbikes reportedly killed 22 people in an attack on Tillaberi village in western Niger. Fifteen of the dead were families attending a naming ceremony for a child, reports said. In northern Mali in January, Russian mercenaries allegedly joined government forces in executing 10 civilians, including a 2-year-old boy. In the Sahel, "groups affiliated with the Islamic State and al-Qaeda are continuing their territorial and strategic advance," the Observer Research Foundation reported in August, "taking advantage of governance gaps and weak security forces to push into littoral West African states such as Benin and Togo.” "The situation in the Sahel, particularly in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, has rapidly deteriorated since the U.S. and French have withdrawn from the countries following the coups," Bill Roggio, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies,(FDD) told Fox News Digital.

Breitbart [10/19/2025 6:30 PM, Joshua Klein, 2416K] reports a post by radical Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, the frontrunner to become New York City’s next mayor, ignited a firestorm after he proudly shared photos of himself smiling beside Imam Siraj Wahhaj — an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing — with lawmakers and public figures warning that jihad is coming to New York unless voters wake up. Mamdani posted the photos to his own X account, writing that he had "the pleasure of meeting with Imam Siraj Wahhaj," whom he praised as "one of the nation’s foremost Muslim leaders and a pillar of the Bed-Stuy community for nearly half a century." The New York Post, which reported on the image the next day, filled in what Mamdani’s caption left out — noting Wahhaj was named by prosecutors as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing that killed six people, had preached that homosexuality is a "disease," and once called for an unarmed "army of 10,000 men" to wage a gun-free jihad through New York City. By Saturday morning, national and local officials were blasting the Democratic nominee for posing arm-in-arm with a figure linked to terror and hate, warning that his embrace of extremism was a direct threat to New York’s security. Vice President posted a cutting rebuke, writing sarcastically: "I’ve been reliably informed that Democrats are opposed to any kind of political violence, so I look forward to them universally condemning Zohran Mamdani for campaigning with an unindicted co-conspirator in a terrorist plot that killed 6 New Yorkers.”

New York Post [10/19/2025 6:35 PM, Alex Oliveira, 42219K] reports Muslims are blasting Zohran Mamdani’s association with controversial Imam Siraj Wahhaj, warning that legitimizing the former terror suspect could fuel radical extremism. "I am particularly concerned to see mosques used as political rallying platforms in the free and democratic United States," said Dalia Ziada, a Muslim scholar and fellow at the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy. "By embracing Wahhaj, Zohran Mamdani is sidelining moderate Muslims and normalizing an extremist ideology that once inspired terror on American soil and still fuels radicalization within segments of the Muslim community today," she told Fox News. The dire concern comes after Mamdani, 34, posted a photo of himself visiting with Wahhaj, 75 — a man federal prosecutors once considered an "unindicted co-conspirator" in the fatal 1993 World Trade Center bombing and who once even called on Muslims to infiltrate American democracy for use as a "weapon" of Islamic causes. Despite those allegations and Wahhaj’s past comments, Mamdani — New York City’s leading mayoral candidate and a lefty Democratic Socialist — called the prominent imam "one of the nation’s foremost Muslim leaders and a pillar of the Bed-Stuy community for nearly half a century" after meeting with him Friday.

New York Post [10/19/2025 10:04 AM, Anthony Blair, 42219K] reports an active shooter in a dorm at Oklahoma State University Sunday morning left three people wounded during homecoming weekend. The shooting took place in the early hours of the morning at a residential hall on the campus in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and at least one of the victims is a student, police said. The victims were part of an off-campus party Saturday night that then moved into the dorms in the wee hours. "At approximately 3:40 a.m., the OSU Police Department responded to Carreker East residential hall after shooting victims reported the incident," the official OSU Police and Safety account wrote on X. "There were multiple victims, one of which is known to be an OSU student. All are being treated at hospitals in Oklahoma City and Tulsa," the statement continued, citing OSU Chief of Police Michael Beckner. "Initial reports indicate a large, private party occurred at an off-campus location. After the gathering disbanded, some attendees returned to Carreker East where the shooting occurred," the statement concluded. No information has yet been provided about the suspect, motive or how many shots were fired.

Reported similarly:
Daily Caller [10/19/2025 12:46 PM, Harold Hutchison, 835K]

Washington Examiner [10/19/2025 12:12 PM, David Zimmermann, 1394K] reports President Donald Trump said on Sunday that if the Supreme Court were to rule against his ambitious tariff agenda, America’s national security would be greatly harmed. When asked by Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures whether the president has a backup plan in case the Supreme Court strikes down his use of tariffs, Trump responded, "Well, I’ll have to figure something out. I don’t want to even think about it. We’re doing so well to think about it.” "If that happened, we’d have to pay back money. So if anything would happen with that, that would mean they’re allowed to use tariffs, and we’re not," he said, referring to foreign countries that use tariffs as countermeasures to his administration’s trade levies. Since April, Trump has used tariffs as a means to pressure other nations to drop their tariffs or unfair trade practices against the United States. The White House states its goals in rolling out tariffs are to promote domestic manufacturing, reduce the U.S. trade deficit, and protect national security. "This is national security," Trump told Bartiromo. "If they took away tariffs, then they’ve taken away our national security.” The president said something similar when he announced last week that a personal visit to the Supreme Court for oral arguments in the highly anticipated tariff case may be in order. "If we don’t have the use of tariffs, we have no national security. This country will have no financial security," Trump said on Wednesday. "That’s why I think I’m gonna go to the Supreme Court to watch it. I’ve not done that, and I had some pretty big cases.” "I think it’s one of the most important cases ever brought because we will be defenseless against the world," he added.

Breitbart [10/19/2025 12:31 PM, Pam Key, 2416K] reports Sunday on NBC’s "Meet the Press," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for President Donald Trump to apply more pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kristen Welker said, "Part of President Trump’s success with Israel and Hamas was that he applied pressure to all sides. Does President Trump need to get tougher with President Putin?". Zelensky said, "Yes. And even more, because Putin is something similar but more strong than Hamas. It’s more bigger war. And he is the second Army in the world and that’s why more pressure.” Welker said, "There’s a bill in Congress that would impose sanctions and tariffs on countries that purchase Russian energy. Is it time for Congress to pass that bill?". Zelensky said, "Yes. Yes. We ask as quick as possible. We ask from Congress sanctions, and we ask to also energy. And we ask him very much. Also support us in the question of children, which is also very sensitive and painful for our nation. Thousands of our children been abducted by Russia. And to recognize Russia’s state of terrorism. It’s the idea of U.S. Congress, not our idea. First of all, it was from Congress and these signals and we’ve been very supportive of this idea.”

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