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

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

The San Francisco Chronicle [10/26/2025 6:22 PM, Cynthia Dizikes, 4722K] reports Sami Hamdi, a British Muslim journalist and political commentator, was detained by immigration authorities at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday morning, according to a statement by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which called for Hamdi’s "immediate release.” Hamdi was on a speaking tour in the U.S., having spoken at the annual gala of CAIR Sacramento on Saturday, and scheduled to speak at the gala of CAIR Florida on Sunday. CAIR is the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. "Abducting a prominent British Muslim journalist and political commentator on a speaking tour in the United States because he dared to criticize the Israeli government’s genocide is a blatant affront to free speech," CAIR said in a statement. CAIR wrote in another social media post that the organization had confirmed that Hamdi had not been deported and remained in custody. "Our attorneys and partners are working to address this injustice," the organization said. U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin indicated in a social media post that Hamdi’s "visa was revoked and he is in ICE custody pending removal." Reuters [10/26/2025 8:57 PM, Staff, 19051K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement has Hamdi in custody, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin posted on social media site X. "Under President Trump, those who support terrorism and undermine American national security will not be allowed to work or visit this country," she wrote. Conservative figures had been urging the Trump administration to expel Hamdi from the United States. Hamdi has appeared as an analyst and commentator on British TV networks. CAIR on Sunday called for his release and accused the Trump administration of detaining him over his criticism of the Israeli government. Reuters was unable to reach Hamdi. CAIR’s deputy director, Edward Ahmed Mitchell, said Hamdi had previously denied supporting Islamic militants and that the organization’s lawyers had been unable to reach him by Sunday evening. "Abducting a prominent British Muslim journalist and political commentator on a speaking tour in the United States because he dared to criticize the Israeli government’s genocide is a blatant affront to free speech," CAIR said in a statement. Conservative activist Laura Loomer on Sunday took credit for Hamdi’s arrest. Since January, the Trump administration has pursued a sweeping crackdown on immigration, including increasing social media vetting, revoking visas for people it claims praised the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and deporting student visa and green card holders who have voiced support for Palestinians and criticized Israel’s conduct in the Gaza war. The SFGate [10/26/2025 5:22 PM, Amanda Bartlett, 13945K] reports that the organization blamed far-right political activist and social media personality Laura Loomer for Hamdi’s detainment, citing a paragraphs-long post she posted on X. Loomer wrote that she "demanded that federal authorities inside the Trump administration treat Hamdi as the major National security threat that he is.” According to another post shared by CAIR on X, Hamdi has not been deported and remains in custody. The organization’s attorneys are working to get him released. "Abducting a prominent British Muslim journalist and political commentator on a speaking tour in the United States because he dared to criticize the Israeli government’s genocide is a blatant affront to free speech," the organization said in a statement. "...We call on ICE to immediately account for and release Mr. Hamdi, whose only ‘crime’ is criticizing a foreign government that committed genocide.” CBS San Francisco [10/26/2025 9:20 PM, Jose Fabian, 39474K] reports that in a statement to CBS News Bay Area, ICE confirmed Hamdi was detained at SFO and said it was because he was illegally in the country. Hamdi had entered the US legally with a visitor visa on Oct. 19, but it was revoked on Friday, Oct. 24, according to ICE. "ICE detained Hamdi, as he was illegally in the country, and he will be placed in immigration proceedings," ICE said. CAIR said Hamdi has gone on speaking tours in the U.S. numerous other times and that they believe he was detained due to his criticisms of Israel. CAIR has called on ICE to release Hamdi.

Reported similarly:
Breitbart [10/26/2025 10:24 PM, Elizabeth Weibel, 2416K]

The New York Post [10/27/2025 3:14 AM, Zoe Hussain, 42219K] reports a 24-year-old Hondurian national was struck and killed by a vehicle while fleeing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Virginia last week. Josué Castro Rivera was on his way to his gardening job Thursday when ICE officers pulled over his vehicle and tried to detain him and three other passengers, according to his brother, Henry Castro. Castro Rivera bolted on foot from the scene and attempted to cross Interstate 264 in Norfolk — where a 2002 Ford pickup fatally struck him, according to state and federal authorities. He was pronounced dead on the scene around 11 a.m., according to the Virginia State Police. "He had a very good heart," his devastated brother said Sunday. Castro Rivera had been living in the US for four years and was sending money back to Honduras for his family, Henry said. ICE officers had been carrying out a "targeted, intelligence-based" operation, and that the passengers were detained for allegedly living in the country without legal permission, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. Castro Rivera "resisted heavily and fled" and died after a passing vehicle hit him, the DHS said. "He didn’t deserve everything that happened to him," his heartbroken brother said. Castro Rivera’s family plans to raise money to send his body back to Honduras for a funeral, blasting his death as an "injustice.” The DHS said the garden-worker’s death was "a direct result of every politician, activist, and reporter who continues to spread propaganda and misinformation about ICE’s mission and ways to avoid detention.” Similar deaths during immigration operations have triggered outrage and calls for additional investigations. Last month in a Chicago suburb, federal immigration agents fatally shot a Mexican man during a traffic stop. The DHS initially said a federal officer was "seriously injured," but police body camera video showed the federal officer walking around and describing his own injuries as "nothing major.” In July, a farmworker died after falling from a 30-foot-high roof during a chaotic immigration raid at a southern California marijuana farm. In August, a man ran away from federal agents onto a freeway in the same state and was fatally struck by a vehicle. ABC News [10/26/2025 4:10 PM, Armando Garcia and Victoria Arancio, 30493K] reports the Virginia State Police reported it happened on Interstate 264 in Norfolk around 11 a.m. and said Castro-Rivera was struck by a 2002 Ford pickup truck and was pronounced dead at the scene. Its report said he was 24 years old. DHS said Castro-Rivera "resisted heavily" and fled onto the highway where he was fatally struck. The agency did not offer specifics about Castro-Rivera allegedly resisting arrest. "One of our ICE officers administered CPR to Castro-Rivera in an attempt to keep him alive. Unfortunately, Castro-Rivera perished. The officer then informed the three detained aliens that their friend had deceased. He then grieved and prayed with them," the spokesperson said.

FOX News [10/26/2025 6:26 PM, Staff, 40621K] reports DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin weighs in on members of the Democratic Party who are pushing for I.C.E. tracking apps and more on ‘The Big Weekend Show.’ [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Blaze [10/26/2025 12:30 PM, Candace Hathaway, 1442K] reports Truck driving was once a career path that epitomized the American dream, offering high pay and lifelong job security. Yet in recent years, the industry has become trapped in a cycle of high turnover, continually refilling positions with inexperienced drivers, prompting concerns about road safety and national security. Multiple truckers told Blaze News that the industry’s challenges stem from the myth that it is battling a truck-driver shortage. This narrative has been used to justify heavy government intervention, including taxpayer-funded programs that cover training and recruiting costs, significantly reducing the financial burdens previously borne by carriers or aspiring drivers. Those who reject the truck-driver-shortage claim argue that this taxpayer-subsidized setup effectively incentivizes labor dumping that masks high turnover caused by dismal wages and poor working conditions. Despite numerous government programs over the past several years addressing the so-called driver shortage, the issue persists, according to the American Trucking Associations, the industry’s largest national trade organization. The association has claimed a driver shortage since the 1980s, estimating it to be around 60,000 drivers in 2023. It projected that the shortage may reach 160,000 by 2028.

Breitbart [10/26/2025 6:30 PM, Warner Todd Huston, 2416K] reports that, in another example of the Trump effect, money transfer giant Western Union is reporting that its revenue from cash transfers to locations outside the U.S. has seen a 12 percent decline this year. Migrants living in the U.S. both legally and illegally have traditionally been the greatest source of U.S. dollars flowing out of America and into foreign nations, even dwarfing the amount of foreign aid lavished on the world by the U.S. government. But with Donald Trump’s focus on immigration, Western Union is seeing far fewer customers needing their services. Last week, Western Union CEO Devin McGranahan told investors that the company had seen a huge decline in cash transfers to Mexico, El Salvador, Peru, and Ecuador, according to CPR News. "Recent policy changes have led to a substantial decline in border crossings and an increase in enforcement actions including workplace inspections and deportations which have created uncertainty and hesitation within migrant communities. These developments continue to impact customer behavior," McGranahan said during the call with investors. The loss of business sent Western Union’s stock down 15 percent this year. By subscribing, you agree to our terms of use & privacy policy. You will receive email marketing messages from Breitbart News Network to the email you provide. You may unsubscribe at any time. "We’re seeing this kind of an event that really hits them in the heart … The core of their business is U.S. to Latin America, and we’re seeing it getting hit across the board," business analyst Brett Horn told CPR News. The remarks last week by McGranahan are not the first to note the large drop in cash transfers to foreign nations, which are often termed "remittances.” In August, the Latin Times noted that remittances to Mexico dropped more than 15 percent over 2024.. The amount sent by foreign nationals living in the U.S. is incredible, too. In total, about $63 billion has been sent in remittances from the U.S. to Mexico in the last 12 months — and that is less than 2023 and 2024’s totals.

CBS News [10/26/2025 7:08 PM, Staff, 39474K] reports a U.S. warship docked in Trinidad and Tobago’s capital on Sunday as the Trump administration boosts its military pressure on neighboring Venezuela and President Nicolás Maduro. The arrival of the USS Gravely, a guided missile destroyer, in the capital of the Caribbean nation joins the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, which is moving closer to Venezuela. Maduro criticized the movement of the carrier as an attempt by the U.S government to fabricate "a new eternal war" against his country. President Trump has accused Maduro, without providing evidence, of being the leader of the organized crime gang Tren de Aragua. Government officials from the twin-island nation and the U.S. said the massive warship will remain in Trinidad until Thursday so both countries can carry out training exercises. A senior military official in Trinidad and Tobago told The Associated Press that the move was only recently scheduled. The official spoke under the condition of anonymity due to a lack of authorization to discuss the matter publicly. Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, has been a vocal supporter of the U.S. military presence and the deadly strikes on suspected drug boats in waters off Venezuela. The Trump administration has said the U.S. is in a "non-international armed conflict" with drug cartels, arguing that the narcotics they smuggle kill tens of thousands of Americans every year, constituting an "armed attack.” The wife of Alejandro Carranza, one of the more than 30 people killed in the strikes, claimed he left home on Colombia’s Caribbean coast to fish in open waters and denied he had any link to drug trafficking. In an interview aired Sunday on CBS News’ "Face the Nation," Sen. Lindsey Graham said land strikes in Venezuela are a "real possibility" amid rising tensions. "I think President Trump’s made a decision that Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, is an indicted drug trafficker, that it’s time for him to go. That Venezuela and Colombia have been safe havens for narco terrorists for too long," the Republican senator told Margaret Brennan. "And President Trump told me yesterday that he plans to brief members of Congress when he gets back from Asia about future potential military operations against Venezuela and Colombia.” U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Jenifer Neidhart de Ortiz said in a statement that the exercises seek to "address shared threats like transnational crime and build resilience through training, humanitarian missions, and security efforts.”

Reported similarly:
The Hill [10/26/2025 10:49 PM, Tara Suter, 12595K]
NewsMax [10/26/2025 12:37 PM, Estelle Péard, 4109K]
Washington Examiner [10/26/2025 4:20 PM, Jenny Goldsberry, 1394K]

CBS News [10/26/2025 2:49 PM, Caroline Linton, 39474K] reports as the U.S. has been carrying out airstrikes against Venezuelan and Colombian vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean that the Trump administration has accused of carrying drugs and cartel members, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday that land strikes in Venezuela — a significant escalation — are a "real possibility.” "I think President Trump’s made a decision that [Nicolas] Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, is an indicted drug, drug trafficker, that it’s time for him to go, that Venezuela and Colombia have been safe havens for narco-terrorists for too long, and President Trump told me yesterday that he plans to brief members of Congress when he gets back from Asia about future potential military operations against Venezuela and Colombia," Graham said Sunday on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” Mr. Trump suggested last week that land strikes are "going to be next," saying on Thursday that "the drugs coming in by sea are like 5% of what they were a year ago" due to the strikes. Mr. Trump did not offer any evidence to back up this claim, and members of Congress have also said the administration hasn’t provided sufficient evidence that the targeted vessels are carrying drugs. As of Friday, at least 43 people have been killed in the U.S. strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific that have occurred on 10 vessels since Sept. 2. Last week, the Colombian government called on the U.S. "to respect the norms dictated by international law" and cease the strikes. Graham on Sunday said there will be a Congressional briefing on land strikes, not an invasion, although he also called for the removal of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Graham repeatedly cited former President George H.W. Bush’s invasion of Panama in 1989, saying the Bush administration didn’t receive Congressional approval for that mission. "Bush 41 went into Panama to replace the leadership there, because the Panama leadership, Panamanian leadership, were working with drug cartels to threaten our country," Graham said. Although the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the sole authority to declare war, Graham repeatedly said he is confident the Trump administration has the authority to carry out the strikes. Democrats and even some Republicans have criticized the White House’s action.

Daily Wire [10/26/2025 2:23 PM, Tim Pearce, 2494K] reports President Donald Trump may order land strikes on Venezuela and other parts of South America in pursuit of drug cartels without congressional authority, according to South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham. Graham appeared on CBS’ "Face The Nation" on Sunday and defended Trump’s suggestion last week that land strikes may be the next step after the U.S. military blew up 10 drug boats and submarines in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. "I think that’s a real possibility," said Graham on the potential for U.S. strikes on land in South America. "I think President Trump has made a decision that Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, is an indicted drug trafficker, that it’s time for him to go, that Venezuela and Colombia have been safe havens for narco-terrorists for too long.” "I support that idea, but I think he has all the authority he needs," Graham added after noting that Trump is expected to brief Congress on possible military operations in and around South America when he returns from a trip to Asia later this week. The South Carolina senator cited operations ordered by former presidents George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan. The missions, which took place in Panama and Grenada, are precedents that should set the legal foundation for any land strikes against drug cartels ordered unilaterally by Trump. Join us now during our exclusive Deal of the Decade. Get everything for $7 a month. Not as fans. As fighters. Go to DailyWire.com/Subscribe to join now. "When President Bush 41 took Ortega out in Panama, Reagan went into Grenada to deal with the Cuban influence from Grenada in our backyard – [Trump] has all the authority in the world," said Graham. "This is not murder. This is protecting America from being poisoned by narco-terrorists coming from Venezuela and Colombia.” U.S. land strikes on Venezuela are "a real possibility," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) says, telling @margbrennan President Trump plans to brief Congress about potentially expanding the U.S. military operations "from the sea to the land.” Graham’s comments come days after the administration announced the U.S.S. Gerald Ford aircraft carrier group would move to the Caribbean. The Ford is the newest and most technologically advanced carrier in the U.S. fleet, signaling the seriousness with which the White House is approaching its fight against drug cartels and terror networks that are flooding the United States with dangerous and illicit drugs. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced the Ford’s latest assignment in a post on X. The aircraft carrier group "will bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere," said Parnell in a statement.

Breitbart [10/26/2025 10:37 AM, Pam Key, 2416K] Video: HERE reports Sunday on ABC’s "This Week," Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) said the Trump administration starting a war over drug trafficking which was "law enforcement action" did not make any sense.

NBC News [10/26/2025 9:50 AM, Megan Lebowitz, 34509K] reports Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said on "Meet the Press" that President Donald Trump’s decisions to strike alleged drug boats in the Caribbean were "murder.” Asked whether he believed that the strikes were consistent with international law, Gallego said, "No, it’s murder.” "It’s very simple," Gallego continued. "If this president feels that they’re doing something illegally, then he should be using the Coast Guard. If there’s an act of war, then you use our military, and then you come and talk to us first. But this is murder.” Gallego’s comments come as the U.S. has said it conducted 10 strikes on alleged drug boats since September, killing dozens of people. Two of the strikes were in the eastern Pacific, and eight strikes were in the Caribbean Sea. NBC News has not independently confirmed whether the boats were carrying drugs. NBC News has also previously reported that Democrats and Republicans in Congress have grown concerned over a lack of information about the strikes. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has slammed the strikes, saying last week on "Meet the Press" that the strikes "go against all of our tradition." Earlier in October, the Senate voted down a resolution that would have required the administration to seek congressional approval before further strikes. Trump has said that he did not "think we’re necessarily going to ask for a declaration of war.” "I think we’re just gonna kill people that are bringing drugs into our country," he added last week. "We’re going to kill them. They’re going to be, like, dead.”
Late last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered an aircraft carrier strike group to the Caribbean Sea, nearly doubling the level of U.S. troops in the area to support Trump’s push against alleged drug activity. Gallego pushed back, pointing to the impact of the strikes on foreign relations and U.S. troops. "It’s very dangerous what he’s doing both to our international relations, to our friends down in South America, and to these men and women that have to make these calls for a president who has zero understanding about the responsibility someone has when it comes to having to make life and death decisions," Gallego said. "It’s disgusting what he’s doing.” Gallego also defended the Democrats’ strategy toward the government shutdown, saying their "focus right now is to keep costs low." Democrats have been pushing for negotiations over Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year, which will raise health care premiums.

CBS News [10/26/2025 7:37 PM, Will Croxton, 39474K] reports that, this month, correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi and a 60 Minutes team walked into a central market in Caracas, Venezuela, to speak to people after weeks of escalating tension between their country and the United States. It was a rare chance for American journalists to enter the oil-rich country. They found a palpable sense of unease and uncertainty among Venezuelan citizens; some worried about a possible U.S. ground invasion or air strikes in their country. "I have kids [and] grandkids, and my mother is still alive. I’m scared Venezuela is going to be bombed for no reason," a Caracas woman told 60 Minutes. Since August, eight warships have been stationed just off the Venezuelan coast and over 10,000 American troops are in the region. In September, the U.S. military began bombing boats that the Trump administration alleges were part of a drug smuggling operation led by Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro. So far, the strikes have destroyed 10 boats and more than three dozen people. "A lot of the Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea," President Trump told the media in a press conference. "But we’re going to stop them by land also," he said, alluding to targeted strikes in Venezuela. Many close observers believe the increased pressure on Venezuela has an unstated goal: forcing Maduro out of office. A former top diplomat to Venezuela, Ambassador James Story, who served in President Trump’s first term and under President Joe Biden, told 60 Minutes that the U.S. could oust him by force. "The assets are there to do everything up to and including decapitation of [the] government," Story told Alfonsi in an interview. "Now, has the decision been made? That I don’t know. But it does look increasingly likely… some action may take place.” Alfonsi interviewed Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, who counts many Venezuelan immigrants among his constituents. "Is this about anti-narcotics or is this about removing Maduro?" 60 Minutes asked the senator. "I think it’s primarily about narco[-trafficking], and all the drugs coming in," Scott told Alfonsi. "I’m glad Trump’s doing what he’s doing. And I do hope Maduro’s out of power. I mean, I want him gone.”

CBS News [10/26/2025 7:37 PM, Sharyn Alfonsi, Aliza Chasan, Michael Karzis, 39474K] reports the U.S. bombing of alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela and the buildup of military assets in the region have raised broader questions about possible plans to oust President Nicolás Maduro. The Venezuelan leader, first elected in 2013, has been in the United States’ crosshairs for years. Ambassador James Story, who was the last American diplomat at the now-closed U.S. embassy in Venezuela, said the show of U.S. force in the region is likely intended to oust Maduro. "This is a very bad actor sitting on top of the world’s largest known reserves of oil, plus the critical minerals that will fuel the 21st-century economy, and he’s in bed with our strategic competitors," Story said. "Let’s be very clear," Story added. "This is a criminal organization masquerading as a government. This is an individual who is under indictment for narcotics trafficking-- commits human rights violations. Someone who has used the apparatus of the state to throw people in jail, to torture them, to kill them.” Earlier this month, 60 Minutes traveled to the South American nation for a rare look at what life is like under its embattled dictator. Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi found that instability isn’t just an architectural feature in Venezuela, it’s a way of life. Hunger, chronic blackouts and scarcity of essential medicines plague the country of more than 28 million people. Today, more than 70% of the residents live in poverty. It’s a stunning reversal of fortune for a nation that was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Socialist policies and mismanagement have crippled Venezuela’s economy. The crisis has been exacerbated by U.S. sanctions imposed in direct response to the regime’s anti-democratic actions, human rights violations and corruption. Shoppers at a busy market in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, heatedly haggled over prices. The country is facing a triple-digit inflation rate. One woman at the market said the $50 a week she earns is insufficient to feed her family. She said she plans to move to Spain in a few months. Nearly 8 million Venezuelans — roughly 20% of the population — have fled the country in the last decade. Most of those who remained hoped last year’s presidential elections would be a turning point. But even after tallies showed the opposition won nearly 70% of the vote, Maduro refused to leave, stealing the presidency. Protests were met with brutal crackdowns, which the United Nations says included jailing, torture and even killing opposition.

NewsMax [10/26/2025 5:33 PM, Jim Thomas, 4109K] reports Maria Corina Machado, Venezuela’s top opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, publicly endorsed President Donald Trump’s recent military strikes on drug-running vessels linked to Nicolas Maduro, saying Trump is "stopping the war, ending the war" that Maduro started. Fox News host Maria Bartiromo opened Sunday’s interview by asking Machado whether Maduro is behind the smuggling vessels approaching U.S. waters. "Oh, absolutely. Everybody knows Maduro is the head of the biggest drug cartel, Cartel of the Suns, also the head of the Tren de Aragua, a criminal network that has committed crimes in the U.S., Canada, down to Argentina and Chile." Machado said on "Sunday Morning Futures.” Machado is a prominent voice in Venezuela’s opposition and has long urged international backing for measures targeting regime-connected crime. When asked if she agreed with Trump’s tactic of destroying these boats as they approach the U.S., Machado replied, "Maduro is the one who started the war. President Donald Trump is stopping the war, ending the war.” The interview took place as Trump ramps up pressure on Maduro’s network. Recent U.S. moves include bombing vessels off Venezuela alleged to be smuggling narcotics, deployment of a major aircraft carrier to the Caribbean, and labeling the Venezuelan-cartel nexus as part of a hemispheric security threat. Analysts note these steps reflect the administration’s broader America First posture, shifting toward regional security operations. Machado explained why decisive U.S. action is necessary: "You have to cut the resources that come from drug trafficking, gold smuggling, arms smuggling, even human trafficking that Maduro heads and operates from Venezuela.” Machado asserted that Venezuela, under Maduro, has become a strategic base for hostile foreign powers. "He has been destroying the lives of millions of Venezuelan people and turned our country into a safe haven for Russian, Iranian forces, Cuban agents, Hezbollah, Hamas," she said.

CBS News [10/26/2025 7:37 PM, Staff, 39474K] reports that, over the past few weeks, the long, frosty relationship between the U.S. and Venezuela reached a boiling point. The United States launched a series of strikes against vessels alleged to be carrying drugs, calling it a counter-narcotics mission. But the growing military buildup of American forces in the region suggests there may be another target: President Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan dictator who’s been in America’s crosshairs for years. This summer, the U.S. Justice Department announced a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, accusing him of being a drug kingpin. On Friday, the Trump administration escalated its military campaign, sending the world’s largest aircraft carrier to the region. But not much has been seen or heard from people inside Venezuela. Earlier this month, we obtained a rare visa from the Maduro government, packed our bags for Caracas, and found a country on the brink. A patchwork of stacked, cinder block homes cling to the hillsides of Caracas. Instability isn’t just an architectural feature in Venezuela, it’s a way of life. We saw it at a busy market. There was heated haggling over prices and anxious whispers about the American ships off the coast. The weight of uncertainty and the rumble of armored vehicles can be felt throughout the country. An estimated 125,000 members of Venezuela’s military have mobilized. While we were there, the government was holding emergency drills and urging civilians to prepare for combat. It’s all a bit of theater and a response to this. Since September, the U.S. military has blown up at least 10 vessels, killing more than three dozen alleged drug smugglers, most of them off the coast of Venezuela. Ambassador James Story: What I can say is that I’ve used this phrase before, this is like cookin’ an egg with a blowtorch. F-35s, Arleigh Burke class destroyers, submarines aren’t normally what we need to go after small boats, fishing boats. Ambassador James Story was the last American diplomat at the now closed U.S. embassy in Venezuela. He says the show of U.S. force is likely intended to oust Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s dictator. Ambassador James Story: This is a very bad actor sitting on top of the world’s largest known reserves of oil, plus the critical minerals that will fuel the 21st century economy, and he’s in bed with our strategic competitors. Sharyn Alfonsi: And how has he been able to cling to power for as long as he has? Ambassador James Story: I mean, let’s-- let’s be very clear. This is a criminal organization masquerading as a government. This is an individual who is under indictment for narcotics trafficking-- commits human rights violations. Someone who has used the apparatus of the state to throw people in jail, to torture them, to kill them.

Chicago Tribune [10/26/2025 7:30 PM, Evangeline Leventis and Jake Sheridan, 4829K] reports federal immigration agents detained two Aurora protesters who confronted them outside an elementary school Saturday, sparking allegations of unnecessary force. Aurora Mayor John Laesch condemned the detentions as part of an "unprecedented period of American history where people’s constitutional rights are being violated" as President Donald Trump’s administration continues its deportation arrest onslaught across the Chicago area. Laesch recalled swearing an oath to defend the country’s supreme law. "It’s hard to do that when your federal government is effectively waging war on your state," Laesch told the Tribune on Sunday. The two detainees later released by federal authorities — 35-year-old Ruben Morales Jr., of Yorkville, and 38-year-old Jessi Olazaba, of Aurora — had seen alerts about suspicious vehicles parked at Allen Elementary School and responded to the school, they told the Tribune on Sunday. Department of Homeland Security officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the incident. When Morales came across a white SUV with out-of-state plates parked in a staff lot, he motioned for the driver to roll down the car’s windows, he said. Someone in the back seat rolled down their own window and poked out an unknown object, yelling, "Get the (expletive) back," he added. Morales, an American citizen who works for a ride-share company, said he often checks out or posts online alerts about local immigration enforcement activities as a service to the community. He recounted that he threw his hands up in the air and turned around to get away while yelling, "Help.” The masked agents pepper-sprayed him from behind, chased him and tackled him to the ground, he said. "They said ‘Get away,’ and I was trying to get away," he said. Morales said the men handcuffed him and threw him inside the car. The men were in civilian clothing, and their badges were not immediately visible, though an agent showed Morales a badge after he was handcuffed, he recalled. He said he asked the agents for medical attention and was denied. "I’m beat up. I’m in pain," he said. "My knee is all busted.” A Chicago federal judge has required all federal immigration agents to wear and turn on body cameras in the field, part of a restraining order in response to recent tear-gassing and rough treatment of protesters and media during the Trump administration’s local immigration crackdown, dubbed Operation Midway Blitz. Morales said he answered all of the FBI’s questions, and they called an ambulance when he requested medical care. Morales said the federal agents went inside the ambulance and told paramedics they were not allowed to let Morales use any means to contact friends or family, nor were the paramedics allowed to contact any of his loved ones.

Chicago Tribune [10/26/2025 8:20 PM, Adriana Pérez, 4829K] reports a tenant union representing 150 residents across four buildings in Rogers Park has approved a rent strike to begin Saturday after a new owner announced a spike of several hundred dollars in monthly fees. Threatened with eviction, the residents — mostly Hispanic and Latino families that have lived in the North Side buildings for decades — have also joined calls from tenant unions for Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to establish a blanket eviction moratorium in the city as immigration enforcement activities ramp up under the Trump administration. The state implemented a similar measure during the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 to October 2021. "This fight is happening in a moment of deep crisis," said Juan Reyes, an organizer with the All-Chicago Tenant Alliance, at a Sunday news conference. "Families are facing the threat of eviction and deportation at the same time.” In preparation for the gathering, Mexican party bunting in red, green and white decorated the courtyard of one of the buildings. The smell of mole and tamales hung in the air from an impromptu potluck between neighbors. "These guys have lived here for 40 years, 30 years. Families have grown up here," said Danny Rosa, also an organizer with the tenant alliance. Residents of the four buildings formed a union in August under the name Fuerzas Activas de la Damen after the new owner, developer Imran Khan of Ark Management Solutions, announced shortly after acquiring the properties in April that rent increases would kick in at the beginning of September, which some tenants said would double their current rates. Several tenants have reported their rent is under $1,000. Depending on the unit, monthly costs are between $700 and $900, they said Sunday. But they say they are now being asked to pay an average 60% increase, anywhere between $500 and $800. In an emailed statement to the Tribune, Khan called the union’s claims "misleading.” "What we offered was a substantially reduced rent for residents who agreed to provide valid identification and sign written leases," he said. "For those who chose to remain month-to-month without a lease, the rent rate is higher due to the additional risk and administrative burden of informal tenancy.” Most tenants said they paid their October rent at their usual rate, after not agreeing to sign the new contract with the spike, only to receive emails alerting them to an outstanding balance in their account. They hope to reach a deal for a smaller monthly hike of $100 before the strike Saturday. "With these high rent costs, you’re hurting all the honest and hardworking people, who have had to stop buying medicine for their loved ones who are sick at home," José Rentería, a longtime resident of the neighborhood, said in Spanish at the news conference. "Queremos dignidad y justicia. We want dignity and justice.”

FOX News [10/26/2025 9:09 PM, Sophia Compton, 40019K] Video: HERE reports Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson erupted at a reporter on Friday after they used the term "illegal aliens" during a press briefing, slamming the phrase as "racist" and "nasty." In a video posted Saturday to the official Instagram account of the Chicago mayor, a reporter asked Johnson about a report on city spending related to "illegal aliens" in Chicago that he was allegedly required to file with the White House. Johnson immediately pushed back on the language. "We don’t have illegal aliens," Johnson said to the reporter. "I don’t know if that’s from some sort of sci-fi message that you wish you’ve had… Well listen, the legal term for my people were slaves. You want me to use that term too? So, look, let’s just get the language right. We’re talking about undocumented individuals that are human beings." Johnson added that he would not "accept that type of racist, nasty language to describe human beings." The blue city’s mayor then shifted to discuss his administration’s spending priorities, touting his $16.7 billion budget that he said invests in education, transportation, housing, environmental justice, youth employment and community safety. "And we are going to challenge the ultra-wealthy to pay their fair share," Johnson said. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., then chimed in to back Johnson’s remarks, arguing that immigration violations are not criminal offenses. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Telemundo [10/26/2025 7:11 PM, Staff, 57K] reports Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Sunday that he is poised to follow through on his threat to revoke millions in federal funds for California because, he says, the state is illegally issuing commercial driver’s licenses to non-citizens. Appearing on Fox News’ "Sunday Morning Futures," Duffy claimed that Governor Gavin Newsom has refused to comply with Department of Transportation rules requiring the state to stop issuing such licenses and review those already issued. "So, one, I’m about to pull $160 million out of California," Duffy said. "And as we pull more money, we also have the option of pulling California’s ability to issue commercial driver’s licenses." A spokesperson for Newsom referred a request for comment to the state transportation agency, which did not respond. California has defended its practices in the past. When Duffy threatened to revoke funds last month, a spokesperson for Newsom dismissed the attack, noting that California commercial driver’s license holders have a significantly lower accident rate than the national average and that of Texas, which is the only state with more licensed commercial drivers. Last month, the Department of Transportation tightened requirements for commercial driver’s licenses for non-citizens after three fatal accidents that officials said were caused by immigrant truck drivers. Only three specific classes of visa holders will be eligible for commercial driver’s licenses under the new rules, and states must verify the applicant’s immigration status in a federal database. The licenses will be valid for up to one year unless the applicant’s visa expires sooner. Duffy said last month that California should never have issued 25% of the 145 licenses that investigators reviewed. He cited four California licenses that remained valid after the driver’s work permit expired, sometimes years later. The state had 30 days to submit a plan to comply or lose the funds. A nationwide audit of commercial driver’s licenses began after officials said a driver in the country illegally made a U-turn and caused an accident in Florida that killed three people. Licenses that were improperly issued were found in California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington. Duffy reported on Sunday that California has illegally issued tens of thousands of these licenses to non-citizens. "So you have 60,000 people on the roads who shouldn’t have licenses," Duffy said. "They’re driving fuel trucks, school buses, and we’ve seen some of the accidents on American roads caused by people who shouldn’t have these licenses."

Wall Street Journal [10/26/2025 1:01 PM, Kristi Noem, 646K] reports President Trump awarded my friend Charlie Kirk a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom this month. As a country, we need to honor Charlie’s memory, face some hard facts and take action. Before it’s too late. Charlie’s assassination forced Americans to confront a dark truth: Leftist extremists are waging war on the rule of law, liberty and our way of life. Terrorists, gang members and rioters routinely attack federal law-enforcement officers working to reimpose order after years of chaos under the Biden administration. Our officers have been shot at and assaulted. They have faced death threats, doxxing and confrontations at their homes. Spotter networks in Chicago linked to street gangs and Mexican cartels track the movements of officers for Customs and Border Protection as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, relaying locations and enabling ambushes during routine enforcement operations. This month a member of the Latin Kings gang was charged with putting a bounty on the life of Border Patrol Commander at Large Gregory Bovino. The illegal alien charged with placing that bounty was arrested, has pleaded not guilty, and will face justice. The incident shows the enormous risk law-enforcement officers face to make our cities safe again. A self-styled anarchist website in Portland, Ore., encouraged supporters to use high-powered laser pointers to bring down federal helicopters in the area. In Dallas an anti-ICE terrorist opened fire on an ICE facility intending to kill officers. Instead, he killed two detainees. In Alvarado, Texas, Antifa terrorists ambushed ICE officers at a detention facility, wounding a local police officer in the neck. Despite all this, pro-crime politicians seem intent on dismissing the violence, even encouraging it by stripping protections from law-enforcement officers. That is why our officers wear masks. Protecting their identity is one way to prevent bad actors from targeting their homes and threatening their families. Some politicians want to deprive officers of this protection, knowing that doing so puts their lives in grave danger. They tell local police to stand down while federal law-enforcement officers fight for their lives. This climate of political violence is against everything our founders wanted. They fought a revolution so that we as a people could solve disagreements by what Alexander Hamilton called in the Federalist Papers “reflection and choice” over “accident and force.” Those on the left stoking this violence need to turn the temperature down before more people are hurt or killed. Regardless, DHS won’t give up this fight for rule of law and will take all appropriate measures to keep our officers safe. There will be no sanctuary for those who threaten our Republic and our way of life.

The Hill [10/26/2025 11:00 AM, Oswaldo Silva, 12595K] reports the recent buildup of U.S. military operations in the Caribbean marks a decisive escalation in counternarcotics efforts, reigniting debate over America’s role in the hemisphere. Many abroad recoil at anything resembling another U.S. intervention in a sovereign nation. But despite the outcry from foreign leaders and the skepticism of policy experts, pursuing regime change in Venezuela is a necessary course. The U.S. is not confronting just another authoritarian ruler, it is facing a regime that facilitates some of the gravest threats to its national security. The Venezuelan ruling elite and its functions for America’s rivals are more complex than many realize. Nicolás Maduro and Diosdado Cabello are not merely trying to preserve Hugo Chávez’s inefficient and corrupt project. The United Socialist Party of Venezuela — along with its alter ego, the Cartel of the Suns — commands a sophisticated machine of social control and human rights violations. Maduro is the spokesman for a criminal enterprise that harms America in numerous ways. Allowing Maduro and his allies to remain in power means tolerating a syndicate of crime with access to all instruments of national power. When President Barack Obama designated Venezuela "an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States" in 2015, few grasped the full scale of that threat. As author Anne Applebaum notes in "Autocracy Inc.," an international network of illiberal regimes uses their comparative advantages as collaborative means to maintain power. This network does not merely reshape domestic institutions — it seeks to change the rules of the game and undermine the foundations of the liberal democratic system. Venezuela under Chavismo functions as a haven in the Americas for transnational criminals and terrorists. Picture a territory larger than Texas and Florida combined, rich in oil, gold and rare earths, able to buy loyalties across the Americas and financing violent non-state actors. This "political" enterprise has used socialism as a vehicle for oppression, leveraging a romanticized but inhumane ideology. Their end is simple: accumulate enough power and wealth to become untouchable.

New York Post [10/26/2025 1:54 PM, Steve Cuozzo, 42219K] reports the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on Canal Street was not a pretty sight. If President Trump wants to ensure Zohran Mamdani’s election so he can "take over" the city, as he’s warned, he couldn’t come up with a spectacle more certain to drive liberal New Yorkers into Mamdani’s camp than a squad of masked ICE agents, accompanied by an armored vehicle, descending on unlicensed street vendors in broad daylight to bust a whopping dozen or so for peddling counterfeit goods. But unlike agitators who screamed "Fascist!" at the agents, our emotions should be nuanced. With City Hall unable or unwilling to protect legitimate Canal Street businesses and the public from the scourge of unlicensed sidewalk merchants, somebody had to do the job or at least begin to — even if the optics were terrible and the results minuscule. I celebrate and honor the Big Apple’s diversity and singularly colorful street life. But Canal Street’s western portion is a civic disgrace. The cheap wooden animals, "I love New York" caps and bogus Gucci and Cartier products — and the guys who sell them — have Canal in a stranglehold. The abandonment to sidewalk anarchy stalled a nascent revival that was on the point of making the run-down boulevard worthy of its potentially iconic crosstown location.

CBS’ Face The Nation [10/26/2025 11:44 AM, Staff, 1292K] reports Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that additional 100% tariffs on China are "effectively off the table" after a "very good two-day meeting" with Beijing’s top trade negotiator. "I’m not going to get ahead of the two leaders who will be meeting in Korea on Thursday, but I can tell you we had a very good two days," Bessent said of President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Bessent, who has been leading trade talks with China, appeared Sunday on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where President Trump began a three-country visit to Asia. Mr. Trump is expected to meet with China’s president at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea on Thursday. China is the United States’ third-largest trading partner after Mexico and Canada, and tariffs on Chinese imports currently stand at 30%. Mr. Trump warned that the tariffs would take effect if Beijing couldn’t reach a deal with the U.S., citing new Chinese export controls. But after the meetings, Bessent said he expects "the threat of the 100% has gone away, as has the threat of the immediate imposition of the Chinese initiating a worldwide export control regime."

NBC’s Meet the Press [10/26/2025 11:29 AM, Staff, 3847K] reports Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will be meeting his Chinese counterparts ahead of President Trump’s planned meeting with President Xi of China. Is China ready to make a trade deal? Bessent says after finishing two days of negotiations he believes they are ready for a deal. President Trump had threatened to impose an additional 100% tariffs on China on November 1st if Beijing goes forward with a plan to put restrictions on rare earth minerals. If China refuses to pull back those restrictions will President Trump impose those 100% tariffs against China, Secretary Bessent had this to say: "I think that’s old news. President Trump gave me a great deal of negotiating leverage with the threat of the 100% tariffs on November 1st. And I believe we’ve reached a very substantial framework that will avoid that and allow us to discuss many other things with the Chinese. I think we will be able to discuss them helping us get this terrible fentanyl crisis under control. I think we are going to be able to discuss substantial soybean and ag purchases for our American farmers. I think we are going to be able to discuss more balanced trade, and I’m not going to get ahead of the two leaders, but I think that they will also be discussing President Trump’s global peace plan that he’s been so successful at both here in Asia, the Middle East, and now he’s looking to Ukraine, Russia."

NBC’s Meet the Press [10/26/2025 11:29 AM, Staff, 3847K] reports we learned this week that inflation in September ticked back up to 3%. That’s the highest level since January. Back in December President-Elect Trump said "I started using the word, the groceries. When you buy apples, when you buy bacon, when you buy eggs, they would double and triple the price over a short period of time. And I won an election based on that. We’re going to bring those prices way down." to NBC’s Meet the Press hostess Kisten Welker. Voffee prices are up 19% from a year ago. Beef is up almost 15% and bacon up almost 6%, just to name a few. The question being asked is, when are all grocery prices going to come down as President Trump promised? "when we came in, it was “egg-flation, egg-flation, egg-flation.” You know, egg prices are down. Gasoline prices are down. Overall, the inflation since President Trump has come in has come down. We inherited this terrible affordability crisis from the Biden administration. First thing we had to do was get it under control. And this month’s inflation number was actually below the consensus number. If we look at core inflation, it was .2% which was the lowest it’s been in a long time. Rents are coming down." Bessent states. Secretary Bessent chastised hostess Kisten for cherry picking inflation information. Bessent goes on to say that inflation is composite number and that he’s confident in coming months inflation will come down.

NBC’s Meet the Press [10/26/2025 11:29 AM, Staff, 3847K] reports the military is now launching ten attacks against what they have described as suspected drug boats. This is happening largely in the Caribbean. They’ve killed more than 40 people so far. President Trump saying he may even order land strikes into Venezuela with or without congressional approval. "I don’t think we’re going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war. I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We’re going to kill them. You know, they’re going to be, like, dead." President Trump says. The Trump administration insists these strikes are consistent with international law. Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona says that the administration is murdering people, plain and simple. "If this president feels that they’re doing something illegally, then he should be using the Coast Guard. If it’s an act of war, then you use our military, and then you come and talk to us first. But this is murder. It’s sanctioned murder that he is doing. And it’s very simple for someone like him to talk about killing people or doing something in the name of war. He’s never actually served. He’s never actually pulled a trigger. And it’s very dangerous what he’s doing both to our international relations, to our friends down in South America, and to these men and women that have to make these calls for a president that has zero understanding about the responsibility someone has when it comes to having to make life and death decisions. It’s disgusting what he’s doing." Gallego states.

ABC’s This Week With George Stephanopoulos [10/26/2025 10:25 AM, Staff, 1824K] reports Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been meeting with the Chinese vice premier. President Trump will have a meeting with President Xi later this week. Bessent shares his optimism, claiming they have a very successful framework in place with China. "This was the fifth meeting that I’ve had with my Chinese counterpart, the vice premier, He Lifeng, and we covered a wide range of issues. And I think we reached a substantial framework for the two leaders who will meet in Korea next Thursday. So, you know, on the -- on the table, the president had given me maximum leverage when he threatened 100 percent tariffs if the Chinese impose their rare earth global export controls. So, I think we have averted that. So, the tariffs will be averted. And we have a regular meeting, regular quarterly meeting with the Chinese. It was scheduled for November 10th -- or before November 10th. I don’t think we will have to have that. So, we have been rolling the tariffs quarterly. So, we agreed on that. We also agreed on substantial agriculture purchases for U.S. farmers. We agreed that the Chinese would begin to help us with the precursor chemicals for this terrible fentanyl epidemic that’s ravaging our country. So, I would say that it was a very good meeting overall." Bessent expressed.

ABC’s This Week With George Stephanopoulos [10/26/2025 10:25 AM, Staff, 1824K] reports the Pentagon is now sending a carrier strike group. That’s a massive amount of firepower on a carrier strike group. Senator Mark Kelly is asked for his take on what’s happening with the suspected drug boats and if the actions taken are legal. " It’s questionable. And the White House and the Department of Defense could not give us a logical explanation on how this is legal. They were tying themselves in knots trying to explain this. We had a lot of questions for them, both Democrats and Republicans. It was not a good meeting. It did not go well. They have a secret list of 20 something -- 24 organizations that they have now authorized to use kinetic action against without the normal approach that we have for law enforcement. Hey, we don’t want drugs in this country, especially fentanyl. " Kelly expresses his frustration. Kelly goes on to say that the boats in the Caribbean do not carry fentanyl and whole story about the boat bombings being linked to fentanyl killing people is false.’

FOX News Sunday [10/26/2025 10:25 AM, Staff] reports Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado joins ‘Sunday Morning Futures’ to discuss Nicolás Maduro’s regime, President Donald Trump’s fight against narco-terrorism and efforts to stop the flow of illegal drugs.

FOX News Sunday [10/26/2025 10:25 AM, Staff] reports Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy joins 'Sunday Morning Futures' to discuss the impact of the government shutdown on federal workers in the aviation industry.

Breitbart [10/26/2025 1:19 PM, Randy Clark, 2416K] reports three illegal aliens from Mexico have been arrested in connection with the shooting death of 43-year-old Mary Gonzales, whose body was found in a North Austin field on October 6. Texas authorities apprehended one suspect, while U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested two others. The arrests prompted sharp criticism from Homeland Security officials who linked the crime to Biden-era border policies. According to authorities, nearby surveillance video showed a blue vehicle with no headlights on driving on October 5 in the vicinity of where Gonzales’ body was discovered. The vehicle was positioned at one time in the video where the body would later be found. Within an hour, authorities stopped a vehicle matching the description approximately one mile away, which was reported as a 2007 Toyota Camry. The driver of the vehicle was identified as Enrique Gomez-Urbina, an illegal alien from Mexico. Police found a Glock .40-caliber handgun inside. Gomez-Urbina fled the scene but was apprehended by the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force officers later the same day after a First-Degree Murder warrant was issued for his arrest. ICE officials determined that Gomez-Urbina is illegally present in the United States and lodged an immigration detainer for his removal proceedings once his criminal case is concluded. On October 8, ICE arrested two additional illegal aliens in connection with the murder of the 43-year-old Austin woman. Officials identified the two as Jesus Llamas-Yanez and Javier Roman Hernandez — both criminal aliens from Mexico. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin commented on the latest two arrests in connection to the murder, saying, "These alleged cold-blooded murderers should have never been in our country in the first place, and Mary Gonzales should still be alive.” McLaughlin described the policy that allowed one of the suspects to enter the United States, adding, "One of these criminals came into our country using Biden’s disastrous CBP One app. Open border policies have deadly consequences. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, these accused murderers will never be free on American streets to commit heinous crimes again.”

Univision [10/26/2025 7:28 PM, Staff, 5004K] reports a 24-year-old Honduran man trying to evade federal immigration agents in Virginia died on a highway after being struck by a vehicle. Josué Castro Rivera’s death follows other recent incidents in which three other immigrants died in Chicago and California amid the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations. Castro Rivera was on his way to a landscaping job last Thursday when his vehicle was stopped by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, his brother said. The agents tried to detain him and three other passengers. Castro Rivera ran and tried to cross Interstate 264 in Norfolk, where he was fatally struck, according to state and federal authorities. The immigrant had arrived in the United States four years ago and worked to send money to his family in Honduras, according to his brother. "He had a good heart," the man said Sunday. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the vehicle in which Castro Rivera was traveling was detained by ICE as part of a "focused, intelligence-led" operation. It added that the passengers were detained for allegedly being in the country without legal authorization. DHS said Castro Rivera "strongly resisted (detention) and fled." It added that he died after being struck by a vehicle. DHS officials did not respond to further questions from the Associated Press on Sunday.

NewsNation [10/26/2025 10:47 PM, Michael Ramsey, Mills Hayes, 8017K] reports a migrant who attempted to self-deport from Illinois to Mexico will instead be tried in north suburban Chicago on state charges of concealing the death of a 37-year-old woman. The case of Jose Mendoza-Gonzalez drew attention earlier this year after police in Waukegan, Ill. found the remains of Megan Bos in a container in his back yard. The woman, who had been missing for weeks, may have died of a fentanyl overdose at his residence. Mendoza-Gonzalez, whom federal authorities say is in the U.S. illegally, allegedly tried to cover up her death and obstruct justice; he also was charged with abuse of a corpse. A judge initially released the 52-year-old pending trial, under a relatively new system in Illinois, the "SAFE-T Act," that abolished cash bail. Megan Bos’s mother, Jennifer Bos, says she "was floored.” "I couldn’t believe that they could let somebody who kept a body in his yard, in a container and destroyed all of the evidence, and they would just let him go back home, the next day — less than 24 hours," she told NewsNation’s Mills Hayes. Over the summer, Jennifer Bos was in Washington for a Trump administration event about the dangers of fentanyl when she was able to catch the president’s attention. "In about 30 seconds I said, ‘This man did this to my daughter and he’s walking free because of the SAFE-T Act,’" she said. Three days later, Mendoza-Gonzalez was picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But that raised the question about whether he would be deported and evade charges in the U.S. Jose Mendoza-Gonzales ordered held in Lake County, Illinois. At a detention hearing in Lake County last week, Jennifer Bos said, a judge ruled Mendoza-Gonzalez was a flight risk, based on recent requests he made to be allowed to return to Mexico. ICE transferred custody to local authorities, and now he’ll sit in jail until his trial in January — the result that Jennifer Bos had hoped for. She said the case demonstrates why the SAFE-T Act needs reassessing. Illinois lawmakers abolished cash bail with the idea that it adversely affects poor people who don’t pose a public safety risk. Under the new law, judges can still order potentially dangerous people held before trial. "There are good aspects of the SAFE-T Act itself, and I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask … for it to be reviewed and pulled back and changed, so that it does benefit victims as much as it benefits the criminals," Jennifer Bos said. Megan Bos’s death is still under investigation.

Breitbart [10/26/2025 3:38 PM, Amy Furr, 2416K] reports a teacher and her boyfriend stand accused of sex trafficking a high school student in Holdrege, Nebraska. The suspects are identified as 36-year-old Elizabeth Jamie Love and 42-year-old Jarid "Jack" Krause, KSNB reported Friday. The couple was taken into custody after the Holdrege Police Department and several other law enforcement agencies including the Nebraska State Patrol began investigating the case, which resulted in an arrest warrant and criminal complaint filed by the Phelps County Attorney’s Office. According to police, Love has been working as a teacher and transition coordinator with ESU-11 and spends time at multiple schools in the state. ESU-11 said she has been placed on administrative leave due to the investigation. "The investigation began after police say a current high school student that Love was instructing through her employment as a transition coordinator and teacher in ESU-11 reported inappropriate interactions with the couple over the past few weeks," the outlet noted. The charges against Love are one count of sex trafficking a minor and one count of sexual grooming by a school worker, while Krause faces a single count of sex trafficking a minor. Nebraska TV cited an arrest affidavit when it reported on Friday the girl told officials in August she overheard the couple talking on the phone and the man allegedly said he wanted to have sex with the girl. "The affidavit said on Oct. 11, Love picked the girl up and took her to Love’s home in Holdrege. The girl said while she was there, Krause led her to an upstairs bedroom and made a request she thought was for sex," the outlet stated. "The girl said she declined Krause’s request and asked if she could leave. The affidavit said he then allowed her to leave the home, which she did," the report noted. The news comes after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) dismantled a criminal illegal alien-run human trafficking ring in Nebraska that was operating from motels and eyebrow salons in Omaha, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a press release August 18. "Our brave ICE law enforcement rescued these children and women who were being sexually exploited and trafficked," said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. "President Trump and Secretary Noem will not allow children and women to be victims of these heinous human trafficking rings. Our message to human traffickers is clear: we will dismantle your networks, and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. That’s a promise.”

Newsweek [10/26/2025 4:40 PM, Peter Aitken, 4109K] reports Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said on Sunday that the United States has revoked the visa for British journalist Sami Hamdi, alleging that he has supported terrorism and worked to "undermine American national security." The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) confirmed that Hamdi has not been deported but remains in custody, and lawyers for the advocacy group are "working to address this injustice." He was detained at San Francisco International Airport earlier this morning, according to CAIR. Newsweek reached out to The International Interest, Hamdi’s outlet, by email outside of normal business hours on Sunday for comment.

Houston Chronicle [10/26/2025 7:00 AM, Claire Partain and Julián Aguilar, 2983K] reports Kevin Zamaripa was looking forward to making the most of his senior year at the University of Houston before completing his kinesiology degree and starting his career. But in June, state leaders failed to defend the Texas DREAM Act from a federal complaint, effectively ending the 24-year-old law in a matter of hours. The law — the first of its kind in the U.S. — allowed tens of thousands of students in Texas without legal status to qualify for in-state tuition at public universities, including the University of Texas, the University of Houston and the Texas A&M systems. Now Zamaripa will likely have to drain his savings to pay about $15,000 in tuition. He isn’t sure how he’ll find work after graduation since he’s not eligible for Obama-era protections for immigrants brought to the U.S. as children — and Texas is no longer required to issue new work permits even if he were. "When I did hear the news of my tuition going up — and when I actually saw my tuition going up — I don’t know, I was scared, I was confused," Zamaripa said. "It wasn’t until afterward that I was mad, that it happened just to us. I thought it was unfair. I’m just trying to get an education, you know, better myself.” It’s proved a triple threat for many would-be Texas college students — the loss of in-state tuition, plus Texas’ refusal to issue new work permits for immigrants under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, and the fear and stress of the unprecedented crackdown on immigration under the Trump Administration. Efren Olivares, vice president of litigation and legal strategy at the National Immigration Law Center, said that some students may feel pushed out of higher education altogether, although he hopes that many will still try. "I am concerned," Olivares said. "For a lot of students, all they’re trying to do is get an education and go to college. Now to have it moved from under them, it’s just been really stressful.”

Axios [10/26/2025 10:42 AM, Russell Contreras, 12972K] reports immigration raids in California’s Coachella Valley — a key source of the nation’s produce — have upended daily life, keeping parents from fields, children from school and multiple families crowded into shared homes. Fear in one of the country’s poorest regions shows how the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is shaking a vulnerable labor force, mostly undocumented, overwhelming churches and food banks. The raids in the region are also partly forcing the Trump administration to warn Americans of a looming food crisis brought on by its own crackdown on undocumented farmworkers. Axios recently interviewed more than a dozen farmworkers, volunteers, advocates and religious leaders in the Coachella Valley, who said the panic is pushing families to the brink of starvation and mental health breakdowns. They said some families with undocumented members are being reduced to one breadwinner (or none) as farmworkers opt not to work out of anxiety that a raid could nab them away. They said families are keeping U.S.-born children home from school, often over images they’ve seen on social media from other cities of immigration agents arresting parents in cars while picking up students. They said three-bedroom trailers have become homes to three families, sometimes accommodating as many as 15 people per dwelling, as people try to combine resources for survival.

Wall Street Journal [10/26/2025 9:00 PM, Robbie Gramer and Michelle Hackman, 646K] reports after three years evading the Taliban in Afghanistan, Mohammed Ibrahim thought he had made it to safety when the U.S. evacuated him, his wife and two of his children to a former American military base in Qatar. Ibrahim had worked for over a decade with the U.S. military during America’s war in Afghanistan, putting him at risk for retribution by the Taliban. He had made it to the final stages of getting approved to permanently live in the U.S. as a refugee. He had been told it might take a few weeks for the final paperwork to clear. Ten months later, he and his family members—along with some 1,300 other Afghans at the former base, known as Camp As Sayliyah—are stuck. What had already been a narrow window into the U.S. has now all but shut. President Trump’s clampdown on migration has closed off most of the Afghans’ avenues to America, and many of the government officials in charge of relocating them have been let go. Afghans with hopes of reaching the U.S. are stranded across the globe, but Camp As Sayliyah is unique: It’s the only place where the U.S. has direct custody. The Afghans there have grown increasingly fearful the U.S. government could eventually try to wash its hands of them and send them home. “If there was a 50% chance the Taliban knew I was working for the Americans before, they will be 100% sure now,” Ibrahim said.

New York Post [10/27/2025 1:38 AM, Richard Pollina, 42219K] reports a manager at the Laugh Factory in Chicago was arrested for allegedly obstructing a federal immigration operation — but his mother claimed agents "kidnapped" him before her eyes. The Chicago Police Department said they responded to a call of a battery in progress outside the club at around 9:20 a.m. Friday, when they found federal agents involved in a physical altercation with two individuals, NBC Chicago reported. A viral video of the encounter shows federal agents taking night manager Nathan Griffin to the ground and placing him under arrest as onlookers scream at the agents to stop during the chaotic scene. The video shows the manager, along with his mother, Elaine Plybon, and agents, in a physical struggle. "Why are you doing this? Where are you taking him?" bystanders yelled as Griffin was picked up off the ground and led into a car. "Let us see your face," another person screamed. Witness Will Kolic, who works nearby and knows the club’s manager, told NBC Chicago he saw multiple cars pull up and men grab a man who appeared to be Hispanic. Kolic said agents then "jumped out of their car" and snatched the Laugh Factory’s manager while he was standing with his mother. It’s not clear who started it, but at one point, agents are seen restraining the mother on the ground. A Border Patrol spokesperson told NBC Chicago that Griffin was detained after he "attempted to impede and obstruct federal officers," and claims he attempted to shut the door of the federal agents’ car on an agent’s leg. "The individual was immediately detained and turned over to the FBI for investigation," Border Patrol said. His upset mother posted a video on Instagram telling her followers that her son was "kidnapped by Border Patrol in front of my eyes.” "For those of you who don’t know, I was in Chicago visiting my son, and he was kidnapped by Border Patrol in front of my eyes," Plybon said. "When I think about going out the door in the morning, I don’t want to… Because I do not want to encounter the SUV, the screams, the crying and the horrific things that I saw before I was pulled into the fray when somebody tried to kidnap my son.” The brother-in-law of the Laugh Factory’s night manager and his mother have since launched a GoFundMe to help Griffin raise money for legal funds. "My brother in law Nathan was detained by border patrol officers today in Chicago, despite the fact that he is a natural-born American citizen," Tom Pinney wrote. "After being arrested and hidden throughout the system, he finally resurfaced about 4 hours after his detainment in FBI custody awaiting a hearing for a federal assault charge which could carry 8 years in prison if convicted.” The GoFundMe has since raised more than $20,000 since being created on Saturday. "The amazing outpouring of support is reminding us of the America we love. We cannot thank you enough!" Plybon wrote in an update on the fundraising page.

Western Journal [10/26/2025 8:30 AM, Jack Davis] reports the price of enforcing the rules has been high as U.S. Border Patrol try to impose law on Democrat-run Chicago. A Department of Homeland Security news release noted that Wednesday was “one of its most violent days since beginning Operation Midway Blitz.” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that” agitators stalked law enforcement, rammed vehicles, fled scenes, injured agents, and caused multiple accidents across town—putting law enforcement and the public in danger.” “Despite the violence, CBP arrested 3 illegal aliens who were breaking our nation’s immigration laws. Six citizens were arrested for impeding and threatening to kill agents,” she said. “Our officers are facing a surge in assaults against them as they put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, rapists, and gang members. Secretary Noem’s message to the rioters is clear: you will not stop us or slow us down,” she said. “CBP and our federal law enforcement partners will continue to enforce the law. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” she said.

FOX News [10/26/2025 1:55 PM, Kristen Altus, 40621K] reports there’s a record strain on America’s air traffic control operations as controllers prepare to miss their first paychecks since the government shutdown began, according to the Trump administration’s Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. "They get a notice of what they’re going to be paid on Tuesday, and they got a big fat zero. No paycheck is coming on Tuesday, and so I’ve been out talking to our air traffic controllers, and you can see the stress," Duffy told host Maria Bartiromo in a "Sunday Morning Futures" exclusive interview. "Just yesterday, Maria, we had 22 staffing triggers. That’s one of the highest that we’ve seen in the system since the shutdown began," he added. "And that’s a sign that the controllers are wearing thin.” The current federal government shutdown has made history, marking 26 days and becoming the longest full shutdown ever, while Congress shows no sign of a resolution. A full government shutdown occurs when the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30 and none of Congress’ 12 single-subject appropriations bills are passed by both chambers. While the House and Senate have each approved three appropriations bills, they have yet to reconcile and pass matching versions. That means most agencies and programs funded through annual congressional appropriations are either paused or operating under severe limitations. Duffy pointed out that air traffic control and Transportation Security Administration employees are increasingly calling out sick or missing work as their paychecks remain halted.

Reuters [10/26/2025 7:00 PM, Idrees Ali and David Shepardson, 36480K] reports U.S. airports reported 22 incidents of air traffic controller shortages on Saturday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, with more shortages expected to bring more flight delays and cancellations in the days ahead as the government shutdown drags on. According to FlightAware, a flight tracking website, there were more than 5,900 U.S. flight delays by 6 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Sunday and more than 5,300 on Saturday. Delays have often been above average since the shutdown began on October 1. The state of air safety has been closely watched for signs of increased delays or cancellations, as observers look for indications that the shutdown is making life harder for Americans. That in turn could pressure lawmakers to break the budget deadlock that led to the shutdown. The Federal Aviation Administration on Saturday had 22 "triggers" that indicated shortages of air traffic controllers, Duffy told the Fox News "Sunday Morning Futures" program. He called that figure "one of the highest that we’ve seen in the system" since October 1. "That’s a sign that the controllers are wearing thin," Duffy said. The FAA website said ground delay programs had been issued because of staffing shortages on Sunday at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, Washington’s Reagan National Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport. The agency also issued a ground stop at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday due to traffic controller staffing shortages around 11:30 a.m. (1530 GMT), which was lifted later although delays continued. The Trump administration has warned that flight disruptions will increase as controllers miss their first full paycheck on Tuesday.

NewsMax [10/26/2025 7:34 PM, Jim Thomas, 4109K] reports that, on Sunday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a ground stop for flights bound for Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) due to a significant shortage of air traffic controllers caused by the government shutdown led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, resulting in major disruptions to U.S. air travel. The FAA announced that flights bound for LAX were held at their originating airports starting at 11:42 a.m. Eastern Time due to inadequate staffing at a Southern California air traffic facility. The shutdown, which began Oct. 1, has left more than 13,000 air traffic controllers and roughly 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers working without pay, according to transportation officials. The average delay for affected flights was about 1 hour and 40 minutes. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that 22 "staffing triggers" were logged the previous day — "one of the highest that we have seen in the system since the shutdown began. And that’s a sign that the controllers are wearing thin," he said. The FAA is about 3,500 controllers short of its target staffing level, according to Reuters. The disruption at LAX adds to growing concerns about widespread travel chaos. Similar staffing shortfalls have been reported at Newark Liberty International Airport and Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, as well as Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers. Earlier in the shutdown, the control tower at Hollywood Burbank Airport in Los Angeles was reportedly unmanned for more than five hours, with traffic handled remotely — a situation linked to controller absences and the shutdown. The incident directly ties the travel infrastructure disruption to the ongoing government funding stalemate. Republican leadership and the Trump administration have pointed to the shutdown’s impact on essential services, while Democrats have faulted Republicans for refusing to pass a short-term Affordable Care Act funding extension. Amid the funding fight, airlines and passengers face a cascading impact. The FAA’s ground stop at LAX reverberates through the national network — delays at one major hub can ripple outward. The staffing shortfall exacerbates the post-pandemic strain on the aviation system. The FAA expected to lift the ground stop by 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time but warned that traffic into LAX might remain restricted for the rest of the day. Officials said the situation may worsen as more controllers miss full pay periods. "That was yesterday ... we had 22 staffing triggers," Duffy said, highlighting the risk. As travelers across the U.S. gauge the impact, the episode underscores how federal funding disputes can affect everyday operations — raising questions for lawmakers, airlines, and passengers alike.

USA Today [10/26/2025 7:30 PM, Thao Nguyen, 67103K] reports a staffing shortage in Southern California’s airspace led to a temporary ground stop at Los Angeles International Airport on Oct. 26, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The restriction affected departing flights from Oakland, California, and went into effect at around 8:45 a.m. local time, according to an FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center advisory. The order was lifted at about 10:30 a.m., but the FAA had warned that there was a chance of extension. The ground stop only impacted flights between Los Angeles and Oakland, but travelers experienced a total of over 900 minutes in delays, the FAA said in its advisory. Average flight delays were around 49 minutes, and some flights were delayed for up to 87 minutes, according to the FAA. After flights were resumed, the FAA said it was likely delays could continue and that travelers were advised to monitor the status of their flights. The temporary ground stop came after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that flight disruptions would increase in the coming days, as air traffic controllers will miss their first full paycheck on Oct. 28 amid the federal government shutdown. Duffy told Fox News’ "Sunday Morning Futures" program that the FAA had 22 "triggers" on Oct. 25 that indicated shortages of air traffic controllers. He called that figure "one of the highest that we’ve seen in the system" since Oct. 1. During Fox News’ "Sunday Morning Futures" program, Duffy predicted that more air traffic controller shortages will lead to an increase in flight delays and cancellations over the next few days. Air traffic controllers received a paycheck two weeks ago at 90% of their regular pay, but will miss their first full paycheck on Oct. 28. Controllers facing the prospect of missing a federal paycheck are looking for other sources of income, Duffy said. "They’re taking second jobs, they’re out there looking," he said. Around 13,000 air traffic controllers and about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers must work even if they are not being paid during the shutdown. The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels and many had been working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even before the shutdown.

AP [10/26/2025 3:31 PM, Staff, 31753K] reports people in Jamaica were preparing as Hurricane Melissa strengthened on Sunday into a major Category 4 hurricane, threatening catastrophic flooding in the northern Caribbean. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Times [10/26/2025 1:18 PM, Erin McCann, 153395K] reports when Melissa grew from a tropical storm into a powerful Category 4 hurricane this weekend, it became the fourth of this year’s five Atlantic hurricanes to undergo what hurricane experts call “rapid intensification.” The intensity of a hurricane is measured by its maximum sustained wind speed, and when that speed increases by at least 35 miles per hour in a 24-hour period — or roughly two categories on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale — meteorologists call that “rapid intensification.” Melissa’s wind speeds doubled in less than a day. Around 11 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday, Melissa was a tropical storm with winds of 70 m.p.h., and it intensified just enough by 1:30 to become a Category 1 hurricane when its winds reached 75 m.p.h. It grew quickly over the next few hours — to a Category 2 by early evening, a Category 3 before midnight and a Category 4, with wind speeds of 140 m.p.h., by 5 a.m. Sunday. It is expected to intensify more. Melissa has been a difficult storm to forecast, with the National Hurricane Center’s experts often pointing out that the models they use to predict a storm’s path and intensity have disagreed wildly at times this week. But as early as Wednesday, forecasters began to suggest the storm would, under the right circumstances, intensify quickly. On Sunday, the storm inched west slowly, and was expected to drop more than 30 inches of rain over parts of the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica. It’s expected to pick up speed and turn toward Jamaica, hitting the island as a Category 4 storm early Tuesday.

New York Times [10/26/2025 4:46 PM, Frances Robles, 153395K] reports authorities in at least five countries rushed on Sunday to evacuate low-lying areas in preparation for record amounts of rain expected with Hurricane Melissa, which is currently a Category 4 storm moving slowly west in the Caribbean. Haiti, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and the Bahamas were opening shelters and making other emergency preparations as experts warned that Hurricane Melissa could become the strongest storm to make landfall in Jamaica’s recorded history, according to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency. The storm surge there could reach eight feet or more in coastal areas, the agency said. Southwest Haiti and portions of Jamaica were bracing for “catastrophic” flash flooding and landslides from the intense and fast-developing hurricane, which has already killed at least four people. Evan Thompson, director of Jamaica’s Meteorological Service, said hurricane conditions would be felt in Jamaica starting on Monday, and the storm is expected to move across the country on Tuesday. Strong winds were already being felt. “There is a slight shift in the track, moving it a little west than where it was originally projected,” he said. “We earlier had said that it would make impact or landfall along the coast of Clarendon, but it seems now to be shifted more to Manchester.” Meteorologists said the projections of up to 35 inches of rain were “unprecedented.”

NBC News [10/27/2025 12:14 AM, Kate Reilly, George Solis and Dennis Romero, 34509K] reports Jamaican officials warned Sunday that some communities may not survive “catastrophic” flash floods as Hurricane Melissa, a powerful Category 4 storm, inched slowly toward the island. Melissa was packing maximum sustained winds of 145 mph and moving west at 5 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in its 11 p.m. ET update. It was centered about 125 miles south-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica’s capital. Melissa is forecast to strengthen to Category 5 within 24 hours, with hurricane center computer models showing "landfall of Melissa as a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane" likely Monday night or Tuesday morning, according to an earlier update and its accompanying forecast discussion. “It now appears virtually certain that the core of a powerful hurricane will move over Jamaica Monday and Tuesday," hurricane center Deputy Director Jamie Rhome said in a video update Sunday. However, U.S. forecasters say an eye-wall replacement cycle could weaken Melissa at landfall, which would further erode its potency before it arrives in eastern Cuba on Tuesday night and the southeastern Bahamas on Wednesday. Melissa is generating 10-foot waves as it drinks up 85-degree seawater. The storm’s minimum central pressure, a measure of power, was estimated at 933 millibars and dropping, a sign of strengthening and a number that would place it on a long list of the most intense tropical cyclones stateside. The distinction between Category 4 and 5, however, will make little difference to its impact on the island, as either is expected to bring catastrophic destruction. The hurricane center said late Sunday that Melissa was likely to cause "life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and landslides" in parts of Jamaica and on the island of Hispaniola, shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. "With it will come long-duration, destructive winds, catastrophic flooding, loss of power, loss of communication, and communities will be cut off for several days in the aftermath," Rhome said. Melissa could be the strongest recorded storm the country has ever faced, according to Evan Thompson, the principal director of Jamaica’s Meteorological Service.

New York Times [10/26/2025 1:58 PM, Nazaneen Ghaffar, 153395K] reports Jamaica could face one of the strongest landfall storms in its recorded history as Hurricane Melissa moves through the Caribbean, and forecasters predict it will hit the island as an “upper-end” Category 4 hurricane on Tuesday. The National Hurricane Center’s records, which date back to 1850, show that Jamaica has only ever been hit by one Category 4 storm, and that happened 37 years ago. As of Sunday morning, Philippe Papin, a senior hurricane specialist at the Hurricane Center, said that Hurricane Melissa was expected to have wind strengths at the highest end of a Category 4 storm as it nears Jamaica. “In our latest forecast, the system looks to be a 155 miles per hour Category 4 hurricane on Tuesday morning,” he said. “And it’s looking increasingly likely that Jamaica will have a direct impact from Hurricane Melissa.”

USA Today [10/26/2025 8:07 AM, Mike Snider, Karissa Waddick, and Thao Nguyen, 67103K] reports Melissa intensified on Oct. 26 after strengthening into a Category 4 hurricane, and forecasters said it could reach Category 5 status with winds surpassing 150 mph in the coming days as the storm threatened catastrophic damage to Jamaica and other Caribbean islands. As the storm tracks northwest through the Caribbean Sea, it’s expected to bring damaging winds, heavy rainfall, life-threatening flash flooding, and risk of landslides to Jamaica on Oct. 26. The strongest winds will hit early in the week, though catastrophic conditions are likely to begin much earlier, the National Hurricane Center said. A hurricane warning was in effect Oct. 26 for Jamaica, as the slow-moving storm brewed 115 miles off the coast of the country’s capital. By 5 p.m. ET, the hurricane center said a warning was also issued for several provinces in Cuba. When the powerful hurricane makes its forecast landfall in Jamaica between late Oct. 27 and early Oct. 28, Melissa is expected to be "an upper-end Category 4 hurricane, which could be the strongest direct landfall for the island" since tropical storm records have been kept, the hurricane Center said earlier on Oct. 26. "Additional intensification is forecast over the next day or so, followed by fluctuations in intensity," the hurricane center said in its 5 p.m. ET advisory. "Melissa is expected to be a powerful major hurricane when making landfall in Jamaica Monday night or Tuesday morning and southeastern Cuba late Tuesday.” Haiti, the Dominican Republic, parts of Cuba, the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos could see life-threatening flash flooding and the potential for landslides later in the week as the storm passes through the Caribbean, the hurricane center said.

Telemundo [10/26/2025 6:13 PM, Staff, 182K] reports Cuba has issued a hurricane warning for the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo , and Holguín as a tropical system continues to strengthen in the Caribbean. Along with this announcement, a tropical storm warning was also issued for the province of Las Tunas , where heavy rains, sustained winds and storm surges are expected over the next few hours. A hurricane warning is also in effect for Jamaica , while in Haiti a hurricane and tropical storm warning is in effect for the southwestern peninsula , from the border with the Dominican Republic to Port-au-Prince. Authorities urged residents in the warning areas to monitor official weather forecasts and follow civil protection instructions in anticipation of the possibility of hurricane or tropical storm conditions in the coming hours.

Reported similarly:
Univision [10/26/2025 8:57 PM, Staff, 5004K]

Telemundo [10/26/2025 7:14 PM, Staff, 182K] reports as Hurricane Melissa continues to intensify in the Caribbean, the city of Miramar is mobilizing a broad local relief effort to assist Caribbean communities that could be affected by the storm. More than 50 volunteers are working tirelessly this Sunday at six collection centers set up at fire and police stations , open 24 hours a day . The initiative seeks to gather essential supplies such as tarps, water, flashlights, sleeping bags, batteries, garbage bags, gloves, boots, non-perishable food items, personal hygiene items, and first aid kits , ready to be shipped immediately after the hurricane hits. Meanwhile, at Miami International Airport , passengers continue to arrive on the last flights from Montego Bay , as Kingston Airport closed on Saturday night. "There was a lot of turbulence when we left, although things are still good and seem organized," said one of the last travelers who managed to leave the island before the hurricane hit. In Jamaica and Haiti , images show residents filling sandbags and securing their homes, as strong winds bring down trees and power lines . Supermarkets and gas stations report long lines and empty shelves.

NewsNation [10/26/2025 3:45 PM, Staff, 8017K] Video: HERE reports following severe weather in the Austin metro Friday night into Saturday, multiple bodies were pulled from the water. A little after midnight Saturday, Austin Travis County EMS conducted a water rescue after reports of people getting washed downstream by Shoal and Hancock Creek. The Austin Police Department said the call came in around 12:40 a.m. Saturday. ATCEMS said at 2:36 a.m., public safety teams were unable to locate a victim after an extensive search. On Saturday evening, the Austin Police Department got a call about a deceased body near Shoal Creek, about two miles from where authorities had earlier been called for the water rescue. In a press briefing, APD said that they are still investigating the deceased body and it is not clear if these two incidents are related. APD said they will provide more information in the upcoming days. Teresa Chatkoff lives near the creek and a bridge that crosses it. She mentioned that during heavy rainfall, the water levels can rise significantly. "When it rains—like it did last night and other times—the water can be up just within a couple of feet of the bottom of this bridge," Chatkoff said. Another person was found dead after Austin Police responded to a report of a body found in Lady Bird Lake on Saturday. In a social media update around 3:28 p.m., Austin Police confirmed an adult was pronounced dead at the scene. APD said the victim has not been identified yet. Nexstar’s KXAN reached out to APD for more details and learned four people experiencing homelessness were washed away near a storm drain. Two of the four were rescued, but a man and a woman were swept away and were not found. It is not clear if the two that were swept away are the same deceased people found on Saturday.

CBS News [10/26/2025 8:02 PM, Frederick Sutton Sinclair and Jessica MacAulay, 39474K] reports a 25-year-old man is dead and six others were injured in a shooting during a homecoming celebration at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, Saturday night, the Chester County district attorney announced. District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe said one person who had a gun has since been detained. Jujuan Jeffers, of Wilmington, Delaware, died in the shooting, de Barrena-Sarobe said during a press conference on Sunday. One current Lincoln student is among the wounded, as is one graduate of the school. The other people who were hurt are not directly connected to the university, the DA said. All of the victims are 20 to 25 years old and are expected to survive. The shooting happened in the parking lot of the International Cultural Center (ICC) building just before 9:30 p.m., where a post-football game celebratory tailgate and Yardfest event was being held, Lincoln University police chief Marc Partee said during a press conference early Sunday morning. "This was to be a joyous occasion," Partee said. "Homecoming — when individuals come back, and they give back to their alma mater, and they live the good memories of their time at Lincoln University, which has helped them propel into life. This was interrupted by gunfire that should not have occurred." At this time, it’s still unclear what led up to the shooting and why shots were fired. The school was placed on lockdown, but that was later lifted. "Today, we’re operating as if this is not an incident where someone came in with the design to inflict mass damage on a college campus," de Barrena-Sarobe said during the news conference. Police are also investigating the possibility that there may have been more than one shooter involved. In a statement posted Sunday afternoon on social media, Lincoln University President Brenda A. Allen’s office said the school is cooperating with authorities. "As this remains an ongoing investigation, details may evolve over the next several days," the post says. "We will continue to keep the Lincoln University informed of any major updates as they become available."

NewsNation [10/26/2025 10:30 AM, Dennis Bright, 8017K] Video: HERE reports two people are dead, including a teenage boy, and nearly a dozen are injured after a shooting at a large Halloween party in North Carolina late Friday night. Nehemiah Locklear, 16, and Jessie Locklear, Jr., 49, were found dead just after 1 a.m. at the scene of a "large house party" in Maxton, about 100 miles southeast of Charlotte and not far from the South Carolina border. The boy and man were not related, authorities said. Eleven other people between the ages of 17 and 43 were shot, including multiple teenagers. Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins told NewsNation affiliate WBTW on Saturday that roughly 300 people were at the Halloween party. He described the event as a "large house party" with "dozens of videos posted online" showing underage drinking and people with guns. "When the deputies arrived and even before they arrived, they were being notified that there were several people shot here, and as they were arriving, some of the people that were shot were arriving at hospitals both in Lumberton and Scotland County," he said. Deputies said more than 150 people ran away before they got there. "There were well over 300 people here, but we’re still early in the investigation. There’s a lot of interviews taking place, but apparently, there was a confrontation between a couple of groups of people, and then gunfire between those two started, and innocent people were shot," Wilkins said.

NewsMax [10/26/2025 10:02 AM, Charlie McCarthy, 4109K] reports the U.S. and China have finalized a TikTok ownership deal that President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will "consummate" when they meet this week in South Korea, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday. While appearing on CBS News’ "Face the Nation," Bessent confirmed that the long-negotiated agreement over the popular short-video app has cleared its final hurdles. "We reached a final deal on TikTok," Bessent said from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he’s traveling with the president. "We reached one in Madrid, and I believe that as of today, all the details are ironed out, and that will be for the two leaders to consummate that transaction on Thursday in Korea.” Bessent declined to elaborate on the commercial details, saying his role was to secure Beijing’s approval for the transaction. "My remit was to get the Chinese to agree to approve the transaction, and I believe we successfully accomplished that," he said. The two leaders will meet in Busan, marking their first in-person encounter since 2019, the New York Post reported. Trump’s September executive order paved the way for the deal by setting up the transfer of TikTok’s U.S. operations to American and allied investors, with Chinese ownership reduced to about 20%. The new U.S. version of TikTok will be controlled by investors, including Oracle founder Larry Ellison, tech entrepreneur Michael Dell, and media mogul Rupert Murdoch, alongside Silver Lake Technology Management and Andreessen Horowitz. Vice President JD Vance, who led negotiations, said the U.S. entity could be valued at about $14 billion. The restructured TikTok will feature an American-run version of its signature recommendation algorithm, often described as the app’s "secret sauce.” The White House has said the algorithm will be "continuously monitored" to ensure it’s free from undue influence.

Reported similarly:
Daily Wire [10/26/2025 7:35 AM, Frank Camp, 2494K]

New York Post [10/26/2025 3:45 PM, Chris Nesi, 42219K] reports a popular UFO-reporting app has recorded thousands of sightings of Unidentified Submersible Objects (USOs) near US waterways — phenomena which high-ranking US Navy officials warn could pose a threat to national security. Enigma, which touts itself as the "largest queryable historical sighting database for global UFO sightings," claims it has received reports on over 30,000 Unidentified Flying Objects and Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena since launching in late 2022. But the sightings haven’t been limited to the skies, with reports also coming in about strange objects rising from the depths of the sea, or plunging into the water without so much as a splash. As of August, Enigma has also logged more than 9,000 mysterious sightings within 10 miles of US shorelines or major bodies of water — 500 of them within 5 miles — with more than 150 of the reports describing objects hovering above or descending into waterways, according to Marine Technology News. The US states with the most reported USO sightings were California (389) and Florida (306) — both among the top three US states with the most ocean coastline. One of the most bizarre reports includes phone camera video of unexplained green lights traveling beneath the surface of the ocean. The app has released maps plotting out the reported sightings, represented as clusters of orange dots running up and down the east and west coasts.

The Hill [10/26/2025 5:00 PM, Ellen Mitchell, 12595K] reports time is running out to find the next solution to get service members paid during the government shutdown, as the $8 billion the Trump administration found to cover troops’ paychecks is due to run out at the end of the month. After Senate Democrats on Thursday sank a vote on Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) bill to pay active-duty military personnel and federal employees required to work during the shutdown, troops, sailors and Air Force members may not receive their Oct. 31 paycheck. Now, with the shutdown into its fourth week and no end in sight, the administration will need to figure out where to pull additional funds from if it wants its forces to be paid, should Congress fail to come up with a solution in time. “While I am grateful President Trump paid service members thus far, I am concerned that money will run out by the end of October and our military won’t get paid on time,” said Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.), a former Navy helicopter pilot who last month introduced a stand-alone military pay bill, the Pay Our Troops Act. The bill has made little movement. Trump on Oct. 11 directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to pay service members’ midmonth paychecks by using $8 billion in previously appropriated Pentagon funds meant for research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E). But that pay cycle cost roughly $6.5 billion, leaving only $1.5 billion leftover for the looming Oct. 31 payday, which is expected to cost $6 billion to $7 billion, according to Todd Harrison, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. “My understanding is that the initial money pulled from the RDT&E account was only sufficient to cover the Oct. 15th payroll,” he told The Hill.

Reuters [10/27/2025 4:51 AM, Trevor Hunnicutt and Guy Faulconbridge, 36480K] reports U.S. President Donald Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin should end the war in Ukraine instead of testing a nuclear-powered missile, adding that the U.S. had a nuclear submarine positioned off Russia’s coast. Putin said on Sunday that Russia had successfully tested its nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, a nuclear-capable weapon Moscow says can pierce any defence shield, and will move towards deploying the weapon. Asked on Air Force One about the test of the 9M730 Burevestnik (Storm Petrel) - dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall by NATO - which Moscow said had flown for 14,000 km (8,700 miles), Trump said the United States did not need to fly so far as it had a nuclear submarine off the coast of Russia. "They know we have a nuclear submarine, the greatest in the world, right off their shores, so I mean, it doesn’t have to go 8,000 miles," Trump told reporters, according to an audio file posted by the White House. "I don’t think its an appropriate thing for Putin to be saying, either, by the way: You ought to get the war ended, the war that should have taken one week is now in ... its fourth year, that’s what you ought to do instead of testing missiles," Trump said.

Reuters [10/27/2025 3:53 AM, Trevor Hunnicutt, 36480K] reports U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that Washington does not view a strike that Israel said targeted a member of a Palestinian militant group in Gaza as a violation of a U.S.-backed ceasefire. Israel said it struck a member of the Islamic Jihad group on Saturday, accusing the individual of planning to attack Israeli troops. Islamic Jihad denied it was planning an attack. Speaking aboard President Donald Trump’s plane during a trip to Asia, Rubio said: "We don’t view that as a violation of the ceasefire." The U.S. top diplomat added that Israel has not surrendered its right to self-defense as part of the agreement brokered by Washington, Egypt and Qatar that saw the main militant faction in Gaza, Hamas, release the remaining living hostages held in Gaza this month. "They have the right if there’s an imminent threat to Israel, and all the mediators agree with that," Rubio said. Rubio said the ceasefire in Gaza, which remains in force between Israel and Hamas just over two years since the war began, was based on obligations on both sides, reiterating that Hamas needs to speed up the return of the remains of hostages who died in captivity. Israel’s Saturday strike came shortly after Rubio departed Israel after a visit aimed at shoring up the ceasefire.

New York Times [10/26/2025 8:42 AM, Sui-Lee Wee, 153395K] reports Cambodia and Thailand on Sunday agreed to move toward resolving longstanding hostilities over their shared border, as President Trump took credit for mediating the decades-old dispute and sought once again to burnish his peacemaking credentials. Mr. Trump and the prime minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, helped broker a cease-fire between Cambodia and Thailand in July, ending a deadly five-day conflict. On Sunday they witnessed Prime Minister Hun Manet of Cambodia and his Thai counterpart, Anutin Charnvirakul, sign an agreement in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital. It was the one of the most high-profile commitments toward peace between the two sides. Mr. Trump termed the deal “the Kuala Lumpur peace accords” and called it “historic.” But there are significant obstacles for lasting peace: the neighbors have not agreed how to define the border and have to manage nationalistic emotions over the issue. The official text of the agreement described it not as a peace deal but a joint declaration by the prime ministers of both Cambodia and Thailand “on the outcomes of their meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.” Still, a key part of the deal was a commitment by the two sides to withdraw heavy weapons from the border, moves that will be monitored by observers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Another breakthrough was the announcement that Thailand would repatriate 18 prisoners of war to Cambodia. The agreement on Sunday, signed during an ASEAN summit, was also remarkable because Thailand has consistently said it rejects third-party mediation in the dispute. Thailand’s foreign minister, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, told reporters that the United States helped in facilitating the talks but that the negotiations were bilateral.

The Hill [10/26/2025 7:27 PM, Tara Suter, 12595K] reports President Trump and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met Sunday in Malaysia amid trade tensions between their two countries. "President Trump meets with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at [Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)] summit," the White House’s account on the social platform X posted Sunday, featuring a photo of the two leaders. The Brazilian president said that the meeting went well, also stating that the two countries’ teams will begin "immediately" on tariff discussions and beyond, according to Reuters. According to the White House’s X post, Trump said that it was "a great honor to be with the President of Brazil… I think we should be able to make some pretty good deals for both countries.” Trump and Lula discussed tariffs during a phone call earlier this month that each leader described as a good step in the direction of improving relations. During the call, Lula asked Trump to get rid of the extra 40 percent tariff he imposed this summer over the prosecution of ex-Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on an alleged plan to hold onto power after losing an election. The new tariff raised the prior rate from 10 percent to 50 percent.

Washington Post [10/26/2025 9:59 AM, Cat Zakrzewski and Katrina Northrop, 24149K] reports negotiators have reached a framework of a trade deal to avert additional 100 percent tariffs that President Donald Trump had threatened to impose on imports from China, setting the stage for the U.S. president’s highly anticipated meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in interviews Sunday that constructive meetings with his Chinese counterparts led to the deal, with the delegation from Beijing agreeing to defer restrictions on rare earth minerals that were poised to harm the U.S. economy. The announcement marked a significant de-escalation of a whiplashing trade war between the world’s two largest economies, which heated up when Trump threatened to ratchet up tariffs earlier this month in response to China’s restrictions on the minerals, which are essential components in most electronics. “President Trump gave me a great deal of negotiating leverage with the threat of the 100 percent tariffs, and I believe we’ve reached a very substantial framework that will avoid that and allow us to discuss many other things with the Chinese,” Bessent said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Bessent suggested in an interview with ABC News that China would defer the restrictions for about a year, although Chinese readouts included no details about a deferral of rare-earth restrictions. He also said the countries had made progress on a deal to bring relief to U.S. farmers who have struggled under China’s boycott of U.S.-grown soybeans. Additionally, Bessent said, the countries have reached a “final deal” on TikTok, which Trump had promised to restructure to avert a ban of the popular social media app in the United States. Congress enacted the ban, and President Joe Biden signed it, to address national security concerns related to the app’s Chinese parent company ByteDance. Trump last month signed a deal that would spin off the app to a group of mostly American investors, including some of his top political allies. The countries will also work together to address the fentanyl epidemic, which Trump has called an emergency and used as a pretense to implement tariffs against China.

CBS New York [10/26/2025 12:47 PM, Kaia Hubbard, 39474K] reports Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that additional 100% tariffs on China are "effectively off the table" after a "very good two-day meeting" with Beijing’s top trade negotiator. "I’m not going to get ahead of the two leaders who will be meeting in Korea on Thursday, but I can tell you we had a very good two days," Bessent said of President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Bessent, who has been leading trade talks with China, appeared Sunday on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where President Trump began a three-country visit to Asia. Mr. Trump is expected to meet with China’s president at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea on Thursday. China is the United States’ third-largest trading partner after Mexico and Canada, and tariffs on Chinese imports currently stand at 30%. Earlier this month, President Trump threatened an additional 100% tariff on Chinese imports by early November in a significant escalation in the U.S.-China trade war. Mr. Trump warned that the tariffs would take effect if Beijing couldn’t reach a deal with the U.S., citing new Chinese export controls. But after the meetings, Bessent said he expects "the threat of the 100% has gone away, as has the threat of the immediate imposition of the Chinese initiating a worldwide export control regime.” The treasury secretary praised Mr. Trump for giving him and his team an advantage, saying the threat of a 100% additional tariff "did give us a great deal of leverage". "President Trump’s very good at creating leverage for us," Bessent added. At the trade meetings, Bessent said he and his Chinese counterpart discussed "a wide variety of issues," from rare-earth magnets to purchases of American agricultural products to the Chinese helping combat the fentanyl crisis in the U.S. He also said the TikTok deal announced last month is set to be finalized on Thursday.

CBS News [10/27/2025 4:40 AM, Staff, 45245K] reports President Trump arrived Monday in Japan, where new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is banking on building a friendly personal relationship with the U.S. leader to ease trade tensions. Mr. Trump’s Asian tour, which kicked off over the weekend, has a heavy focus on business ties, and speaking to journalists as he flew into the Japanese capital, he predicted that a U.S.-China trade agreement would be done before he returned to Washington. But first, the meeting with Takaichi will be an early diplomatic test for Japan’s first woman leader. She took office only last week, and has a tenuous coalition backing her. During the flight to Tokyo, he came back to the press cabin on Air Force One, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. He said he’d talk about the "great friendship" between the U.S. and Japan during his visit. "I hear phenomenal things" about Takaichi, Mr. Trump said, noting her closeness with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with whom Mr. Trump had a good relationship during his first term. "It’s going to be very good," he said. "That really helps Japan and the United States." Mr. Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he expected to reach a trade agreement with China in the coming days. Officials from the world’s two largest economies said Sunday that they’d reached an initial consensus for Mr. Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to try to finalize during a high-stakes meeting later in the week. "I have a lot of respect for President Xi," Mr. Trump told reporters on Air Force One. "I think we’re going to come away with a deal," Mr. Trump said.

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