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.

NewsMax [4/20/2026 8:37 PM, Sam Barron, 3760K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Newsmax on Monday that Democrats are shutting down his department because they don’t want to enforce immigration laws. "I’ve got a building full of people, and people scattered all over the United States and our territories trying to protect the homeland, and you got the Democrats that want to shut it down," Mullin said on "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE.". "They want open borders, and they don’t want to enforce immigration laws. I can’t make sense out of crazy.". Mullin said Democrats are playing political theater with a department that has a huge responsibility. "They’re scared of their base. You can’t explain to me why you don’t want to fund Department of Homeland Security," Mullin said. "That’s like saying, ‘I’m going to defund the Department of War.’ The Department of War comes up to our shores; the Department of Homeland Security protects everything in our backyard," he continued. "And yet they’re saying they’re not wanting to do it because two out of 22 agencies. They want to shut down ... ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], which is deporting felons every single day that are killing innocent people on our streets because they should have never been let in here under the Biden administration, and our Customs and Border Patrol [sic].". Mullin said the Democratic Party’s base that wants to shut down ICE is the same group that supports Mayor Zohran Mamdani in New York City and former Rep. Eric Swalwell in California. "These are the same individuals that they want to defund police, and they haven’t changed their tactics. They’re still the same tactics," he said. "They’re just using different terms, and they keep getting more and more radical. They’re openly embracing socialism now," Mullin added. "They’re openly embracing the fact that they don’t want to have law and order in our streets. You can’t argue with that," he said, pointing to cities such as Portland, Oregon; New York City; and Los Angeles, and questioning how well they are being run. Mullin said if Congress wants to change how ICE and Customs and Border Protection operate, lawmakers should change the laws. "Defunding them is a chicken way to do it, because you don’t want to take a hard stand, because you don’t want to sit there and say that we really want to change the policies, but we need to rewrite them," he said. "But truth is, you really don’t want to rewrite them, because you want to actually have your family living under the laws that you passed. But you don’t want to stand up for the policies you passed because you want to get reelected in your primary," Mullin added.

The Hill [4/20/2026 1:11 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 18170K] reports that the State Department on Monday issued visa restrictions for 75 people who they say are linked to the Sinaloa Cartel in an effort to quell the Mexican transnational crime organization’s drug trafficking operations. “The Sinaloa Cartel smuggles illicit fentanyl, which the President designated as a Weapon of Mass Destruction, and other deadly drugs that harm American communities,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote in a statement. “Imposing visa restrictions on drug traffickers, their family members, and close personal and business associates will not only prevent their entry into our nation, but also serve as a deterrent to continued illicit activities,” he added. In September, the U.S. Treasury Department also sanctioned members of a Sinaloa Cartel faction known as Los Mayos. Last August, Drug Enforcement Agency officials said they arrested 600 people tied to the Sinaloa Cartel through different busts across the span of a week and collected 420 firearms, nearly $13 million in cash and assets, and a massive drug haul that included 714,707 counterfeit pills, 926 pounds of fentanyl powder, 4,870 pounds of methamphetamine, 16,466 pounds of cocaine and 36.5 pounds of heroin. Trump appointed former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to head the initiative. NewsMax [4/20/2026 2:26 PM, Staff, 3760K] reports Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that the measures will apply to 75 people identified as family members or close personal or business associates of individuals already sanctioned under Executive Order 14059 for ties to the cartel. Rubio said the move reflects President Donald Trump’s broader strategy to "use the full power of the United States" to dismantle narco-terrorist organizations operating in the Western Hemisphere. Rubio added that the policy is intended to block entry into the U.S. and to deter continued involvement in illicit activities. The Sinaloa Cartel, which has been designated a foreign terrorist organization, was described by the State Department as a major producer and distributor of fentanyl and other drugs entering the U.S. Officials have also cited the group’s involvement in violence, including killings, kidnappings, and intimidation targeting civilians, government personnel, and journalists. The visa restrictions follow a February 2025 decision to formally designate the Sinaloa Cartel and other transnational criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists. Those designations let U.S. authorities block assets and financial interests tied to the groups and prohibit transactions involving U.S. persons.

The Hill [4/20/2026 10:02 PM, Max Rego, 18170K] reports Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) on Monday introduced an immigration bill he dubbed the “MAMDANI Act.” The Measures Against Marxism’s Dangerous Adherents and Noxious Islamists Act proposes amending the Immigration and Nationality Act, which dictates federal immigration law, to allow for the deportation, denaturalization, denial of citizenship or entry to any migrant that is a member of a socialist party, communist party, the Chinese Communist Party or Islamic fundamentalist party. It also proposes imposing such restrictions on any migrant who “advocates” for socialism, communism, Marxism or Islamic fundamentalism, a sweeping term that includes “writing, districting, circulating, printing, displaying, possessing, or publishing any written, electronic, or printed matter” in support of those ideologies, according to the bill’s text. The acronym for the bill is a reference to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D), a democratic socialist who was born in Uganda and moved to the city as a child. Mamdani, who is Muslim, became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2018. The Hill has reached out to Mamdani’s office for comment. In a press release, Roy asked why the U.S. continues “to import people who hate us?” in reference to those who support the ideologies targeted by his bill. “Not just for the last six years, but for the last 60 years, our immigration system has been cynically used to disadvantage American workers’ competitiveness in favor of mass-importing the third world,” added the Texas Republican, who is running for state Attorney General. “This has not just led to higher crime and lower wages, but also the promulgation of hostile ideologies fundamentally opposed to American values.” “By targeting the Red-Green Alliance, this legislation deploys new tools to fight back against the Marxist and Islamist advance that has devastated Europe and has now arrived on our doorstep, especially in my home state of Texas,” he added. Under the bill, migrants who can establish that their advocacy for one of the listed ideologies occurred before they turned 14 years old are exempt from the restrictions. As for those deemed part of an “Islamic fundamentalist party,” the bill lists the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic State, the Al-Nour Party, Hamas, Hezbollah, Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab as falling under that category. There were an estimated 3.45 million Muslims in the U.S. as of 2017, according to the Pew Research Center.

Reported similarly:
NewsMax [4/20/2026 8:51 PM, Staff, 3760K]

AP [4/20/2026 2:09 PM, Staff, 16072K] reports that a third person has died following a series of shootings in the Atlanta area. Police in Brookhaven say Tony Mathews, a 49-year-old homeless man, died Sunday from injuries after he was shot in the early morning hours of April 13 outside a grocery store. Authorities say they’re seeking an additional murder charge against Olaolukitan Adon Abel, a 26-year-old U.S. Navy veteran who is already accused of killing two others in the same series of attacks. Authorities haven’t offered a potential motive for the attacks. However, roommates have told The Associated Press that shortly before the shootings, Abel stormed out of his communal house after getting into an intense argument over the air conditioning in the home. One of the other the victims was an auditor for the Department of Homeland Security who was walking her dog near the suspect’s home. Abel, a native of the United Kingdom, was granted U.S. citizenship in 2022 while serving in the U.S. Navy and stationed in the San Diego area. He’s already charged in Georgia state court with two counts of malice murder, aggravated assault and gun offenses. He also is facing a federal firearms charge, along with another man who is accused of buying the gun for him that was used in the shootings. The shootings led Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to raise concerns that Adon Abel was granted citizenship when Democrat Joe Biden was president. Mullin catalogued a litany of the defendant’s previous alleged crimes, but it is unclear whether any of them occurred before he became a citizen.

USA Today [4/20/2026 1:01 PM, Irene Wright, 70643K] reports that the gun used in a string of fatal shootings in metro Atlanta last week was bought by a homeless man on behalf of the attacker, federal prosecutors say. Olaolukitan Adon Abel, 26, is accused of shooting three people in the early hours of April 13 in three Atlanta neighborhoods, two of whom died from their injuries. The victims include a homeless man, who is expected to survive, and two women. Police say there is no known connection between Abel and the victims, and the attacks were described as "random." The shootings caught national attention when one of the victims was identified as Lauren Bullis, a Department of Homeland Security employee who was out walking her dog in Panthersville when she was fatally shot and stabbed. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin called the attacks "acts of pure evil" in a post on X, noting that Abel is originally from the United Kingdom and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2022. Now, Abel and the homeless man, identified as 35-year-old Damon Marquis Yarns, are facing additional firearm charges for the manner in which Abel obtained a weapon, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Georgia.

USA Today [4/20/2026 2:14 PM, Paris Barraza, 70643K] reports that an Iranian woman who resides in Southern California was arrested on suspicion of "trafficking arms on behalf" of the Iranian government, an official said on Sunday, April 19. Shamim Mafi, 44, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on April 18, said Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California. According to a criminal complaint, Mafi is accused of having "conspired with others to perpetrate an unlawful scheme to broker the sale of weapons, weapons components, and ammunition on behalf of the Government of Iran," violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The International Emergency Economic Powers Act gives the president "broad authority to regulate a variety of economic transactions following a declaration of national emergency," according to the Congressional Research Service. President Donald Trump has used this law to impose sweeping tariffs. According to the complaint, Mafi, with the assistance of an unnamed co-conspirator, "brokered the sale of 55,000 bomb fuses to the Sudanese Ministry of Defense." In addition, they "brokered the sale of millions of rounds of ammunition from Iran to Sudan.". Mafi is accused of brokering weapons deals on behalf of Iran through a company she owns with a co-conspirator as recent as early 2025, according to the complaint.

Roll Call [4/20/2026 6:21 PM, Paul M. Krawzak, 673K] reports Senate Republicans plan to release their budget resolution and take a procedural vote as early as Tuesday, kicking off the cumbersome process for a reconciliation bill designed to help end the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R.S.D., said Monday he hopes to confine the bill to the narrow mission of funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol. The party is aiming to provide about $70 billion in funding to sustain the immigration agencies for at least the next three years, without placing any new guardrails on federal immigration agents sought by Democrats. The budget resolution would contain instructions to the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Judiciary panels, which would be charged with writing the details of the upcoming reconciliation bill. "When you start adding other committee jurisdictions, everything gets harder," Thune said. Passage of immigration funding through a reconciliation bill could pave the way for the House to clear a Senate-passed bill to fund the rest of the Department of Homeland Security, thereby ending a record-breaking partial shutdown that has persisted for more than two months.

DailySignal [4/20/2026 5:16 PM, George Caldwell, 474K] reports the Senate is about to try to use one of Congress’ most powerful tools—the budget reconciliation process—to fund border security and immigration enforcement over Democrats’ objections. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is plowing ahead with plans to release a framework for a party-line budget bill that would inject funding into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as well as Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has gone without appropriations since Feb. 14, as Democrats have refused to pass a bill that would fully fund the agency. President Donald Trump, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., have embraced a plan to fund ICE and CBP through reconciliation, while funding the rest of the agency through appropriations. In the case of this reconciliation bill, Thune has repeatedly reiterated his desire for the focus to be "skinny" and focused solely to funding border and immigration enforcement, rather than pulling in other priorities. There is a camp of Republicans who want to use reconciliation to advance a host of ambitious legislative goals.

Washington Times [4/20/2026 5:53 PM, Lindsey McPherson, 1323K] reports Senate Republicans will release a budget blueprint on Tuesday that will tee up a filibuster-proof process for funding immigration enforcement agencies through the remainder of President Trump’s term amid a Democratic blockade. Adopting a budget resolution is the first step in the reconciliation process that Republicans are using to get around a Democratic filibuster. The Senate could take a first procedural vote on the measure as soon as Tuesday evening, with the goal of sending it to the House by the end of the week. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, South Dakota Republican, said Monday the budget resolution will direct the two Senate committees with jurisdiction over immigration enforcement — the Homeland Security and Judiciary panels — to draft legislation providing the funding boost. Some GOP lawmakers are pushing to add other party priorities to the budget reconciliation package, believing it may be their last opportunity to deliver promises they made to voters ahead of the midterm elections.

Federal News Network [4/20/2026 2:38 PM, Terry Gerton, 1297K] reports that guest: Mitchell Miller. Title: Capitol Hill correspondent, WTOP. Summary: DHS remains the only federal agency operating without a finalized 2026 appropriations bill, leaving Congress to rely on an unusually intricate reconciliation process to reach an outcome. All of this is happening as lawmakers begin shaping 2027 spending plans, layering urgency onto an already stalled debate. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NewsMax [4/20/2026 8:10 AM, Charlie McCarthy, 3760K] reports the U.S. Senate needs to send the House a bill that fully funds the Department of Homeland Security "ASAP," Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., told Newsmax on Monday. Appearing on Newsmax’s "Wake Up America," Fine stressed that reopening critical government functions — particularly those tied to border security — must take priority over partisan wrangling in Washington. "I believe we need to get the government open. I think that needs to be our No. 1 priority," Fine said. "So whatever the Senate can get us sent fast is what I support.". The Florida Republican warned that current proposals fall short, arguing some would leave key DHS operations unfunded indefinitely. That, he said, is unacceptable at a time when border enforcement and deportation efforts remain central concerns for many Americans. "Right now, we have a bill that would not fully fund the Department of Homeland Security, that would keep parts of the government closed, the parts that protect our border and deport illegal immigrants," Fine said. "It would keep them closed forever. I’m not going to support that.". Fine urged Senate leaders to act quickly and deliver a clean funding bill the House can pass without delay. "The Senate needs to get us a bill ASAP that will get the government fully funded, and I’ll be behind it 100%," he added.

Bloomberg Government [4/21/2026 5:00 AM, Mica Soellner, 111K] reports President Donald Trump’s move to instruct the Homeland Security Department to pay its employees during its partial shutdown may backfire by leaving no sense of urgency for Congress to fund the agency. Trump’s decision has sparked legal questions and continued tensions between the White House and Congress. It’s taken pressure off lawmakers to negotiate new funding around disputes over immigration and border security, even though those issues remain a top White House priority, and could still lead to furloughs at DHS if the White House runs out of ways to shift money. [Editorial note: Consult source link for extended commentary]

Politico [4/20/2026 5:55 AM, Daniel Miller and Ry Rivard, 21784K] reports this summer’s World Cup has been in the works for a decade. But as kickoff approaches, an unexpected convergence of threats — from labor strife and high ticket prices to geopolitical turmoil and culture-war politics fanned by Donald Trump — is turning the event into a nationwide stress test for the governmental institutions charged with pulling it off. For cities and states that competed for years for the privilege of hosting matches, the economics of doing so now look very different than when soccer’s governing body FIFA awarded the tournament to the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2018. Rather than offering a triumphal turn in the international spotlight, the World Cup has become a case study in the local hazards of staging a spectacle at a moment of global disruption. “This is an event that just keeps on giving with surprises in this building,” New Jersey state Sen. John Burzichelli said during a recent statehouse budget hearing. “It seems like such a good idea originally, and it’s just gotten more and more complicated.” FIFA, which expanded the tournament from 32 to 48 teams for the first time, has predicted it would be an economic powerhouse, generating upward of $11 billion in revenue against costs of about $3.75 billion. But state and local governments worry that the soccer federation’s restrictions on the ability of host cities to independently fundraise are sticking U.S. taxpayers with the bill. After complaining that the federal budget is not sufficiently reimbursing them for increased security and transit costs, some municipalities are now hunting for new revenue sources of their own via special taxes and fees, and significantly higher train fares. Politicians are chafing at the high ticket prices set by FIFA, which some are blaming for hotel-room bookings that have fallen short of projections in cities across North America. The months leading up to mega-events are always plagued by uncertainty, usually surrounding issues close to the stadium experience: facility readiness, fan-safety concerns, ticket allocation and the presence of violent hooligans. Never before has a World Cup’s success been so directly connected to day-to-day political developments in the run-up to the opening whistle. In Inglewood, the Los Angeles neighbor where the U.S. team will play two of its matches, SoFi Stadium workers are threatening to strike over issues including the potential presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel during the World Cup. In Texas, the office of Gov. Greg Abbott has warned it would pull public-safety funds from Houston over a dispute about the city’s policies related to ICE. And an outbreak of cartel violence in Guadalajara, Mexico, following the killing of a prominent drug kingpin has added a new layer of instability. Conditions could worsen even further before the first match on June 11. Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda has heightened anxiety about travel and attendance for both fans and teams, while his war with Iran has raised questions about whether that country’s squad will even play — despite being one of the first nations to qualify for a place in the tournament. Some in Europe are continuing to call for a boycott campaign that first emerged in response to the president’s threats to annex Greenland. FIFA spokesperson Bryan Swanson provided POLITICO with an extensive statement that said, in part, that the organization is “confident that the event will be a resounding success for everyone involved, all the participating teams, the fans from all around the world and the hosts.” Swanson added that the tournament would have “an estimated global economic output” of more than $80 billion, and would generate engagement with six billion people. “This will be the biggest show on the planet,” he said. Los Angeles and the New York City area could be hardest hit, because they are both hosting high-profile matches and serving as transcontinental air gateways, leaving them particularly exposed to changes in demand from foreign fans. In LA, which is scheduled to host the Iranian team, any shortcoming could fuel fresh concerns about a 2028 Summer Olympics already struggling to maintain public confidence.

Newsweek [4/20/2026 5:35 PM, Kate Plummer, 52220K] reports federal workers at the Department of Homeland Security are to have a "more flexible work schedule," the department has confirmed. Since moving back into the White House for a second term, President Donald Trump has overseen a shake-up of the federal workforce, including by issuing an executive order in January 2025 to ban government staff from working from home. The back-to-office order came as the administration also implemented hiring freezes and mass layoffs and has encouraged employees to point out examples of fraud, waste and abuse within their departments. In April 2025, the DHS specifically ended flexible work arrangements and required most employees to return to the office five days a week. The department also stopped compressed hours which had allowed workers to work four days a week instead of five, but with longer hours. While the DHS did not comment on the specifics of new changes, in a statement provided to Newsweek, a DHS spokesperson said: "Under new leadership, DHS reexamined its alternative work schedule policies to align with the vast majority of other federal agencies. This allows our workers to have [a] more flexible work schedule.” The changes will affect the some 260,000 workers at the agency and their daily work day. It also represents a softening of earlier policies toward federal workers amid new leadership at the agency. In March, Markwayne Mullin became the Homeland Security secretary after his predecessor Kristi Noem became the first Cabinet secretary to be fired from Trump’s second administration. The DHS did not expand upon the alternative work schedule policies it would implement, but policies include working flexible hours as an alternative to the traditional 9 to 5, 40-hour work week, according to a memo published by the U.S. Department of Labor

AP [4/20/2026 9:26 AM, Gary Fields, 35287K] reports the cherry blossoms draw more than a million visitors to Washington’s Tidal Basin annually. This year was no different, except some strolling the area between the Lincoln Memorial and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial were dressed in camouflage -- and armed. Eight months after President Donald Trump declared a crime emergency in the nation’s capital and called up the National Guard, more than 2,500 troops remain, in a deployment that has grown increasingly routine, with no clear end in sight. Deployments to other cities have ended or been paused by courts in California and Illinois, while more limited operations are ongoing in cities including New Orleans. But in Washington, guard members still walk city streets and patrol metro stations, tourist attractions, neighborhoods and parks. Even with pivotal elections looming this year, that lingering presence is barely mentioned in city council meetings or by candidates running for mayor and Congress — perhaps reflecting both competing priorities and a sense that local officials have little power to stop it. Unless the courts step in, the guard will remain at least through the end of the year, if not longer. "Taxpayers are paying more than a million dollars a day to have them walk around," said Phil Mendelson, chairman of the District of Columbia Council, in an emailed response to questions. And, he said, "the presence of armed soldiers on American streets is not a good look."

Politico [4/20/2026 10:00 AM, Mackenzie Wilkes, 21784K] reports President Donald Trump’s campaign to expel unauthorized immigrants from the United States is trickling into the nation’s classrooms and college campuses. School districts across the country where federal immigration enforcement surges are occurring have seen a rise in student absences. And the Trump administration has successfully pressured a number of GOP states to drop policies allowing undocumented students to receive in-state tuition. While Trump campaigned on targeting individuals committing violent crimes, there’s a growing movement by federal and state governments to reassess access to public education and programs. Conservatives say they’re increasingly concerned about the cost of educating undocumented students, with more red states proposing legislation that could challenge an over four-decade-old Supreme Court decision giving these students the right to a free public education. “If you’re here illegally, then you shouldn’t be getting taxpayer benefits from the people who are here that are funding the system,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) told Morning Education. “Until you fix the magnets of free health care, free education, then you’re never going to stop the problem.”

New York Times [4/20/2026 2:12 PM, Mitch Smith, 148038K] reports that the hearing lasted just five minutes. The defendant pleaded guilty to three misdemeanors. The prosecutor recommended a $2,000 fine with no time in jail. The judge quickly agreed. But it was no ordinary Monday in Comanche County District Court. Just a few months ago, that defendant, Joe Ceballos, was the mayor of Coldwater, a speck of Kansas prairie where he had lived for decades, built a career as a utility lineman and raised his family. Then last November, on the same day that Coldwater voters elected him to another term, Mr. Ceballos was charged in state court with voting illegally as a noncitizen. Within days, he went from a part-time politician unknown outside of his small town to a face of the Republican Party’s national campaign against illegal voting. After he was charged, Mr. Ceballos, who was born in Mexico and holds a green card, resigned as mayor and admitted to anyone who asked that he had indeed voted in American elections, always choosing Republicans. He said that he did not know he was breaking the law by doing so as a permanent U.S. resident without citizenship. “This alien committed a felony by voting in American elections,” a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said in November. “If convicted, he will be placed in removal proceedings.” Officials with the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to questions about the case on Monday.

USA Today [4/20/2026 1:46 PM, Josh Meyer, 70643K] reports that the Trump administration is once again ratcheting up its investigations into alleged voting irregularities in past elections, this time demanding all ballots and related materials from the November 2024 federal election in Wayne County, Michigan. Michigan officials, including state Attorney General Dana Nessel, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson are pushing back against the demand, in which the Justice Department seeks all ballots, ballot receipts and ballot envelopes in the Democratic-leaning county that includes Detroit. "Michigan’s elections are safe and secure, and any attempt to suggest otherwise is an attempt to take away Michiganders’ constitutional right to vote," Whitmer, who has been talked about as a 2028 presidential candidate, said in an April 19 statement by the three statewide Democrats. The DOJ demand was contained in an April 14 letter by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who oversees DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and its Voting Section, which has been actively investigating alleged voter fraud nationwide, often in Democratic strongholds. In her letter, Dhillon gave Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett 14 days to respond, and said she would seek a court order if the county does not comply.

USA Today [4/20/2026 7:07 PM, Brian Day, 70643K] reports San Bernardino County’s "Operation Consequences" crime suppression task force kept busy last week, seizing 76 guns and 12 pounds of drugs, as well as making 76 arrests, in and around the High Desert, officials said. San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department deputies and other agencies carried out 21 search warrants April 13-19 at locations in Victorville, Hesperia, Apple Valley, Adelanto, San Bernardino and Castaic, according to the agency. "As a result, investigators contacted gang members and persons prohibited from possessing firearms," sheriff’s officials said in a written statement. In total, investigators seized 76 firearms, including 10 ghost guns, and nearly 12 pounds of drugs, including fentanyl, methampetamine and cocaine, officials said. They made 43 felony arrests and 33 misdemeanor arrests. Partnered agencies included the California Highway Patrol, San Bernardino County Probation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the San Bernardino Police Department, the Ontario Police Department, the Rialto Police Department, the Montclair Police Department, the Colton Police Department, the Barstow Police Department, the California Department of Corrections and the FBI.

USA Today [4/20/2026 11:01 PM, Staff, 70643K] reports Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo said Monday she wants answers, calling it an issue of "sovereignty," after two U.S. embassy personnel died in a car accident following a drug raid that she was unaware of in northern Mexico. "We weren’t aware that there would be a direct operation between the state of Chihuahua and personnel from the U.S. Embassy to Mexico. So we’re asking for all the information from the government of Chihuahua and also from the United States and reviewing if there was a violation of national security law," Sheinbaum said April 20 during her daily news conference. "We’re clear and we’ve come to expect that there’s collaboration and coordination but not joint operations on the ground.". The Mexican president’s comments come after authorities in the state of Chihuahua announced April 19 that the U.S. officials died along with the director of the state’s investigative agency and an agency officer following an "operation to destroy clandestine laboratories" near the border with the state of Sinaloa. In a later statement, authorities in Chihuahua said the Americans did not have a role in the operation and were only in the car incidentally. According to the Chihuahua prosecutor’s office, Mexican authorities returning from the raid passed through a community where the Americans were giving drone flying lessons and the U.S. officials asked to ride in the government convoy to get to another location. The crash happened at about 2 a.m. after their vehicle went over a ledge "into one of the ravines that exist in the area," the prosecutor’s office said. "We’re very respectful of the sovereignty of this country and of not having the intervention of agents of any type who are not nationals," said César Jáuregui Moreno, Chihuahua’s top prosecutor, in a statement translated to English, adding that "there are collaborations in other programs" near the border. It wasn’t immediately clear why U.S. Embassy personnel were giving drone operating instructions in the area. USA TODAY has reached out to the State Department and CIA for comment. U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson seemed to indicate the Americans were involved in the drug raid in a statement. "We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of two U.S. Embassy personnel, the Director of Chihuahua’s State Investigation Agency (AEI), and an AEI officer in this accident. We honor their dedication and tireless efforts to confront one of the greatest challenges of our time," Johnson said. "This tragedy is a solemn reminder of the risks faced by those Mexican and U.S. officials who are dedicated to protecting our communities. It strengthens our resolve to continue their mission and advance our shared commitment to security and justice, to protect our people.". Johnson’s comments came before Mexican authorities said Monday the U.S. personnel were not involved. Their names have not been released.

New York Times [4/21/2026 3:17 AM, Paulina Villegas, 330K] reports President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico said on Monday that her government would investigate a deadly crash that killed four officials, including two Americans on Sunday, after their visit to illicit drug laboratories in the northern part of the country. But she made clear the inquiry would center on whether the involvement of the Americans in the operation violated Mexico’s national security laws, not how the accident happened. Her security cabinet, she said, had no prior knowledge of the activities involving the Americans in Chihuahua state. “There is collaboration, there is coordination, but there are no joint operations on the ground,” Ms. Sheinbaum said at her daily news conference, drawing a firm red line that has come to define her approach to Mexico’s security ties with Washington. She added that the Americans’ presence appeared to stem from an arrangement between the U.S. Embassy and local authorities in Chihuahua state, not the federal government. The four officials, two American and two Mexican, were killed early Sunday when their vehicle crashed while returning from an operation led by Mexico’s armed forces to dismantle clandestine methamphetamine labs in the mountains, state authorities said. Ms. Sheinbaum said that her government has requested information from embassy officials and Chihuahua state authorities to determine whether the operation violated Mexico’s national security law, which forbids foreign agents, including U.S. military or law enforcement officials, from operating in the country without prior authorization by the federal government. American officials working directly with state-level authorities without federal approval would be in direct breach of the Constitution. “We need to understand the circumstances under which this was taking place, and then assess the legal implications,” she said on Monday. Eloy García, a spokesman for the Chihuahua state attorney general’s office, offered a different account, saying the Americans were in the state under a “direct agreement” with the U.S. government tied to ongoing training efforts. Such training programs, he said, are regular and do not require federal authorization. “We have signed agreements that allow us to carry out this type of joint effort — training exercises that are ongoing, though not permanent — without needing to request authorization from the federal government,” Mr. García said. He added that cooperation with U.S. officials, often coordinated through the embassy, has intensified in recent months as seizures of synthetic drug labs have surged. After three state agents became intoxicated last year while handling fentanyl, he said, state authorities began specialized training with their American counterparts on how to safely handle the deadly synthetic opioid.

Reported similarly:
Reuters [4/20/2026 10:45 AM, Staff, 38315K]

Telemundo [4/20/2026 11:55 PM, Maria Verza and Megan Janetsky, 19K] reports the Mexican president said Monday that she was unaware of the work being done by two members of the U.S. embassy who died the previous day along with two Mexican officials in a traffic accident in the northwest of the country, following an alleged operation. Therefore, he asked for explanations from both the state government and the US ambassador to confirm that the law had not been violated. “This was not an operation that the Security Cabinet was aware of,” Claudia Sheinbaum stated during her morning press conference. “We weren’t informed; it was a decision made by the Chihuahua state government… they must have federal authorization for this type of collaboration at the state level, as the Constitution stipulates.” César Jáuregui, the prosecutor of Chihuahua —the border state with Texas where the accident occurred—, said on Sunday at a press conference that the Mexican army and his prosecutor’s office had participated in the dismantling of one of the largest synthetic drug labs located by the authorities and that the crash in which the "training officers" of the U.S. embassy died was on their way back from that operation. On Monday, following the president’s comments, the prosecutor backtracked and clarified that this was the information he had on Sunday and that he later learned that the embassy officials joined the group after the operation and were several hours away from where the action took place. Hours later, the federal Security Cabinet reported a joint operation by the Army and the state prosecutor’s office over the weekend in Chihuahua. Their statement did not clarify whether it was the operation the prosecutor had referred to, but it took place in the same area—Morelos—and also resulted in the dismantling of drug labs. The U.S. Embassy, ​​in response to a request from The Associated Press, declined to identify the slain officials or indicate which government department they worked for. In a brief statement, it noted that they “supported the Chihuahua authorities’ efforts to combat the cartels.” The incident has reopened the debate about the extent of US involvement in Mexican territory after President Donald Trump pressured Sheinbaum for more results in security and maintained his desire to take military action against the cartels, something rejected by the mayor. According to the prosecutor’s explanation on Sunday, an investigation had begun months ago between his department and the Ministry of Defense. "Once we were certain of the location using drones, we went together to secure the facilities." Jáuregui said it was one of the largest synthetic drug labs dismantled in the country. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Post [4/20/2026 7:04 PM, Daniel McCarthy, 40934K] reports "Dignity" is just another word for "amnesty" in an ill-conceived bill now being pushed by a Miami-area Republican congresswoman. Heading into the midterms, the last thing the GOP should be doing is alienating its core voters on immigration. Rep. Maria Salazar’s legislation does just that. In the Orwellian way proposed laws are labeled these days, this one is called the "Dignity for Immigrants while Guarding our Nation to Ignite and Deliver the American Dream Act," or "DIGNIDAD Act" — Spanish for "dignity." President Donald Trump last year signed an executive order designating English the nation’s official language. Shouldn’t it also be the official language for the short title of a Republican congresswoman’s immigration bill? The fact Salazar chooses dignidad over "dignity" speaks volumes about whose interests are prioritized here. The bill would grant legal status to as many as 10.5 million illegal immigrants, while expanding eligibility for yet more newcomers to receive temporary or permanent visas. The Dignidad Act makes a joke out of Trump’s efforts to deport anyone who’s in this country illegally.

Washington Post [4/20/2026 6:00 AM, Max Boot, 24826K] reports more than two months before President Donald Trump announced that the Navy would interdict shipping to and from Iranian ports, he quietly launched a blockade of fuel shipments to Cuba. It’s hard to know exactly when the Cuba blockade started, because the president, in his usual autocratic fashion, made no public announcement and offered no explanation for his actions. He simply acted. But by the beginning of February, the U.S. Coast Guard was intercepting oil tankers bound for Cuba. The only tanker that has reached the island since then arrived from Russia on March 31 with nearly 730,000 barrels of oil; Trump, ever deferential to Russian President Vladimir Putin, made an exception for the Russian ship. But that tanker offered only a temporary respite from the fuel emergency further damaging an island devastated by decades of communist rule. The Cuban power grid has almost entirely collapsed, because of long-standing maintenance issues exacerbated by the lack of fuel. Tourism has ground to a halt, and hospitals are struggling to stay open. A former U.S. diplomat, writing in the New York Times, described this as the “worst economic and humanitarian crisis” that Cuba has faced “in over a century.” The U.S. blockade, adding to the misery of the long-suffering Cuban people, appears to be an attempt to soften up the country for a regime change operation. Trump regularly says that Cuba will be “next” after the Iran war. “We may stop by Cuba after we’re finished” with Iran, he said last week. Last month, he predicted that Cuba “is going to fall pretty soon,” and said, “I do believe I’ll [have] the honor of taking Cuba … I think I can do anything I want with it. They’re a very weakened nation right now.” Trump has said it may or may not be a “friendly takeover.” USA Today reports that the Pentagon is ramping up planning for military operations in Cuba. Meanwhile, the administration has been talking to the family of former president Raúl Castro, who, with his brother Fidel, led the Cuban Revolution resulting in the communist takeover in 1959. In a reprise of the Trump administration’s Venezuela operation, the White House is reportedly trying to depose Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel in favor of supposedly more moderate officials willing to reform a sclerotic economy.

Breitbart [4/20/2026 7:06 PM, John Binder, 2238K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested illegal aliens convicted of rape, child sexual abuse, and kidnapping, among other violent crimes, Breitbart News has learned. "Over the weekend, the heroic men and women of ICE arrested criminal illegal aliens convicted for some of the worst crimes imaginable, including sex trafficking, child rape, and kidnapping," the Department of Homeland Security’s Lauren Bis said in a statement. Among those illegal aliens arrested are Walter Perez-Avila of Guatemala and Miguel Lopez-Jimenz of Mexico. Perez-Avila was previously convicted of rape in Brooklyn, New York, while Lopez-Jimenz has been convicted of sexual assault on a child and human trafficking for sexual servitude in Larimer County, Colorado. Similarly, ICE agents arrested Charles Amofa of Ghana, Nava Kumar Tupili of India, and Ruben Cabrera-Saucedo of Mexico. Amofa was previously convicted of sexual solicitation of a minor, kidnapping, attempted second-degree sexual offense, and fourth-degree sexual contact in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Tupili has been convicted of accosting children for immoral purposes and using a computer to commit a crime in Wayland, Michigan, while Cabrera-Saucedo was previously convicted of kidnapping in Laredo, Texas.

Blaze [4/21/2026 4:20 AM, Daniel Horowitz, 1442K] reports the Trump administration has made it clear since its pullout from Minneapolis that the era of mass deportation is over and the administration will instead focus on criminal aliens. But sanctuary cities, which defend the worst of the criminal aliens, remain fully funded and undeterred well into Trump’s second term, with zero strategy to harness the news of endless heinous crimes committed in these fugitive jurisdictions. How can it be that Republicans are planning one last party-line bill to fund ICE and aren’t even broaching the issue of sanctuary cities? According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, there were over 300 sanctuary jurisdictions in 2016. In response to Trump’s rise to power and his threat to enforce our sovereignty, this number rose to 564 by 2018 — an increase of roughly 88% in the first two years of the Trump administration. As of last year, FAIR identified at least 1,003 by May 2025. After failing to ignore the courts and cut off funding executively for over five years of Trump’s two administrations, the upcoming budget reconciliation bill is the last opportunity to accomplish this legislatively without Democrat support. Why is this not the single biggest focus of budget reconciliation?

New York Post [4/20/2026 12:20 PM, Staff, 40934K] reports ICE agents nabbed a murderous illegal migrant and MS-13 gangbanger during a crafty traffic-stop sting in upstate New York last week, authorities said. Federal immigration agents got a tip on the whereabouts of fugitive accused killer and drug trafficker Alejandro Perla Cruz, 37, of El Salvador on April 7 and set up a trap to nab him, officials said. Cruz had been wanted for years, they said. The agents finally were able to pull Cruz over near Newburgh under the ruse of a traffic stop at 6 a.m. April 13 and took him into custody, where he is now awaiting proceedings to send him back to face justice in El Salvador, authorities said. "ICE New York City will not allow violent criminals to evade justice within the United States, and we will never waver in our mission and mandate to remove them from our country," said Kenneth Genalo, director of the ICE New York City Field Office, in a statement. "Protecting New Yorkers from criminal illegal aliens will always be a priority for this office," Genalo said. "I am grateful to our officers and our FBI partners for their work in removing this gang member from our streets so he can be returned to his home country to face prosecution for his heinous crimes.".

CBS 17 Raleigh [4/20/2026 12:57 PM, Starletta Watson and Rodney Overton, 51110K] reports the man accused in a deadly shooting investigation has been indicted by a grand jury in Durham County. Carlos Anuel Medina-Robles, of Honduras, was arrested in North Dakota by the U.S. Marshals Service, FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after coordinating with the Durham County Sheriff’s Office, federal and local authorities said. According to Durham County deputies, Medina-Robles was indicted by a grand jury for first-degree murder Monday after he was returned to Durham. This felony charge stems from a shooting in November 2025, in which 28-year-old Alberto Flores was killed at a diner on Guess Road. CBS 17 previously reported that several agencies worked to track down Medina-Robles, and he was arrested Thursday on a first-degree murder charge in Ward, North Dakota. The Department of Homeland Security said Medina-Robles re-entered the country after being deported, which led to an ICE detainer. “This twice-deported criminal illegal alien from Honduras is wanted for a murder in North Carolina,” said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis in a DHS news release. “This is yet another tragic case of the consequences of disastrous open-border policies.” [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Daily Caller [4/20/2026 3:38 PM, Mark Tanos, 803K] reports a judge denied bond for an illegal immigrant from Mexico charged with driving drunk and allegedly killing two boys who were riding bicycles on a South Carolina sidewalk. Eri Otoniel Roblero Perez appeared before a Spartanburg County judge on April 13 and was refused release, WSPA reported. Spartanburg County Solicitor Barry Barnette called Perez a danger to the community, as well as a flight risk because he is not a U.S. citizen. Each felony DUI count carries up to 25 years in prison. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed ICE filed a detainer against Perez and said he crossed into the country illegally at an undetermined time. Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis stated, "This criminal illegal alien from Mexico had no business being in our country, and now two boys are dead because he decided to drive under the influence." Twelve-year-old Dereon James Robinson and 9-year-old Mikhail-Lee Smith were pedaling along the sidewalk of Asheville Highway near Brock Street on April 12 when Perez’s Honda allegedly left the road and struck them, FOX Carolina reported. Both children died at Spartanburg Medical Center shortly after. Perez also faces charges for allegedly operating a vehicle without a license and an open container violation. A second person inside the vehicle ran from the scene and remains unlocated, FOX Carolina reported. Perez is set to appear in court on June 18, according to WSPA.

Univision [4/20/2026 10:46 PM, Staff, 4937K] reports it was a special day for a Hispanic family residing in Norcross ; the father decided to save his birthday hug for his daughter when he returned from work , but on his way to him, he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ). The arrest of the Honduran immigrant, identified by his wife as 48-year-old Baudilio Arriaga, and three of his coworkers not only coincided with his daughter’s third birthday, but also with an increase in immigration raids in Georgia. According to his wife’s account, the arrest occurred a few meters from the apartment complex where the family lives , around 6:00 am on Friday, April 17, 2026. The night before, the father had decided not to wake his daughter to wish her a happy birthday. He planned to do so later, when he returned from work. “He thought he would have all day to hug her, but he never came back,” his wife said. According to the testimony, Baudilio was traveling as a passenger with three companions when they were stopped by immigration agents. One of the occupants managed to send an audio message to family members during the arrest. All the vehicle’s occupants were arrested. “I heard the officers yelling at them,” the woman recounted. The family maintains that the driver had a valid Georgia state license and that the vehicle was not linked to any illegal activity. According to Arriaga’s wife, two of those arrested are Honduran and the other is Nicaraguan. Baudilio, originally from Honduras, had been living in the United States for approximately 13 years and did not have legal immigration status. His wife stated that he had no criminal record. He is currently being held at the Stewart Detention Center , awaiting his immigration proceedings. His hearing is scheduled for May 26. The arrest has left his wife in charge of their two children, one of whom has autism . The woman says she is facing financial difficulties and lacks the resources to hire a lawyer. “You hear these stories on the news, but when it happens to you, you don’t know what to do,” he said. Community organizations have pointed out that cases like this reflect the impact of immigration policies on families with roots in the United States, especially when they involve minors. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS Miami [4/20/2026 7:17 PM, Staff, 51110K] reports a Venezuelan woman who entered the U.S. legally has had her immigration case dismissed, but remains detained in Jacksonville as federal authorities have 30 days to appeal and her future remains uncertain. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Examiner [4/20/2026 1:01 PM, Anna Giaritelli, 1147K] reports that organizers for Chicago’s annual Cinco de Mayo parade have canceled the event for a second year due to the community’s concerns about federal immigration enforcement. The two organizers announced in a statement over the weekend that the early May event would not take place because residents are concerned that Immigration and Customs Enforcement could target people. "This decision comes in light of the challenges our Mexican community continues to face under this administration," Hector Escobar, president of Casa Puebla and the Cermak Road Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said in a statement obtained by ABC-7. "Many families are experiencing fear and uncertainty due to increased immigration enforcement actions and the ongoing threat of raids. "Given these circumstances, members of our community have understandably withdrawn from public gatherings and celebrations. There is nothing to celebrate." Cinco de Mayo, a May 5 celebration that recognizes the Mexican army’s defeat of France at the Battle of Puebla, is celebrated in communities and cities nationwide, as well as across Mexico. The Chicago event was set to take place in the West Side’s Little Village, a neighborhood that ICE heavily targeted last fall in its effort to carry out the Trump administration’s mass deportation operation. The same event was canceled last year, several months after President Donald Trump took office and began to surge federal law enforcement into communities nationwide to find and arrest criminal illegal immigrants.

Bloomberg [4/20/2026 12:58 PM, Suzanne Monyak, 50K] reports that the Justice Department may contest a judge’s decision to briefly hold a government lawyer in contempt over US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s failure to follow a court order, a federal appeals court ruled. The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit declined a request to toss an appeal Monday of a contempt order against special assistant US attorney Matthew Isihara. Isihara is a military lawyer who assisted the Minnesota US attorney’s office as prosecutors fielded a surge of detention challenges related to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operation in the state. The appeals court denied the motion to dismiss Isihara’s appeal in a one-page order without explanation. The appeals court also granted a request by attorneys for an immigrant, who brought the underlying case to challenge his detention, to have a third-party defend the contempt order. A Justice Department spokesperson and attorney representing the immigrant both declined to comment. Judge Laura M. Provinzino of the US District Court for the District of Minnesota held Isihara in civil contempt in February, after a detained immigrant was released in the wrong state and without his identification documents as was required. Isihara told the judge during a contempt hearing that he failed to forward the court’s order to ICE’s legal office after the judge entered it. He apologized and said that the case had "slipped through the cracks" amid an increased volume of cases, according to a court transcript. "I concede that I personally dropped the ball in this case," Isihara said, per the transcript. The case is Soto Jimenez v. Isihara, 8th Cir., No. 26-1327, 4/20/26.

FOX News [4/20/2026 12:20 PM, Peter Pinedo Fox, 37576K] reports Houston, a major red-state city run by Democrats, is in "crisis" mode as it faces an ultimatum to repay the State of Texas approximately $110 million if it does not repeal a "sanctuary"-type ordinance limiting cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Houston City Council recently voted to end a policy requiring police to wait at least 30 minutes for ICE to arrive if a suspect had an immigration warrant. Afterward, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, drew a line in the sand, telling the city to immediately reverse its policy or face "extraordinarily difficult financial choices.". Abbott asserted that Houston is "trying to renege on their obligations" after signing onto a public safety agreement to receive state funding that required it to cooperate with immigration enforcement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. "The City of Houston right now is in breach of contract," Abbott told reporters last week. "That’s going to require the City of Houston to immediately provide $110 million to the State of Texas.". Regardless of whether the city council cooperates, Abbott said city officials will face the consequences of their noncompliance. If officials refuse to repay Texas, Abbott said the state comptroller will withhold sales tax revenue that would otherwise go to the city. "It’s not as if they’re going to say, ‘Well, we may or may not get around to writing a check,’" he said. "Know this, the way the law works… the comptroller will withhold the sales tax revenue that otherwise will go to the City of Houston and will be retained by the State of Texas until the State of Texas is fully repaid the $110 million that is owed by Houston to the state.". Abbott shot down a reporter’s question on whether his ultimatum contradicts his public safety goals. "Let’s be clear about a couple things," he said. "If the city council was serious about public safety, they would not allow illegal immigrants to roam their streets and kill people like Jocelyn Nungaray.". He added that "there are other people like that in Houston who have been raped, assaulted and victimized by people who are here illegally and allowed to roam the streets.". He further cautioned that the city council will have to find an alternate method of funding its police force, or it will be in violation of Texas law requiring cities to fully fund law enforcement forces.

Reported similarly:
Axios [4/20/2026 4:51 PM, Jay R. Jordan, 17364K]

Univision [4/20/2026 3:02 PM, Staff, 4937K] reports Mayor John Whitmire and Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz have experienced firsthand the pressure from the Governor of Texas and the Attorney General after allegedly failing to honor a commitment they both signed that allowed the city to receive at least $110 million in public safety funding. N+ Univision 45 reviewed the documents and was able to verify that the Houston City Administration put its signature on a commitment that leaves little room for maneuver in local immigration policy. The document, validated on April 14, 2025, states that both the City of Houston and the Houston Police Department (HPD) will operate in accordance with the requirements of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) until at least the end of August 2026. In its clauses, the city certifies that it will fully participate in federal procedures to notify the DHS of any information requested regarding undocumented immigrants in its custody. More importantly, local police are obligated to execute immigration detention orders issued by said federal authority. One of the most critical aspects of the certification is the explicit prohibition of adopting regulations that limit this cooperation.

FOX News [4/20/2026 1:27 PM, Peter Pinedo, 37576K] reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has asked officials in Democratic-run Harris County not to release an illegal immigrant suspect from custody after he allegedly beat a coworker to death with a sledgehammer on a construction site in a suburb of Texas’ largest city, Houston. This comes as Texas officials feud with the City of Houston over a new policy limiting law enforcement cooperation with ICE. The confrontation mirrors the broader national debate between Democrats and Republicans over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies. Disagreements over immigration enforcement have resulted in an ongoing lapse in funding for the Department of Homeland Security during a partial government shutdown. Now, Venezuelan national Josue Abraham Chirino-Leonice has been charged with the murder of carpenter Juan Antonio Salinas Leija at a north Houston home earlier this month, according to reporting by local outlet KHOU-11. The outlet said Salinas Leija was found dead at a home under renovation with severe wounds consistent with a sledgehammer attack. Chirino-Leonice was later arrested driving the victim’s truck in east Houston. ICE lodged a detainer — a request to hold — with the Harris County Jail last week. According to DHS, Chirino-Leonice was released into the country under Biden administration in 2023. DHS said U.S. Border Patrol first arrested Chirino-Leonice in November 2023. The agency said the Biden administration "subsequently released him into the interior of the country."

CBS News [4/20/2026 7:16 AM, Staff, 51110K] Video: HERE reports an active-duty U.S. Army sergeant who has served in the military for 27 years, including in Afghanistan, said he still does not "understand why" his wife was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week in Texas. In an interview with CBS News Sunday, Sgt. First Class Jose Serrano, 51, said his wife, Deisy Rivera Ortega, was arrested by ICE on April 14 during an appointment at an immigration office in El Paso. Rivera Ortega has been in the U.S. for over a decade, since 2016. She was granted a legal protection in 2019 that prohibits her deportation to her native El Salvador, U.S. immigration court documents show. But the Department of Homeland Security told CBS News that Rivera Ortega entered the U.S. illegally, and Serrano said his wife has been informed she could be deported to a third country, like Mexico, where she has no ties. ICE’s online detainee tracking system indicated Rivera Ortega was being held at the agency’s El Paso processing center as of Sunday evening. "I don’t really understand why, because she followed the rules of immigration by the T since day one," Serrano said, noting his wife had an active work permit at the time of her arrest. "I love the Army. (The) Army helped me out for almost 28 years. It’s not the Army, sir. It’s ICE," Serrano said later in the interview. "ICE is out of control right now, sir, taking away rights, as soldiers, that we have.". If his wife is sent to Mexico, Serrano said he would likely not be able to see her without jeopardizing his military career, given restrictions on service members traveling to Mexico. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

ABC News [4/20/2026 8:05 PM, Laura Romero, 34146K] reports the wife of an active-duty U.S. Army sergeant with 27 years of service is facing potential deportation to a third country after being detained during a routine immigration interview last week. Deisy Fidelina Rivera Ortega was taken into custody on April 14 in El Paso, Texas, while attending an interview for "Parole in Place," a program designed to allow undocumented family members of military personnel to remain in the U.S. legally. Rivera Ortega is married to Sgt. 1st Class Jose Serrano, a U.S. Army sergeant stationed at Fort Bliss who has been deployed to Afghanistan three times. He told ABC News he and his wife have been "doing everything by the book.". "She goes to work or to church," Serrano said. "That’s the life of my wife, Daisy.". But last week, Serrano said that shortly after they arrived for their appointment at a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services building, unidentified men detained his wife. "At the end of the hallway, my wife was apprehended... they put handcuffs on and they took her away," Serrano told ABC News. "And nobody told me anything, even when I was asking, ‘Hey, what’s going on? What’s going on with her?’". Rivera Ortega -- who currently works for IHG Army Hotels at Fort Bliss -- has a valid work permit through 2030 and was previously granted withholding of removal from her home country, El Salvador, according to documents reviewed by ABC News. She is now at risk of deportation to Mexico, a country the couple has no ties to, Serrano said. He told ABC News that as an active-duty sergeant, he would likely not be able to travel to Mexico if his wife were deported. "In the Army, travel to Mexico is extremely restrictive," Matthew Kozik, the couple’s attorney, told ABC News. "He couldn’t even just go see his wife.". Kozik said Rivera Ortega is currently detained at the El Paso Service Processing Center. "She was detained at a federal government building," Kozik said. "They wouldn’t let anybody ask any questions, and she was escorted away, and we haven’t seen her since.". In a statement to ABC News, the Department of Homeland Security said Rivera Ortega entered the country illegally and was issued a final order of removal. "Rivera Ortega remains in ICE custody pending removal," a DHS spokesperson said.

NBC News [4/20/2026 10:20 PM, Suzanne Gamboa, 42967K] reports a federal judge on Monday ordered the release of a mother and five children who have been detained longer than any other family in a Texas immigration detention center. They have been held since the arrest of the children’s father nearly a year ago after an anti-semitic firebombing attack in Colorado. Hours after the judge’s decision, the family had yet to be released. Hayman El Gamal and her five children, who have been in detention more than 10 months, were detained in June after the arrest of El Gamal’s ex-husband Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45. He has been charged in connection with the attack in Boulder on a group calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. El Gamal, who has divorced Soliman, has said that she and the children knew nothing about his alleged plans. The couple divorced after his arrest and his family’s detention. "We are hopeful and vindicated by this decision, however the government has not yet released this family and we are insisting it do so immediately," said Eric Lee, the mother and children’s attorney. He said El Gamal and her children had a mixed reaction to the news. "The family feels vindicated, as well, by this decision and also they have gone through enough in the last 10 and a half months of detention to know it’s not over yet because of how brazenly and sadistic the White House has been to this family and five innocent children," Lee said. The Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday. The Houston Chronicle [4/20/2026 7:12 PM, Julián Aguilar, 2493K] reports a federal magistrate judge has ordered the release of an Egyptian family from an immigration detention center in Texas where they spent 10 months in captivity. Their lawyer says they have been held longer than any other family. The order comes months after an immigration judge first granted the family of six, the El Gamals, permission to be released on bond, but the judge later reversed his decision at the urging of the Trump administration. Eric Lee, the family’s lawyer, said that as of Monday afternoon, the family was still detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, and he urged Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to abide by the judge’s order as soon as possible. “A federal court has determined ICE’s prolonged detention of this family violates the Constitution,” Lee said. “Nevertheless, ICE has not yet released the family. No more delays, no more obfuscations: release the El Gamal family immediately." Lee and Democratic lawmakers who have visited the mother and her children said the family’s health was rapidly deteriorating inside the facility. Last week, Lee said the mother, Hayam El Gamal, had a "growth on her chest" that caused enduring pain but was denied the follow-up care she needed. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials denied the family was being denied adequate care.

CBS News [4/20/2026 7:16 PM, Austen Erblat, 51110K] Video: HERE reports a federal magistrate in Texas has recommended that a judge order the release of the family of the Boulder, Colorado, firebombing suspect in a Monday court filing. A hearing is set for Thursday, April 23, at the federal courthouse in San Antonio, TX. A lawsuit was filed on behalf of Hayam El Gamal and her five children seeking their release, as El Gamal has been experiencing serious medical issues, according to her legal team, and the FBI concluded months ago that the family knew nothing of Mohamed Soliman’s plans. On June 1, 2025, Soliman allegedly threw makeshift incendiary devices at people who marched in downtown Boulder to bring attention to Israeli hostages who were being held in Gaza at the time, injuring over a dozen. Weeks later, one of those people, 82-year-old Karen Diamond, died of her injuries, officials said, and Soliman was charged with first-degree murder, in addition to dozens of state and federal charges related to attempted murder, assault, use of incendiary devices, and hate crimes. Soliman’s family had been living in Colorado Springs at the time of the attack and applied for asylum after their visas expired. Upon learning of their immigration status, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement to take the family into custody, where they’ve been for about 10 months. In one of the court cases against Soliman, an FBI agent testified that the family knew nothing of the attack, and they had cooperated with the investigation. They’ve been held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas for almost the entirety of their detention. They were denied bond by Immigration Judge Justin Adams in January, reversing his own decision from September 2025, which declared that they were eligible for release on bond. El Gamal’s attorney, Eric Lee, said in a tweet that she "suffered a serious medical emergency due to systematic denial of medical attention by ICE." He told CBS News Colorado previously that if the family were to be deported to Egypt, their cooperation with the FBI in the investigation would put them at risk. El Gamal filed for divorce from Soliman after he was arrested. On Monday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Chestney recommended that U.S. District Judge Fred Biery order the release of El Gamal and her children, aged 5, 5, 9, 16, and 18. Chestney said the government has failed to prove that the family is dangerous or a flight risk, and wrote in her filing that there are "significant risks that the Government will intervene to again target Petitioners’ case and to prevent their lawful release.". She wrote that "immediate release is the appropriate remedy" and that if the government wanted to detain the family, the efforts must comport with due process and involve an individualized bond hearing where the government must justify the detention. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AP [4/20/2026 5:51 PM, Staff, 35287K] reports a judge Monday ordered a man who was shot multiple times during an arrest by immigration officers in central California to remain in custody over concerns he could be a flight risk, a lawyer said. Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, who has dual citizenship from El Salvador and Mexico, is charged with assaulting a federal officer for allegedly striking an agent with his car before reversing back into a law enforcement vehicle after he was pulled over on April 7. Patrick Kolasinski, one of his lawyers, has said Mendoza panicked and tried to flee when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents blocked his car and did not intend to run over anyone. He also disputed claims by officials that his client was a suspected gang member wanted in El Salvador for questioning in relation to a murder. Salvadoran court documents show he was acquitted of murder in El Salvador and Mendoza has denied ever being in a gang, his lawyer has said. Mendoza has undergone several surgeries for multiple gunshot wounds. The Department of Homeland Security has said ICE officers fired defensive shots at Mendoza after he tried to drive into them. DHS said the officers were conducting an enforcement stop targeting Mendoza, 36, in Patterson, a city about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco. Mendoza’s next court appearance is scheduled for early May.

Telemundo [4/21/2026 1:12 AM, Nassieli Pizano, 26K] reports the second hearing for Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, the immigrant who was shot during an ICE operation in Patterson , took place this Monday in the Federal Court of Sacramento, although not with the results desired by his defense. Dressed in orange and in a wheelchair , Mendoza Hernandez was presented before a federal judge, accused of using his vehicle as a deadly weapon against ICE agents when he tried to escape being detained by federal agents. During the hearing, the judge denied him bail after reviewing the evidence against him. “The judge’s only concern is that something happened before. The judge is watching the wheels spin, and that’s what’s worrying him; yes, he really is watching the wheels spin, he’s worried that something happened before, but if that turns out to be wrong, we could deal with the judge in the future,” said Patrick Kolasinski, Mendoza Hernández’s defense attorney. During the hearing, the prosecution that accused Mendoza Hernández stated that on the day of his arrest, last April 7, Carlos had cocaine in his system and that he has tattoos on his body that belong to the Barrio 18 gang. In response to these allegations, the defense attorney said that he has been able to say very little about his client and that, even if evidence of a positive cocaine test were presented in his case, it is not a relevant factor in this case. “We don’t know if it’s true, how much blood there is, we don’t know anything about that. This information doesn’t connect to the criminal case we’re focused on now. He’s accused, they didn’t find any cocaine in the car, we don’t know why it’s something in the blood, we do have to wait for the evidence,” Kolasinski explained. For her part, Cindy, his romantic partner, expressed feeling sad and disappointed by the judge’s decision against Mendoza Hernandez and asked for support from elected officials. "I’m only asking for justice, and justice will come, and those people who are the real murderers should be here in jail, not Carlos, because he has been a good citizen here in the United States, and I ask that people come out and support; I ask the congressmen to raise their voices, there are many people who have power and can help us to find a solution," Cindy pleaded. Carlos Mendoza will remain in federal custody , meaning he will continue to be detained in the California City jail until his next hearing scheduled for May 5, as the judge said he requires further analysis of the evidence . The judge also said that, given his health condition, he ordered that his medical treatment be guaranteed, after his defense mentioned that he was not receiving adequate care for the wounds he sustained from the gunshots. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reuters [4/20/2026 6:51 PM, Lisandra Paraguassu, 38315K] reports the U.S. government has asked Brazilian security attache Marcelo Ivo de Carvalho ‌to leave the United States, the U.S. Embassy in the South American country said on Monday. De Carvalho, who acts as a liaison with U.S. immigration enforcement, has been based ⁠in Miami. The move comes after ICE last week briefly detained Brazilian intelligence chief Alexandre Ramagem, who fled Brazil in September following his conviction for plotting a coup with ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, a political ally of Donald Trump. "No foreigner gets to game our immigration system to both circumvent formal extradition ‌requests ⁠and extend political witch hunts into U.S. territory," the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said on X, adding "the relevant Brazilian official" was asked ⁠to depart. The message, which was reposted by the U.S. embassy in Brazil, did not name the official or ⁠explicitly mention Ramagem’s case. The embassy later confirmed to Reuters it referred to de Carvalho. Brazil’s ⁠foreign ministry and federal police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Breitbart [4/20/2026 3:14 PM, John Binder, 2238K] reports President Donald Trump’s United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is actively re-vetting migrants awarded green cards, asylum, and other benefits under former President Joe Biden, the agency’s director confirmed. Over the weekend, USCIS Director Joe Edlow told One America News that the Trump administration has kicked its fraud probes into high gear, specifically going after fraudsters who came to the U.S. under the Biden administration. In February, Edlow revealed to members of Congress that the Trump administration had uncovered immigration fraud in the majority of cases referred to and completed by USCIS investigators. Earlier this year, USCIS launched Operation PARRIS to re-review refugee cases in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, particularly refugees from Somalia, a country known for its widespread immigration fraud tactics.

NPR [4/20/2026 5:15 PM, Ximena Bustillo, 28764K] Audio: HERE reports the line to get permission to legally work and live in the U.S. is getting longer, frustrating immigrants and putting them at greater risk of deportation.

Univision [4/20/2026 3:48 PM, Staff, 4937K] reports for a DACA recipient in New York, the future has become uncertain, marked by administrative delays that could cost her her job and family stability. According to activists and immigration lawyers, hundreds of beneficiaries are facing similar delays across the country. Some are even unaware that their applications have been put on hold. Uncertainty about the future of the program and delays in the processes have placed thousands of Dreamers in a vulnerable situation, despite having met all the established requirements.

Newsweek [4/20/2026 12:35 PM, Billal Rahman, 52220K] reports the Trump administration is moving to end remote participation by attorneys in certain immigration interviews. Immigration benefits agency U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said in an alert that, effective May 18, attorneys will no longer be permitted to appear via video or telephone for interviews at USCIS field offices, including asylum interviews and certain immigration relief interviews conducted under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act at asylum offices. "All legal representatives must be physically present to attend these interviews," the agency wrote in an alert. The agency said there will be exceptions for "limited circumstances" but has not yet publicly detailed the full scope of what qualifies for continued remote attendance. Newsweek has contacted USCIS for comment via email.

FOX News [4/20/2026 11:58 PM, Staff, 37576K] reports former DHS spokeswoman Katie Zacharia discusses the arrest of an alleged Iranian arms dealer and more on ‘Fox News @ Night.’ [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX Business [4/20/2026 7:37 AM, Bradford Betz, 7946K] reports businesses can begin filing for tariff refunds on Monday as the federal government starts unwinding billions of dollars in import duties imposed by the Trump administration under emergency powers, opening the door to what could be one of the largest repayments to importers in U.S. history. At 8 p.m. ET on April 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will launch the first phase of a new claims system that will allow importers to seek repayment of tariffs collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), following a series of court rulings that invalidated the policy. The Supreme Court ruled in February that the law President Donald Trump relied on for his signature policy did not authorize the imposition of tariffs, finding that Congress – not the president – holds authority over such taxes. The decision set the stage for lower courts to order the government to reverse course and return the funds. A judge at the U.S. Court of International Trade subsequently directed CBP to remove the tariffs from affected entries and refund any excess duties collected, along with interest. The scale of the refunds could be significant for businesses across industries. Court filings show more than 330,000 importers paid duties on over 53 million shipments, totaling roughly $166 billion.

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New York Times [4/20/2026 1:10 PM, Tony Romm and Ana Swanson, 148038K]
Washington Examiner [4/20/2026 7:35 AM, Staff, 1147K]

FOX News [4/20/2026 7:00 AM, Amanda Macias, 37576K] reports the Trump administration on Monday launched a new system to begin refunding $166 billion in tariffs to U.S. importers after the Supreme Court ruled the levies unlawful earlier this year. The system, known as CAPE, will allow U.S. Customs and Border Protection to issue consolidated electronic payments to importers, streamlining what would otherwise be a complex, entry-by-entry refund process. "It’s essentially a fast track for processing refunds," said Reed Smith partner Michael Lowell, adding that importers will need to file claims, but the process should be straightforward. "Customs is estimating that refunds will be processed within 60 to 90 days after submission," he added. "If importers file as soon as the system opens, refunds could begin flowing by mid-June to mid-July.". The rollout marks the first phase of the refund effort, meaning not all importers or tariff categories will be eligible right away.

New York Post [4/20/2026 12:16 PM, Ariel Zilber, 40934K] reports that the Trump administration on Monday launched an online portal that allows US businesses to file claims for tariff refunds — but the website was overwhelmed by the sheer number of applications, sources told The Post. US Customs and Border Protection unveiled the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or "CAPE," system on Monday, part of the feds’ efforts to comply with the historic Supreme Court order striking down the levies. The portal was meant to enable importers to file bulk refund claims tied to tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, which the highest court in the land ruled unconstitutional in February. However, the process of registering for refunds was touch and go through Monday afternoon as importers tried to claim their chunk of roughly $166 billion in tariff payments. Echelon — a Chattanooga, Tenn.-based company that makes exercise bikes and other pricey equipment in Asia, then imports it to the States — unsuccessfully tried logging onto the new portal multiple times Monday, the company’s chief executive Lou Lentine told The Post. It encountered a message stating: "Cape Processing is currently experiencing high volumes. If you received an error, please try again in 30 minutes.". Still, Echelon hopes to get back "a handsome sum that will definitely be helpful," Lentine said, though he declined to specify how much his company had paid in tariffs. "We will reinvest [the money] into the business," he added. CBP and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the portal outages.

CBS News [4/20/2026 3:01 PM, Megan Cerullo, 51110K] reports that some businesses experienced problems accessing the U.S. government’s new tariff refund portal after the system launched on Monday. Rick Woldenberg, CEO of educational toy maker Learning Resources, told CBS News he received an error message when the company tried to file a claim for a tariff refund using the new Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or CAPE, platform. "The system is currently experiencing high volume, please try again later," the message stated. "The system seems to have gone blinky," said Woldenberg, whose Vernon Hills, Illinois-based company filed the 2025 lawsuit that led to the Supreme Court striking down the Trump administration’s emergency tariffs in February. "It seems like the system is overwhelmed." The federal agency that operates CAPE, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), told CBS News it’s looking into reports of problems using the system. The U.S. government now owes tens of thousands of importers a total of up to $175 billion in refunds for the tariffs imposed by President Trump last year under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. Beth Benike, co-founder of Busy Baby, a Minnesota-based maker of baby products, told CBS News that she spent more than four hours on hold with CBP over the weekend trying to resolve an issue with an account that businesses need to file tariff refund claims.

Washington Times [4/20/2026 5:45 PM, Stephen Dinan, 1323K] reports the Department of Homeland Security last year reported more than 70,000 “got-aways,” or illegal immigrants it believes managed to evade capture, according to new government data that offers a dark spot on an otherwise strong border record under the second Trump administration. The data provides a detailed look at what is happening at the border. According to indications, although the total number of illegal crossers on the southwest border is down dramatically, only about 60% were caught in fiscal year 2025. Another 22% turned back before arrest, and the remaining 18% were considered got-aways who managed to evade agents. Customs and Border Protection, which sent the data to Congress as part of this year’s budget, said illegal immigrants are becoming “more evasive” as they deal with the far stricter border under President Trump. Mark Morgan, who served as acting commissioner at CBP in the first Trump administration, said it’s a sign that the border has not been sealed. “This represents the reality that while the Trump administration has successfully reversed the disastrous Biden open border policies, there is a lot more that needs to be done,” he told The Washington Times. “Republicans need to stop saying the ‘border is secure’ simply because it’s politically advantageous. The numbers don’t lie; significant vulnerabilities still remain.” Experts said part of the explanation is that illegal immigrants are more likely to run now than they were before.

Bloomberg Tax [4/21/2026 4:45 AM, Angélica Franganillo Diaz, 49K] reports a federal appeals court will weigh whether Border Patrol agents stopped Latino farmworkers without a clear reason and made arrests without warrants during a California raid as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. The case, set for argument Wednesday at the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, focuses on whether those practices are likely to happen again, a key question in determining whether an injunction blocking the stops and arrests should remain in place. [Editorial note: Consult source link for extended commentary]

HS Today [4/20/2026 4:30 AM, Staff, 38K] reports U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested four British nationals in a remote stretch of Somerset County woods along Maine’s northern border on April 3, after they allegedly crossed illegally from Canada near the St. Zacharie port of entry. 18-year-old Ali Mohamed Ali Abdullah, 21-year-old Hameed Mohammed Nagi, 27-year-old Ibrahim Ayyub Khan, and 22-year-old Mohammed Sultan Saleh, were discovered walking along the Golden Road, a 96-mile private logging route in Maine’s North Woods. Two maple sugar workers spotted the group while returning from Canada through the St. Zacharie border crossing and immediately alerted U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Agents responded and located the four men on foot. Footprints later confirmed they had crossed the border on foot just a few hundred feet from the official port of entry.

FOX News [4/20/2026 5:38 PM, Peter Pinedo, 37576K] reports U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers busted a massive drug smuggling attempt in Texas, resulting in more than $1.1 million in cocaine being seized at the southern border. Fox News Digital learned that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility intercepted nearly 100 pounds of suspected cocaine in an empty commercial tractor-trailer. The trailer was stopped on April 15 while crossing into the U.S. from Reynosa, Mexico. This comes as the Department of Homeland Security continues to report that Border Patrol agents have not released a single migrant into the U.S. interior for 11 consecutive months, pointing to what officials described as historically low levels of illegal crossings. According to CBP, officers flagged the empty vehicle for secondary inspection using nonintrusive inspection equipment and screening from a canine team. A physical inspection led to the discovery of 32 packages of suspected cocaine with a combined weight of over 83 pounds, concealed within the trailer floor. The agency said the cocaine has an estimated street value of $1,111,503. Officers seized the narcotics, tractor and trailer while special agents from Homeland Security Investigations initiated a criminal investigation into the seizure. Earlier this month, Mullin touted eleven straight months of "zero" releases at the border. DHS said that nationwide in March, CBP seized over 65,000 pounds of drugs, including 613 pounds of fentanyl.

Univision [4/20/2026 9:13 PM, Staff, 4937K] reports the Justice Department reported that 29 Mexicans were arrested over the weekend after being intercepted aboard a panga-type vessel about 10 miles south of the Channel Islands archipelago in California . According to federal authorities, the detainees already face charges in two criminal complaints. Five of them were charged with illegal reentry after deportation , a crime that can carry a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison . The other 24 face charges of improper entry into the United States, with penalties of up to two years in prison. “The defendants are expected to make their initial appearances Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon before the United States District Court in Los Angeles ,” the Justice Department said. According to an affidavit included in the case, on April 18, federal agents intercepted the vessel “approximately 10 miles south of San Nicolás Island,” a territory under U.S. Navy control. There were 29 people on board, all Mexican nationals without valid immigration documentation. Authorities towed the vessel to Newport Beach and the detainees were processed at the San Clemente Border Patrol Station . Among those charged is 21-year-old Ismael Ángeles-Guerrero , who faces charges for illegal reentry after having been previously deported in February 2026. The Justice Department noted that he has a criminal record for offenses such as driving under the influence of alcohol, resisting arrest, and possession of marijuana. Also listed is Faustino Arguello , 38, accused of illegal entry. According to the statement, “in September 2016, Arguello was intercepted by the Border Patrol on two occasions near the U.S. - Mexico border ,” and on both occasions was processed for deportation. Federal authorities reiterated that “a complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not proof thereof. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.” The case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, with support from the Coast Guard. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Monika L. Hara, of the General Crimes Section. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Federal News Network [4/20/2026 6:03 PM, Justin Doubleday, 1297K] reports the Transportation Security Administration has quietly been pitching airports and industry on a privatization program that would represent a significant overhaul in how TSA’s private security screening program works today. The concept, called "TSA GoldPlus," would involve private contractors managing both the employees and the technology that screen airline passengers and luggage for banned items and other security threats. Meanwhile, TSA itself would provide "oversight" to ensure the systems meet federal security standards, according to briefing materials. TSA has been briefing larger airports on the concept in recent months, according to multiple industry sources. That comes as the agency’s budget request suggests TSA is looking to expand privatization to only the smallest U.S. airports in the near term. TSA has also been pitching the concept amid a Department of Homeland Security shutdown that forced approximately 47,000 transportation security officers to work unpaid for weeks. Scott Robinson, a former TSA employee and founder of Against Giants Labor Advocates, shared the TSA GoldPlus flier and other program references. Robinson’s firm provides specialized representation and advocacy for TSA officers and DHS employees. He noted that acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill has been asked about TSA’s privatization plans in Congressional hearings dating back to at least January, but neither she nor the agency have publicly disclosed the GoldPlus concept.

The AP [4/20/2026 8:04 AM, Gabriela Aoun Angueira, 35287K] reports thousands of survivors of the 2025 Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, have elected to accept an upfront settlement from the utility accused of causing it, forgoing future litigation for a faster payment that could help them rebuild or relocate. But unless a bill moving through Congress becomes law, that money could be taxed as income, taking big bites out of their payments and possibly disqualifying them from other government benefits. "There was this terrifying disbelief," Bree Jensen, communications director for the Eaton Fire Long-Term Recovery Group, said of informing fellow residents about the tax. Thousands more who are suing the utility face the same prospect, as well as fire survivors in Colorado, Hawaii and Oregon after a tax exemption on wildfire-related compensation expired at the end of 2025. Univision [4/20/2026 2:24 PM, Staff, 4937K] reports that Unless a bill currently advancing through Congress becomes law, that money could be taxed as income—significantly reducing their payouts and potentially disqualifying them from other government benefits. Bree Jensen, communications director for the Eaton Fire Long-Term Recovery Group, described her feelings when informing other residents about the tax this way: "There was a terrifying disbelief." Thousands more who are suing the utility company face the same prospect, as do wildfire survivors in Colorado, Hawaii, and Oregon, after a tax exemption for wildfire-related compensation expired at the end of 2025. In recent years, Congress has shielded wildfire settlements from taxation; however, the legislation to do so was short-lived and difficult to pass, leaving gaps between laws that risk burdening some survivors with a potential tax liability on their compensation. A bipartisan House bill to extend this tax relief cleared committee last month, but the timeline for bringing it to a floor vote—and when the Senate might act—remains unknown, leaving survivors in financial limbo. "We have to assume we don’t have that money, so we are making decisions—choosing cheaper materials, forgoing solar power," said a homeowner from Altadena who spoke on condition of anonymity because she fears jeopardizing the settlement she expects to receive, estimated at around $700,000. If that money is counted as income, she calculates that taxes would claim 37 percent of it.

CBS News [4/20/2026 3:12 PM, Staff, 51110K] reports an overturned ship found near the U.S. territory of Saipan after a typhoon hit is the vessel that went missing with six people on board, the U.S. Coast Guard said Monday. The Coast Guard said it was still searching for the six. It said the overturned boat was first spotted Saturday. Debris included a partially submerged life raft that was partly inflated. It was seen 95 nautical miles northeast of the vessel, the Coast Guard said in a news release. An HC-130 Hercules airplane crew with the U.S. Air Force 31st Rescue Squadron confirmed the identity of the vessel as the cargo ship Mariana on Sunday night, the Coast Guard said. The plane deployed rescuers, divers and boats. "If divers locate a viable access point, the team may employ an underwater remotely operated drone to further investigate the vessel," the release said. Coast Guard air crews continued to search for the six in the vicinity of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. So far, the guard and partnering agencies from Guam, Japan and New Zealand have covered over 75,000 square nautical miles, the release said.

AP [4/20/2026 1:35 PM, Staff, 35287K] reports searchers from several countries scoured the Pacific near the Northern Mariana Islands on Monday for six crew members from a cargo ship that overturned during a typhoon that tore through the U.S. territory. An HC-130 Hercules crew from the U.S. Air Force 31st Rescue Squadron confirmed Sunday night that the overturned ship spotted Saturday is the cargo ship Mariana, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a news release. The plane deployed divers and boats. “If divers locate a viable access point, the team may employ an underwater remotely operated drone to further investigate the vessel,” the guard said. Debris, including a partially submerged inflatable life raft, was spotted about 110 miles (177 kilometers) northeast of the overturned vessel, the guard said. Guard air crews continued to search near the Northern Marianas for the missing crew members, whose nationalities weren’t released. So far, the guard and partnering agencies from Guam, Japan and New Zealand have covered more than 99,000 square miles (256,000 square kilometers), the guard said.

Washington Examiner [4/20/2026 5:41 PM, Claire Carter, 1147K] reports the Navy is warning sailors to tighten their social media activity and avoid suspicious online contact as "adversary cyber actors" are trying to target military personnel during the war with Iran, according to an unclassified memo. Navy Secretary John Phelan warned that hostile actors are using social media, messaging platforms, and dating apps to gather information and possibly exploit service members and their families. Officials said the activity includes phishing attempts and psychological operations aimed at influencing behavior or gaining access to sensitive data. "In response to ongoing operations, adversary cyber actors are conducting a social engineering campaign actively targeting Department of the Navy personnel and their families," the advisory pushed out April 17 said, urging sailors to avoid clicking unknown links and to limit personal information shared online.

EdScoop [4/20/2026 1:30 PM, Staff, 5K] reports Alex Shakhov, the founder of a cybersecurity consulting firm, disclosed in a recent blog post that earlier this month he discovered that a threat actor had taken over 34 .edu subdomains at major universities — including MIT, Harvard, Stanford and Columbia. He found that Google had even indexed the results, websites that are serving “pornographic spam.” The full list of affected institutions includes: MIT, Harvard, Stanford, UC Berkeley, Columbia, University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University, George Washington University, University of Michigan, Rutgers, University of Virginia, Texas A&M, UC San Diego, Stony Brook University, Auburn University, University of Utah, University of Georgia, George Mason University, TCU, UCSF, Emory University, University of Washington, Washington University in St. Louis, Case Western Reserve University, UNC Chapel Hill, UNC Greensboro, Florida State University, Florida Southern College, Cal Poly, Antioch University, Ball State University, San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), Atlantis University, and SIT. According to Shakhov’s blog post, a subdomain takeover is a simple operation that starts with finding old projects that once lived on the university’s website and taking over those subdomains to host spammy or illicit content. Because of their association with a trusted source — universities — the subdomains enjoy high rankings on Google searches. “The root cause is simple: organizations create DNS records and never clean them up,” the post reads. “There is no expiry date on a CNAME record. Nobody gets an alert when the target stops responding. And most university IT departments don’t maintain a comprehensive inventory of their subdomains and where they point.”

CyberScoop [4/20/2026 4:30 PM, Matt Kapko, 122K] reports Vercel customers are at risk of compromise after an attacker hopped through multiple internal systems to steal credentials and other sensitive data, the company said in a security bulletin Sunday. The attack, which didn’t originate at Vercel, showcases the pitfalls of interconnected cloud applications and SaaS integrations with overly privileged permissions. An attacker traversed third-party systems and connections left exposed by employees before it hit the San Francisco-based company that created and maintains Next.js and other popular open-source libraries. Researchers at Hudson Rock said the seeds of the attack were planted in February when a Context.ai employee’s computer was infected with Lumma Stealer malware after they searched for Roblox game exploits, a common vector for infostealer deployments. Each of the companies are pinning at least some blame for the attack on the other vendor.

AP [4/20/2026 7:22 PM, Erik Verduzco, 35287K] reports a planned fight among young people escalated into a mass shooting at a North Carolina park Monday morning that left two teenage boys dead and five other people injured, authorities said. Winston-Salem police Capt. Kevin Burns said a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old died at the scene after being shot around 10 a.m. at Leinbach Park, near a middle school. Five others between the ages of 14 and 19 were shot and suffered injuries ranging from critical to minor, Burns said at a news conference. Four of those victims are female, officials said. Officials said multiple people fired guns during the shooting. Winston-Salem police Chief William Penn said no one was in custody but authorities believe some of those injured may have also been involved in the shooting. “I feel like everyone else. I’m frustrated, I’m angry, I’m sad. This didn’t have to happen,” Penn said. Penn said he couldn’t immediately answer whether the teens who died were the ones scheduled to fight. The police chief also said “no” when asked if it was known what the fight was about. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reported similarly:
CNN [4/20/2026 1:31 PM, Staff, 19874K]
Blaze [4/20/2026 4:28 PM, Carlos Garcia, 1556K]

Houston Chronicle [4/20/2026 2:37 PM, Jarrod Wardwell, 2493K] reports that one day after a mass shooting killed eight children inside a Shreveport, La. home on Sunday, local authorities named each of the victims who lost their life. The children who died in the shooting are 3-year-old Jayla Elkins, 5-year-old Shayla Elkins, 6-year-old Kayla Pugh, 7-year-old Layla Pugh, 10-year-old Markaydon Pugh, 11-year-old Sariahh Snow, 6-year-old Khedarrion Snow, and 5-year-old Braylon Snow, according to the Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office. Seven of the eight victims were siblings — children of gunman Shamar Elkins, who also died after a police chase with gunfire, according to the office. Authorities have not yet confirmed his cause of death. The other deceased child was the siblings’ cousin. The victims consist of five girls and three boys. Three mothers lost at least one child in the shooting, according to the coroner’s office. Elkins and his wife, the mother of some of the children, were arguing about their separation before the shooting, the Associated Press reported. She and another woman were also shot and in critical condition but were expected to recover, according to police. Elkins’ name was already in the Shreveport Police Department’s system at the time of the shooting, but Police Chief Wayne Smith said he didn’t know of the related incident. Elkins had received probation in 2019 when he pleaded guilty to illegal use of weapons after firing five live rounds at a vehicle where he said someone pulled a gun on him, according to the AP. Authorities knew of no other domestic violence issues involving Elkins, the AP reported.

USA Today [4/20/2026 6:21 PM, N’dea Yancey-Bragg, Natalie Neysa Alund, 70643K] reports relatives, classmates and community members are reeling after eight children were killed in northwest Louisiana in the nation’s deadliest mass shooting since January 2024. Family and others who knew the victims said they regularly attended church, excelled in school, and appeared to be doing well prior to the horrific April 19 morning attack in the neighborhood where they lived in Shreveport, a city less than 20 miles east of the Texas state line. Shreveport police said Shamar Elkins opened fire, killing seven of his own children and injuring his wife and another woman. The coroner’s office identified the juveniles killed in the shooting as Jayla Elkins, 3, Shayla Elkins, 5, Kayla Pugh, 6, Layla Pugh, 7, Markaydon Pugh, 10, Sariahh Snow, 11, Khedarrion Snow, 6 and Braylon Snow, 5. During a news conference, Shreveport police Chief Wayne Smith said several key details of the attack remained under investigation, including how Elkins died. The chief said the Louisiana State Police is investigating whether Elkins died by suicide or was killed by police in an exchange of gunfire. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is also investigating how Elkins got the gun used in the shooting, Smith said.

USA Today [4/20/2026 4:56 PM, Christopher Cann, N’dea Yancey-Bragg, 70643K] reports what officials described as one of the most horrific attacks in the history of Shreveport, Louisiana, largely unfolded over the course of an hour. Before dawn on April 19, a National Guard veteran went to two houses within a short walk of each other, killing eight children – seven of his own – and gravely wounding two women, including the mother of his children. The victims who were fatally shot ranged in age from three to 11, authorities said. As gunfire rang out at the first house, a woman and her child fled to the roof, where the mother called 911 to report the shooting, according to Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith. The two jumped from the roof to escape, and the child was injured in the fall, police said. After the shootings, the gunman, identified as 31-year-old Shamar Elkins, stole a car at gunpoint and fled onto a nearby interstate, officials said. Police pursued him into Bossier City, where they exchanged gunfire. Elkins was pronounced dead at the scene, but it remains unclear whether he was shot by police or died by suicide. Smith said several key details are still under investigation, including how Elkins obtained the firearm and what exactly drove him to carry out the rampage. Both of the women who were shot are still in the hospital, Smith said, though one was shot multiple times and is in more critical condition than the other. Smith said there will be "a lot more interaction" between them and the police once they have recovered.

CBS News [4/20/2026 1:08 PM, Staff, 51110K] reports that a mass shooting that left eight children in Shreveport, Louisiana dead on Sunday is still being investigated as police try to figure out what led up to the tragedy. CBS News correspondent Jason Allen reports. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Post [4/21/2026 5:00 AM, Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Daniel Wu, Danielle Paquette, and Chris Hacker, 24826K] reports two days before killing eight children — most of them his own — in a rampage that shocked the country, Shamar Elkins shared on Facebook what looked like a sweet moment. “Took my oldest on a lil 1 on 1 date,” he captioned a photo of his daughter biting into a sandwich. The doting post gave no clue that the 31-year-old Louisiana Army National Guard veteran was on the brink of a mass shooting early Sunday that authorities described as an “execution style” attack. The violence took the lives of the children ages 3 to 11 and left two women, their mothers, with multiple bullet wounds in the hospital. It was the deadliest mass shooting in America this year. Elkins did not spare his oldest child. He made no social media mention of his pending divorce, which he’d told relatives had been troubling him, or that he was scheduled to appear in court to address a custody dispute. The stress that had led to his hospitalization three months ago for mental health issues was not evident to family living with him. “The public image doesn’t necessarily align with what women and children are experiencing behind closed doors,” said Kathryn Spearman, an assistant professor at Penn State who studies the intersection of domestic violence and child abuse. Now Elkins’s community in Shreveport is struggling to untangle how someone who’d also posted about taking his kids to church for Easter service (“what a blessed day”) could end their lives as they slept in their beds. Using a pistol that operated like “an assault-style weapon,” police said, he shot the mother of four of his children nine times, before proceeding to the home of another woman with whom he had children, and shooting her. After stealing a car, Elkins led police on a chase that ended in gunfire in Bossier City. Elkins died, though it is unclear whether he was shot by police or killed himself. Authorities are still investigating how Elkins obtained the weapon, police said.

HS Today [4/20/2026 10:30 AM, Staff, 38K] reports a Chicago man has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) by using social media to encourage attacks on ISIS’s enemies and recruit ISIS members. Ashraf Al Safoo was a leader of Khattab Media Foundation, a sophisticated online organization that swore allegiance to ISIS and created and disseminated threats and ISIS propaganda on social media and other online platforms. Al Safoo and other members of Khattab created and posted pro-ISIS videos, articles, essays, and infographics at the direction of, and in coordination with, ISIS. Much of Khattab’s propaganda promoted violent jihad on behalf of ISIS, which has been designated by the United States government as a foreign terrorist organization. In one posting, Al Safoo encouraged Khattab members to post pro-ISIS information “to cause confusion and spread terror within the hearts of those who disbelieved.” In another posting, Al Safoo wrote, “Work hard, brothers, edit the issue into short clips, take the pictures out of it and publish the efforts of your brothers in the pages of the apostates. Participate in the war, and spread terror, the [Islamic] State does not want you to watch it only, rather, it incites you, and if you are unable to, use it to incite others.” Many of Khattab’s postings included images of violence, celebrations of terrorist attacks and mass shootings in the United States, and encouragement for “lone wolf” attacks in western countries. Al Safoo, 41, has been in federal custody since his arrest in Chicago in 2018. Al Safoo immigrated to the U.S. in 2008 and naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2013.

Roll Call [4/20/2026 6:16 PM, Ryan Tarinelli, 673K] reports Congress faces a 10-day scramble before the statutory expiration of a powerful surveillance authority next week, after a collapse on the House floor laid bare the opposition to renewing the tool without new privacy safeguards. The early-morning votes Friday, a piercing setback for the Trump administration and House leadership, illustrated that Republicans did not have enough support to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act with no changes, something known as a clean reauthorization. In the days since, GOP leadership and privacy advocates have not publicly identified a viable compromise as the future of an essential national security tool hangs in the balance. Under a stopgap measure, the new statutory expiration date is April 30. Republican leadership and privacy hawks face a ticking clock on one of the thorniest policy debates on Capitol Hill that does not fall cleanly on partisan lines. This reauthorization cycle, program supporters want no changes while privacy advocates want to install a warrant requirement for searches of American information collected under the program. Last week, 20 House Republicans joined nearly all Democrats in sinking a procedural measure tied to a clean, 18-month reauthorization. This week, neither chamber has announced action on a bill that might make it through Congress and be signed into law. "Congress is divided on FISA because the people want PRIVACY AND SECURITY whereas their government simply wants surveillance," Rep. Warren Davidson, an Ohio Republican who voted against the rule, posted on social media Monday. "Let Congress work its will – the will of the people.".

NewsMax [4/20/2026 1:02 PM, Solange Reyner, 3760K] reports that Rep. Vince Fong, R-Calif., has urged Congress to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, warning on Newsmax that allowing the law to lapse would weaken the nation’s ability to counter mounting global threats. Fong, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, framed FISA as an essential component of U.S. national security infrastructure, emphasizing its role in equipping intelligence agencies with the tools needed to prevent attacks and safeguard Americans. "We need to extend FISA. It’s a critical tool for our national security agencies to protect Americans," Fong said on "Bianca Across the Nation" Monday as lawmakers continue to debate the future of the surveillance authority. FISA, which governs how U.S. agencies collect foreign intelligence, has long been a point of contention in Washington, with critics raising concerns about civil liberties and potential government overreach. Fong acknowledged those concerns, pointing to reforms included in previous reauthorization efforts. "There are 56 reforms that were put in the last time FISA was reauthorized," he said, adding that such measures are "critical in protecting Americans." He signaled openness to additional safeguards as part of ongoing negotiations, noting that lawmakers are actively discussing "additional guardrails."

Bloomberg [4/20/2026 8:59 AM, Jack Wittels and Sonja Wind, 18082K] reports deliveries of jet fuel through a key European energy pipeline have been disrupted by military operations — pressuring already squeezed supply chains — according to one commodity trader who uses the system. In March and April, extra volumes of military grade jet fuel were put into the NATO Central Europe Pipeline System in Rotterdam, said Orkhan Rustamov, founder and chief executive officer of trading firm Alkagesta. The situation has pushed out some supplies of civilian jet fuel, causing a reduction in deliveries to European airports, including Frankfurt’s main aviation hub, he said. The heightened use comes at a time when Europe’s commercial airlines and airports, several of which are directly connected to the pipeline, already face severe fuel supply pressures because the Iran war has choked off a key source of imports. Rustamov’s firm supplies jet fuel into the CEPS, but didn’t deliver through Rotterdam during the period in question. He said he got his information about heightened military-grade deliveries from fellow users. Fernleitungs-Betriebsgesellschaft mbH, service provider for the operation of the German sections of the NATO pipeline systems, didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment. Deutsche Lufthansa AG — a major user of Frankfurt airport — and NATO declined to comment. The Pentagon and the military commands overseeing Europe and the Middle East didn’t immediately respond to requests to do so. Frankfurt airport manager Fraport AG said it does not maintain its own fuel stocks.

New York Post [4/20/2026 10:16 AM, Josh Christenson, 40934K] reports that the House Oversight Committee launched a probe Monday into reports of the mysterious disappearances or deaths of at least 10 scientists and researchers working in US nuclear or rocket technology, according to letters obtained by The Post. "If the reports are accurate, these deaths and disappearances may represent a grave threat to U.S. national security and to U.S. personnel with access to scientific secrets," wrote Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) in each of the four letters. The missives to the FBI, Department of Energy, NASA and Department of War are demanding information about the US personnel who have vanished — including Michael David Hicks, who was employed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 1998 to 2022. Hicks died in 2023, but no autopsy or cause of death has been made publicly available. NASA Lab Materials Processing Group Director Monica Reza also went missing in June 2023 while hiking, and retired Air Force Gen. William Neil McCasland disappeared in February of this year from his Albuquerque, NM, home without his prescription glasses or phone — and a .38-caliber revolver. The two had a "close professional connection" when participating in an Air Force research program in the early 2000s that handled "advanced materials needed for reusable space vehicles and weapons.". Two other missing or deceased US personnel worked with NASA JPL, two more were affiliated with the Los Alamos National Laboratory, another was an MIT scientist studying nuclear fusion. There was also a pharmaceutical researcher and a government contractor involved with nuclear weapons component production at a US facility. A third Las Alamos administrative assistant, Melissa Casias, has also been announced missing in recent weeks. The White House has convened an interagency effort to investigate as well, and President Trump said the preliminary information was "pretty serious stuff" after being briefed. Comer and Burlison, who chairs the Oversight Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs, have asked for a staff-level briefing by April 27 as well. A spokesperson for the National Nuclear Security Administration said in a Friday statement that it was "aware of reports related to employees of our labs, plants, and sites and is looking into" mysterious deaths, suicides and vanishings of those who had left the agency. Frank Rose, the former No. 2 at NNSA, told The Post that it’s unlikely a "connection" will be uncovered, but plenty of "crazy stuff" has happened in the past to scientists and researchers at their facilities. "It wouldn’t surprise me if you look into each of these individual cases, there’s probably something more once you dig into it," Rose said. "This would go right to the administrator and the deputy administrator. They don’t sweep stuff like this under the rug.". "NNSA and the National Security Laboratory complex is a huge foreign intelligence target, but again, I have not seen any evidence that, you know, the deaths, when I was there, were connected in any way with a foreign intelligence organization," he added. The FBI "is spearheading the effort to look for connections into the missing and deceased scientists. We are working with the Department of Energy, Department of War, and with our state and state and local law enforcement partners to find answers," a rep said. Reps for the DOE, Department of War and NASA did not respond to a request for comment.

FOX News [4/20/2026 8:04 PM, Louis Casiano, 37576K] reports NASA said on Monday that it will work with other federal agencies to investigate the deaths and disappearances of 11 nuclear and space scientists, raising concerns in Washington about whether they were targeted for their work. "NASA is coordinating and cooperating with the relevant agencies in relation to the missing scientists," NASA spokesperson Bethany Stephens wrote on X. "At this time, nothing related to NASA indicates a national security threat. The agency is committed to transparency and will provide more information as it becomes available.". Hours earlier, the White House press secretary was asked by Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy about the matter. "In light of the recent and legitimate questions about these troubling cases, and President Trump’s commitment to the truth, the White House is actively working with all relevant agencies and the FBI to holistically review all of the cases together and identify any potential patterns," Karoline Leavitt later wrote on social media. At least 11 people have either died or vanished since 2022. The vast majority were involved in nuclear science and space research, with some connected to the study of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs). Michael David Hicks, 59; Frank Maiwald, 61; Nuno Loureiro, 47; Jason Thomas, 45; Amy Eskridge, 34; and Carl Grillmair, 47, all died between 2023 and 2026. Each played a key role in vital scientific research, Fox News Digital previously reported. The causes of death for Hicks and Maiwald remain unknown. Grillmair was gunned down outside his home on Feb. 16, and Freddy Snyder, 29, was subsequently charged with his murder. Loureiro was also fatally shot at his Massachusetts home. The body of Jason Thomas, an associate director of chemical biology at Novartis, was discovered in Lake Quannapowitt, Mass., three months after he was last seen walking from his home late at night. Eskridge, a Huntsville, Alabama–based researcher, died June 11, 2022, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Monica Reza, 60; Melissa Casias, 53; Anthony Chavez, 79; Steven Garcia, 48; and retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland, 68, were all reported missing between 2023 and 2026. All the disappearances occurred under suspicious circumstances. On Sunday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., warned that "something sinister" could be involved. "We’ve put a notice out to the Department of War, the FBI, NASA, and the Department of Energy. We want to know everything they know about what happened with these scientists, because those four agencies were predominantly the ones these 11 individuals were affiliated with," he said during an appearance on "Fox & Friends Weekend." "We want to try to piece this together." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Univision [4/20/2026 7:57 PM, Staff, 4937K] reports the Cuban government confirmed on Monday that authorities on the island held a meeting with US officials amid tensions caused by an oil embargo imposed by Washington on the Caribbean nation since January. The meeting had been reported in the press late last week, but Cuba had not commented on the matter. “I can say that, in recent days, a bilateral meeting took place in Havana between high-ranking officials from Cuba and the United States at the level of deputy foreign minister and assistant secretaries of the State Department,” said Alejandro García del Toro, deputy director of U.S. affairs at the Cuban Foreign Ministry, in statements sent to The Associated Press and later published in the official newspaper Granma. García, however, denied that there were any ultimatums or threats, as reported in the US media. “There was no imposing tone or approach whatsoever, nor any pressured deadlines, contrary to what some media outlets have said. The exchange was serious and respectful,” he asserted. According to reports published in the media, citing unidentified US sources, US officials at the meeting demanded that Cuba release political prisoners and implement economic reforms in order to ease sanctions. The talks also reportedly touched on the possibility of allowing Starlink satellite internet on the island. Although he did not offer details about what was discussed, the Cuban diplomat indicated that the topics covered were of “binational” interest and that “they deliberated on issues where there are differences.” “For Cuba, the priority is to end the energy blockade, which imposes an extraordinary and unjustified collective punishment on the Cuban people,” he stated. “Furthermore, it poses a coercive threat against any state that, in the exercise of its sovereign prerogatives, intends to export fuel to Cuba.” President Donald Trump imposed an energy blockade after attacking Venezuela in early January and capturing then-President Nicolás Maduro, depriving the island of a key ideological and strategic ally, the latest turn of the screw on sanctions that have weighed on the island for six decades and had already caused a severe crisis in this five-year period. Cuba went more than three months without being able to import fuel until a Russian ship docked in late March. The Caribbean nation produces barely 40% of the fuel it needs for its daily operations. The consequences in recent months have been a deepening of the economic crisis, with prolonged blackouts and shortages. Fuel for vehicles is rationed, and the island appears to be at a near standstill in its main activities. Former president, president and revolutionary leader, Raúl Castro, who does not hold an official position, but has a strong symbolic presence. US officials have previously said that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and a staunch critic of the Cuban government, met with Rodríguez Castro last February in the Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis. The talks were revealed after Trump declared in recent days that his administration could focus its attention on Cuba once it concludes its war in Iran, following several threats to "take over" the Caribbean nation. On Thursday, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said that the United States has no valid argument for carrying out a military attack against the island or for trying to depose him, and maintained that the country was prepared to fight and defend itself if necessary. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reuters [4/20/2026 8:27 AM, Natalia Ramos, 38315K] reports ⁠ Chile and the United States are to ‌sign mining and security agreements on Monday, with the security deal including $1 million in funds from the U.S., the Chilean government said. The security agreement will add to an existing cooperation deal on both countries’ narcotics control policies, Chile’s Public Security Ministry said in a statement.

NewsMax [4/20/2026 3:34 PM, Brian Freeman, 3760K] reports the Department of the Treasury has designated seven commanders from four Iran-aligned Iraqi militias as specially designated global terrorists, citing their roles in attacks on American personnel and regional targets, FDD has reported. The commanders are affiliated with Kataib Hezbollah, Asaib Ahl al Haqq, Kataib Sayyid al Shuhada, and Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba — groups Washington has designated as terrorist organizations and linked to Iran’s regional influence network. Treasury officials described the militias as "some of Iraq’s most violent Iran-aligned militia organizations," accusing them of operating with near impunity while targeting U.S. personnel, civilians, and critical infrastructure. According to the department, the groups have carried out numerous attacks since the start of the U.S. campaign against Iran on Feb. 28, including strikes on American military sites, diplomatic locations, and energy infrastructure. Among those sanctioned are three commanders from Kataib Hezbollah, which was designated a foreign terrorist organization in 2009 for attacks against U.S. and coalition forces. The Treasury Department has identified Ammar Jasim Khadim al Rammahi as directing attack planning and targeting U.S. personnel, while Radhwan Yousif Hameed Almohammed and Hasan Dheyab Hamzah Hamzah were described as key operational coordinators. Three other figures tied to Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba and Kataib Sayyid al Shuhada were also sanctioned. The Treasury Department has identified Husham Hashim Jaythoom as a military trainer, while Khalid Jameel Abed Albakhatra and Saeed Kadhim Mukhamis were described as senior commanders of Kataib Sayyid al Shuhada.

Reuters [4/21/2026 1:14 AM, Steve Holland, Enas Alashray and Mubasher Bukhari, 16072K] reports the United States expressed confidence that peace talks with Iran would go ahead in Pakistan and a senior Iranian official said Tehran was considering joining, but significant hurdles and uncertainty remained as the end of a ceasefire loomed. The two-week truce in the war is ‌set to expire within days and despite Iran earlier ruling out a second round of negotiations this week, a Pakistani source involved in the discussions told Reuters there was momentum for talks to recommence on Wednesday. "Things are moving forward and the talks are on track for tomorrow," the source said on Tuesday on condition of anonymity, adding U.S. President Donald Trump could attend in person, or virtually, if a deal were to be signed. U.S. Vice President JD Vance will travel to Pakistan on Tuesday for negotiations, Axios reported, citing U.S. sources and the Wall Street Journal said Iran had told regional mediators it would send a delegation to Pakistan on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters could not immediately confirm the reports. An Iranian official, speaking to Reuters, said Tehran was "positively reviewing" its participation in the talks but stressed no decision had been made. Oil prices fell more than $1 and stocks bounced back in early trading in Asia on Tuesday on expectation that ⁠U.S.-Iran peace talks will resume this week, after an earlier meeting in Islamabad broke down without an agreement. Oil prices had jumped around 6% in Monday trading on doubts over the talks. Brent crude futures declined $1.04, or 1.1%, at $94.44 a barrel at 0600 GMT and U.S. West Texas Intermediate for May fell $1.66, or 1.9%, to $87.95. But tensions remained high on Tuesday, with defiant rhetoric from Iran adding to uncertainty over whether the talks will happen. Top officials in Tehran chided Washington over its blockade of Iranian ports and Sunday’s seizure and boarding of an Iranian commercial vessel, the Touska, which they called ceasefire violations that were obstacles to diplomacy. A senior Iranian military commander said on Tuesday forces were ready to deliver an "immediate and decisive response" to any renewed hostility from adversaries, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said, while Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, in an X post said any nation with a great civilisation would not negotiate under threat or force. Top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf had in an X post late on Monday accused Trump of increasing pressure through the blockade, saying he was deluded in seeking to "turn the negotiating table into a table of submission" or justify renewed warmongering. Trump wants an agreement that would prevent further oil price rises and stock market shocks but has insisted Iran cannot have the means to develop a nuclear weapon. Tehran hopes to leverage its control of the Strait of Hormuz to strike a deal that averts a restart of the war, eases sanctions but does not impede its nuclear program. Washington has not specified when the two-week ceasefire will end. A Pakistani source ‌involved in the ⁠talks said it would expire at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, or midnight GMT or 3:30 a.m. Thursday in Iran.

Bloomberg [4/20/2026 2:43 PM, Staff, 18082K] reports that Republican Representative Nicole Malliotakis said that while the US has the upper hand in negotiations with Iran, lawmakers need to be realistic about the impact constituents are feeling at home and the resulting political pressure on the Republican party. The New York Congresswoman also said that Congress must extend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Section 702 because it’s critically important to confronting the threat of terrorism. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS News [4/20/2026 1:43 PM, Staff, 51110K] reports that U.S. forces fired on and then seized an Iranian vessel over the weekend, intensifying the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz. CBS News senior national security correspondent Charlie D’Agata has more. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

The Hill [4/20/2026 8:01 AM, Ashleigh Fields, 18170K] reports Iran’s military is threatening to retaliate after the U.S. seized one of its cargo ships traveling through the Gulf of Oman over the weekend. The operational command for Iran’s military, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, issued a statement vowing to take “necessary action against the terrorist U.S. military” according to The Associated Press. It also offered an explanation for why Iranian forces didn’t fight back against U.S. Marines, when they boarded the ship, named Tokusa. U.S. soldiers said they warned the vessel to stop repeatedly over a six-hour period. “Due to the presence of some family members of the ship’s crew, they faced constraints in order to protect their lives and ensure their safety, as they were in danger at every moment,” Khatam al-Anbiya said. The U.S. has declared a naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and turned around more than a dozen vessels attempting to cross the waterway. On Saturday, President Trump said U.S. soldiers would board Iranian-linked ships to increase economic pressure on Tehran to end the war and agree to a long-term ceasefire. Negotiations surrounding a peace deal were supposed to take place this week in Islamabad, but Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said they have no plans on attending talks, according to the AP. However, two Pakistani officials told the news Iran is still open to holding a second round of talks as international pressure to end the war and reopen the strait ramps up.

Reuters [4/20/2026 11:01 AM, Jonathan Saul, 38315K] reports that the Iranian-flagged container ship Touska, which was boarded and seized by U.S. forces on Sunday, is likely to have what Washington deems dual-use items that could be used by ‌the military onboard, maritime security sources said on Monday. The small container ship, which is part of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) group that has been hit with U.S. sanctions, was boarded on Sunday off the coast of Iran’s Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman and last reported its position at 1308 GMT, according to ship-tracking data on the Marine Traffic platform. The U.S. Central Command said Touska’s crew failed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period, and that the vessel was in violation of a U.S. blockade. The security sources, who declined to ⁠be identified, said their initial assessments were the vessel was likely to be carrying dual-use items after a voyage from Asia. The vessel had previously transported items deemed as dual-use, one of the sources said. The sources did not go into details on the items. U.S. Central Command has listed metals, pipes and electronic components among other goods that could have a military as well as an industrial use and could be captured.

Reuters [4/21/2026 2:10 AM, Yannis Souliotis, 38315K] reports fraudulent messages promising safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for cryptocurrency have been sent to some shipping companies whose vessels are stranded west of the waterway, Greek maritime risk management ‌firm MARISKS has warned. The U.S. has maintained its blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran has lifted and then re-imposed its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed before war broke out in the Middle East. Amid ceasefire talks, Tehran, ⁠which controls the chokepoint, has proposed tolls on vessels to safely transit. MARISKS on Monday issued an alert warning shipowners that unknown actors, claiming to represent Iranian authorities, had sent some shipping companies a message demanding transit fees in cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin or Tether, for “clearance”. "These specific messages are a scam," the firm said, adding the message was not sent by Iranian authorities. There was no immediate comment from Tehran. Hundreds of ships and about 20,000 seafarers remain stranded in the Gulf. On April 18, when Iran ‌briefly opened ⁠the strait subject to checks, ships tried to pass but at least two of them, including a tanker, reported that Iranian boats had fired shots at them, forcing the vessels to turn around. MARISKS said that it believed that at least one of the vessels, ⁠which tried to exit the strait on Saturday and was hit by gunfire, was a victim of the fraud. Reuters was not able to verify the information or track companies ​that ⁠had received the message. "After providing the documents and assessing your eligibility by the Iranian Security Services, we will be able to determine the fee to be ⁠paid in cryptocurrency (BTC or USDT). Only then will your vessel be able to transit the strait unimpeded at the pre-agreed time," said the message cited by MARISKS.

ABC News [4/20/2026 9:37 PM, Bill Hutchinson, 34146K] reports the Strait of Hormuz was on lockdown on Monday after a tense weekend in which Iran was accused of attacking two Indian-flagged vessels and the U.S. Marines fired at and seized an Iranian-flagged ship. The escalating tensions over the vital passage for oil and international trade came amid a U.S. naval blockade of the strait and Iran’s declaration on Sunday that it had closed the waterway after briefly reopening it. The heightening hostilities over the strait are occurring as Iran announced it will not send negotiators to Pakistan for a second round of peace talks with their U.S. counterparts, including Vice President JD Vance. Meanwhile, a ceasefire that the U.S. and Iran agreed to two weeks ago is set to expire on Wednesday. On Sunday, President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News that, if Iran doesn’t sign a peace agreement, "the whole country is going to get blown up.". In a Monday social post, he said the blockade will not be lifted until the U.S. and Iran make a deal. According to the International Transport Worker’s Federation, 20,000 seafarers are stranded on ships around the Persian Gulf, unwilling or unable to traverse the strait because of security concerns. "There are vessels in this area right now, rationing food, rationing water, crews not getting properly paid and crew changes are still very hard to perform," one seafarer, who wished to remain anonymous, reported exclusively to ABC News. "We feel trapped, we feel like we are in a prison because effectively we cannot leave the only way to leave is through the Strait of Hormuz and that is not possible at the moment.". On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a statement on social media that, in accordance with a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, Iran had reopened the Strait of Hormuz "for all commercial vessels.". But on Saturday, India claimed that Iranian forces fired on two Indian-flagged ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian ambassador to India was summoned by India’s Ministry of External Affairs to discuss the "serious incident.". "During the meeting, Foreign Secretary conveyed India’s deep concern at the shooting incident," the ministry said in a statement, and stressed the importance India placed on the safety of merchant ships and their crews.

New York Post [4/20/2026 6:35 AM, Chris Bradford, 40934K] reports Iran said Monday that no decision has yet been made whether to attend the second round of peace talks with the United States in Pakistan as the clerical regime accused Washington of violating the ceasefire by seizing its Touska cargo ship. The country announced Sunday it wasn’t joining a second round of negotiations, blaming Washington’s "excessive demands" but the regime’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei wasn’t quite as emphatic. "As of now… we have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard," Baqaei told reporters hours later, according to the state’s Tasnim News Agency. Baqaei accused Washington of violating the ceasefire after the vessel was seized, describing it as an "act of aggression." He claimed Iran had faced "bad faith" from the US, claiming Washington had betrayed diplomacy twice and carried out attacks against Iranian sovereignty. "Iran will make the necessary decisions about the future path with careful consideration of its national interests," Baqaei said. The Touska ship was seized in the Gulf of Oman when it tried to break past the Navy’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

FOX News [4/20/2026 6:51 PM, Louis Casiano, 37576K] reports the matter of American hostages wrongfully detained in Iran could be resolved during negotiations between Tehran and Washington as both sides navigate a fragile ceasefire amid attempts to end the conflict, one expert said. Ryan Fayhee, a lawyer for Abdolreza "Reza" Valizadeh, 49, who has been detained by Iran for more than a year, stressed the urgency of a diplomatic solution to secure his client’s release as pressure on Iran remains high during the war against the United States and Israel. "It is my job as Reza’s lawyer to make sure that it doesn’t get lost," Fayhee told Fox News Digital. "While I have high confidence that this is part of the negotiations, even though the administration hasn’t stated so publicly… it is officially my job to make sure it remains part of those conversations. And equally so — and this is the bigger challenge, because obviously, I don’t have full control — it’s my job to make sure Reza is safe and alive to allow for those negotiations to take place that ideally will secure his release." Iran is currently holding six Americans, though only two have been publicly identified: Valizadeh and 61-year-old Kamran Hekmati. Both hold dual Iranian and American citizenship and were being held in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison.

Washington Post [4/20/2026 8:12 PM, Katie Mettler and Dan Lamothe, 24826K] reports the 13 U.S. troops killed at Kabul airport’s Abbey Gate in August 2021 were there to help save lives. It had been four months since then-President Joe Biden ordered the Pentagon to plan for a complete withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan, and 11 days since Kabul had fallen to the Taliban — a devastating blow to the 20-year U.S. war effort. American troops were helping evacuate tens of thousands of locals, many of whom had been U.S. allies during the war. On Aug. 26, 2021, Afghans desperately seeking safety had flooded Abbey Gate, a key entrance at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. Just after 5:30 p.m., a catastrophic blast ripped through the area from a single suicide bomber, officials said, leaving about 170 Afghans and those 13 American troops dead. On Monday, nearly five years since that deadly day, the trial for the only person charged so far with helping to carry out the bombing began in federal court in Virginia, with federal prosecutors offering a starkly different narrative of events than the defense team for Mohammad Sharifullah. The government told jurors that Sharifullah — also known as “Jafar” — said during interviews with FBI agents in early 2025, after he’d been captured by Pakistani authorities and turned over to the United States, that he had conducted surveillance for the Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K) terrorist group ahead of the Abbey Gate attack. The prosecution’s case, as outlined in court documents, relies largely on statements about that bombing, and other terrorist attacks, that the FBI said he provided during five interviews. Justice Department prosecutor John Gibbs told the jury Sharifullah was angry at the United States for invading Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and once had referred to “killing crusaders” in an interview with a reporter. “The defendant’s words encapsulate more than anything else what this trial is about,” Gibbs said. But Geremy Kamens, the federal public defender for the Eastern District of Virginia, called the prosecution’s evidence thin and said Sharifullah’s admission was a false confession given under duress. His pregnant wife and three young children had also been seized, Kamens said, and Sharifullah feared they would be tortured by Pakistani authorities if he did not do as they instructed: take responsibility for Abbey Gate. “The question in this case is not really about what happened, but who is responsible,” Kamens said. “The U.S. government got the wrong man.” Sharifullah is charged with one count of providing and conspiring to provide assistance to a designated foreign terrorist organization that resulted in death. If convicted, he faces life in prison. The proceedings, before Judge Anthony J. Trenga in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, are expected to last at least a week and include testimony from U.S. and Afghan officials as well as American troops who survived the bombing but were left with devastating injuries.

Bloomberg [4/20/2026 9:56 PM, Soo-hyang Choi, 18082K] reports South Korean President Lee Jae Myung rejected allegations that a minister publicly identified the location of a North Korean nuclear facility based on US intelligence, calling the accusation “absurd.” South Korean media reported that the US is limiting intelligence sharing on North Korea with Seoul after Unification Minister Chung Dong-young publicly identified North Korea’s uranium enrichment facility in Kusong last month. “Any claim or action based on the premise that Minister Chung ‘leaked classified information provided by the US’ is wrong,” Lee wrote in a post on X on Monday. Lee said the existence of the Kusong facility had been widely known through academic papers and media reports before Chung’s remarks. “We should look into why something this absurd is happening,” he said. A US Forces Korea official said on Monday that it’s aware of the media reports, adding that the US military is working alongside South Korea to deter aggression and maintain peace on the peninsula. The US embassy in Seoul declined to comment on diplomatic conversations when reached by Bloomberg News. The US has been restricting sharing some North Korea intelligence gathered via satellite with South Korea since early this month, Yonhap News reported, citing a senior military official it didn’t identify. The report said information sharing on North Korea’s military activities are underway as usual. Chung, a five-term lawmaker, returned to the post in charge of relations with North Korea in July after serving as the unification minister under the liberal Roh Moo-hyun government two decades earlier. “Claims of an intelligence leak are completely groundless,” the minister said in a post on Facebook on Monday. Chung said he hasn’t received any reports on North Korea’s nuclear facilities since taking office, and criticized the opposition for “exaggerating the situation as if there were a major rift between South Korea and the US.” The episode comes as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been speeding up developing his nuclear and missile capabilities while the US shifts focus to the Middle East. South Korea, a key US ally that hosts some 28,500 American troops, has been under pressure from President Donald Trump to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to help protect shipping.

Reuters [4/20/2026 5:35 AM, Nestor Corrales, 38315K] reports Philippine and U.S. forces will carry out maritime strike drills on a remote Philippine ‌island near Taiwan during annual exercises that started on Monday, which Manila’s military chief said would test their readiness under "real‑world conditions". The April 20 to May 8 exercises known as "Balikatan", or "shoulder-to-shoulder", will be the largest yet in terms of participating countries, with Australia included again and Canada, France, New Zealand and Japan joining as active participants for the first time, highlighting Manila’s widening network of security partnerships. The exercises will involve practising precision strike and ⁠interdiction operations in coastal waters of the Philippines and will feature integrated air and missile defence exercises, multinational maritime operations, and counter‑landing, live‑fire drills.

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