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

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

The New York Times [3/13/2026 7:56 PM, Alan Feuer and Krista Torralva, 148038K] reports a group of young protesters accused of being members of the radical left-wing movement antifa were convicted on Friday of an array of charges, including supporting terrorism, after taking part in an armed assault last summer on an immigration facility in Alvarado, Texas. The guilty verdicts, which came after a three-week trial in Federal District Court in Fort Worth, were in many ways a victory for the Justice Department. It was the first time that terrorism charges had been successfully brought against purported members of antifa. President Trump, in a series of executive actions, has prioritized bringing criminal cases against antifa and other left-wing demonstrators, especially those who have protested his aggressive immigration crackdown in cities across the country. But while the jury in Fort Worth clearly believed the prosecution’s theory that most of the defendants had supported an act of terrorism when they joined the attack on the immigration facility, shooting a police officer in the neck, the evidence that emerged from the trial offered a more complicated view of the Trump administration’s repeated claims that antifa presents a serious threat to national security. Five of the government’s own cooperating witnesses — people who were part of the supposed antifa cell — denied under oath that they or their compatriots thought of themselves as belonging to antifa, a contraction of the word “antifascist.” Lawyers for the nine defendants sought to portray them as something much less sinister: a group of left-leaning activists who became involved in “tragic” violence and then fell prey to a political prosecution by the Trump administration. The jury returned the verdicts on its second day of deliberations, convicting eight of the nine defendants of providing material support to terrorists, riot and conspiracy to use an explosive. The jury acquitted most of the defendants on charges of attempted murder. Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, hailed the verdict on Friday evening. “Today justice prevailed,” he wrote on social media. “Terrorists who target our agents will face the full force of federal law. We will continue dismantling violent extremist networks and the funding pipelines that support them.” But while Mr. Trump and some of his top aides have spoken at times of antifa as though it were a clear-cut extremist organization, like the far-right Proud Boys, with a knowable membership and hierarchy, the movement is in fact a decentralized collection of loosely affiliated groups with similar but not always identical objectives. The Washington Post [3/13/2026 5:47 PM, Molly Hennessy-Fiske, 24826K] reports the landmark verdict was seen as a win in the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on left-wing protesters that it has branded as an organized network of “domestic terrorists.” “These verdicts make clear that those who choose violence over lawful expression will face the full force of the American justice system,” said ICE Director Todd M. Lyons. “Those who target federal officers with intimidation, ambush tactics or political violence will be investigated, prosecuted and held accountable.” Attorneys for the defendants cast the verdicts as defeats for free speech. “I feel like the U.S. lost here with this verdict and what it means for future defendants,” said Christopher Weinbel, an assistant federal public defender. He added that he was especially dismayed by the verdict as a U.S. Army veteran who deployed six times. “I feel like it turned its back on justice with this.” The charges stemmed from what the defendants’ attorneys called a “noise demonstration” July 4 outside Prairieland Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention Center in nearby Alvarado, Texas, that left a police officer shot and wounded. The nine defendants, indicted by a grand jury collectively last fall, include alleged ringleader Benjamin Song, a former Marine reservist; Savanna Batten; Zachary Evetts; Autumn Hill; Meagan Morris; Maricela Rueda; and a couple, Elizabeth and Ines Soto. The accused included a middle school teacher, a college student, a mechanical engineer and a UPS worker. They faced a combination of charges, including attempted murder, rioting, providing support to terrorists, conspiracy to use and carry explosives and conspiracy to corruptly conceal documents. One of the nine, Daniel Sanchez-Estrada, was not at the scene and was accused of later trying to hide a box of “anti-government propaganda.” NewsMax [3/13/2026 8:31 PM, Michael Katz, 3760K] reports that the nine defendants found guilty were Song, Autumn Hill, Zachary Evetts, Savanna Batten, Meagan Morris, Maricela Rueda, Elizabeth Soto, Ines Soto, and Sanchez-Estrada. Seven others pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists and face up to 15 years in federal prison: Nathan Baumann, Joy Gibson, Rebecca Morgan, Seth Sikes, Susan Kent, Lynette Sharp, and John Thomas. The Justice Department said evidence at trial showed most members of the antifa cell involved in the Prairieland attack looked to Song as a leader. Prosecutors said Song acquired firearms that he distributed to co-defendants and that he recruited members at gun ranges and combat sessions, as well as from ideologically aligned groups. For example, defendants Ines Soto, Elizabeth Soto, and Batten were part of a group that created and distributed insurrectionary materials called "zines," prosecutors said. Prosecutors said 11 guns were ultimately recovered, some from cars or backpacks. That included three AR-15-style rifles at or near the scene, court records showed. Authorities also recovered body armor, magazines, and a flag reading "fight oligarchy" and "resist fascism." Some of the accused carried first-aid kits and handheld radios, prosecutors said. Song faces a minimum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life. Hill, Evetts, Morris, Rueda, Batten, Elizabeth Soto, and Ines Soto each face a minimum penalty of 10 years and a maximum of 60 years. Sanchez-Estrada faces a maximum penalty of 40 years. The DOJ said all 16 defendants will be sentenced later this year by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, a Trump appointee. "Today’s verdict shows the FBI remains committed to identifying, locating, and dismantling antifa and its funding networks across the country," FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement. "Acts of violence against our law enforcement partners will not be tolerated, and we continue our work to protect communities across the country from domestic terrorism.” Reuters [3/13/2026 7:35 PM, Jasper Ward, 38315K] reports that the case was the first time federal prosecutors filed terrorism charges targeting antifa, a largely unstructured, far-left movement whose followers broadly aim to confront those they view as authoritarian or racist. Following the ⁠conviction, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said this will not be the last case of its kind under the Trump administration. ICE Director Todd M. Lyons welcomed the conviction, saying the summer attack by the defendants was violent in nature and "an abhorrent way for antifa terrorists to ‘protest.’"

Reported similarly:
AP [3/13/2026 8:39 PM, Jamie Stengle, 42967K]
CBS News [3/13/2026 8:39 PM, Kelsy Mittauer, et al., 51110K]
FOX News [3/13/2026 6:27 PM, Sophia Compton, 37576K]
Daily Caller [3/13/2026 5:02 PM, Hudson Crozier, 803K]
Washington Examiner [3/13/2026 4:49 PM, Mia Cathell, 1147K]

New York Times [3/14/2026 5:03 AM, Campbell Robertson and Tim Arango, 148038K] reports in his wartime appearances before the media, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boasts of the death, destruction and retribution that the United States has been bringing to Iran. But as Americans have been learning in the two weeks since the war began, violence has a way of breaking containment. Within 24 hours of the first strikes on Iran, a man wearing a shirt with the colors of the Iranian flag killed three people and injured more than a dozen others at a bar in Austin, Texas, the authorities said. A week later, two teenagers from Pennsylvania who claimed to be inspired by the Islamic State tried to set off an explosive device at a protest in New York, according to prosecutors. On Thursday, a former National Guard member who had spent several years in prison for providing support for terrorism walked into a classroom of R.O.T.C. cadets in Norfolk, Va., killing the instructor and wounding two students, according to the F.B.I. Less than two hours later, a man in Michigan plowed a car into a synagogue and killed himself during a gunfight with security guards, the police said. The circumstances of these attacks are different, and the motives are still being investigated. But they have contributed to swelling anxiety and dread in an already violent America. Since the beginning of the war, which took most Americans by surprise, the police have stepped up patrols on public transit and around synagogues. Law enforcement officials are urging people to report any suspicious activity, as the police did in the days following the Sept. 11 attacks. And while President Trump has tried to reassure Americans, with his assertion that his administration has had its eye on Iranian “sleeper cells” in the United States, the recent attacks underscore that the dangers are diffuse and that violent attackers can, and often do, come out of nowhere.

AP [3/13/2026 6:34 PM, Eric Tucker and Alanna Durkin Richer, 5209K] repots in New York City, two men who federal authorities say were inspired by the Islamic State brought powerful homemade bombs to a far-right protest outside the mayoral mansion. In Michigan, a naturalized citizen from Lebanon rammed his vehicle into a synagogue before being shot by security. In Virginia, a man previously imprisoned on a terrorism conviction was heard yelling “Allahu akbar” before opening fire in a university classroom in an attack that officials said ended when the shooter was killed by students. The three acts of violence in the last week have laid bare a heightened terrorism threat unfolding against the backdrop of the U.S. war with Iran and as the country’s counterterrorism system is strained by the departures of experienced national security professionals at the FBI and Justice Department. The firings and resignations, along with the diversion of resources and personnel over the last year to meet other Trump administration priorities, have fueled concerns about the capability to head off a potential surge in threats. “So much experience has been decimated from the ranks,” said Frank Montoya, a retired senior FBI official. “The folks that were best-positioned to get to the bottom of it before something really bad happened” are in many cases no longer with the government, he said, meaning less experienced personnel assigned to the threat are “starting from way behind.” The FBI said it would not comment on personnel numbers and decisions, but issued a statement saying “agents and staff are dedicated professionals working around the clock to defend the homeland and crush violent crime. The FBI continuously assesses and realigns our resources to ensure the safety of the American people.” Iran has vowed revenge for the killing by the U.S. and Israel of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and though the fighting has so far been confined to the Middle East, the Islamic Republic has long professed its determination to carry out violence on American soil. Iranian operatives, for instance, responded to the 2020 assassination of Gen. Qassem Soleimani during the first Trump administration with a disrupted murder-for-hire plot targeting former national security adviser John Bolton. A Pakistani business owner who says he was carrying out instructions from a contact in Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was convicted in New York last week of trying to hire hit men in 2024 for assassination plots targeting public figures, including President Donald Trump, who was then running for president.

Breitbart [3/13/2026 5:39 PM, Elizabeth Weibel, 2238K] reports Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel announced that "three new fugitives" were being added to the agency’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, after the Trump administration caught seven in the past year. In a script of an internal FBI video obtained by Breitbart News regarding the 76th anniversary of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted program, Patel announced that Trung Duc Lu, Anibal Aguirre, and Samuel Ramirez Jr. had been added to the list. "I am here outside of CRIM division this week to tell you about three new fugitives we just added to the list," Patel said during the FBI’s internal Weekly Watch video. Patel shared that Duc Lu had been added to the list "for his alleged role in the 2014 kidnapping, torture, and murder of two Vietnamese brothers.” Aguirre, meanwhile, was added to the list "for his alleged role leading an international ATM jackpotting scheme for Tren de Aragua since at least 2024." Aguirre was also noted to be the "first ever cyber fugitive added to the list.” Ramirez was added to the FBI’s list "for his alleged role in the 2023 murder of two women during a shooting at a bar.”

CBS News [3/13/2026 5:28 PM, Sarah N. Lynch and Jennifer Jacobs, 51110K] reports the Health and Human Services watchdog’s office has been asked to provide a temporary security detail for Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, sources with direct knowledge of the request tell CBS News. The request for the security detail from the Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General is unusual because Pulte’s federal agency is not part of the department. Pulte received death threats after he asked the Justice Department to investigate New York Attorney General Letitia James for mortgage fraud, two of the sources said. A grand jury indicted James last fall, but the charges were dismissed after a federal judge determined that the U.S. attorney who secured the indictment had been unlawfully appointed. Credible threats against Trump administration officials have increased, prompting more and more officials to seek security details. Earlier this week, the Justice Department confirmed that Attorney General Pam Bondi had recently relocated to a military base. The Department denied a New York Times report that listed threats related to her handling of the Epstein Files as a reason for the move, but did not refute its reporting that she had received threats related to drug cartels. The request for Pulte was made by FHFA Acting Inspector General Christian Schrank, who until December worked as the deputy inspector general for investigations at the health department, two of the sources added. Schrank was installed in December, about a month after the White House removed the housing agency’s then-acting inspector general, Joe Allen. His removal came not long after he made efforts to provide key information to prosecutors on the James case, sources familiar with the matter previously said. The Government Accountability Office is probing Pulte’s actions as head of the housing agency. Top Senate Democrats wrote to the office late last year to ask the congressional investigative arm to examine "referrals of New York Attorney General Letitia James, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, and Rep. Eric Swalwell to the U.S. Department of Justice for mortgage fraud.” Historically, the health department’s inspector general has operated a small protection branch that provided security for the secretary. Last year, the protective detail for HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy was transferred over to the U.S. Marshals Service because he requires so many agents to cover the detail and receives a large number of credible threats, sources told CBS News. Some Trump administration officials who have received threats moved into military housing, including exiting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House adviser Stephen Miller.

Federal News Network [3/13/2026 5:32 PM, Drew Friedman, 1297K] reports as the DHS shutdown drags on, federal employees who are continuing to work across the department, without pay, are feeling the financial strain firsthand. Tens of thousands of employees at the Department of Homeland Security officially missed their first full paychecks on Friday, as the agency shutdown reached its one-month mark — and counting. The vast majority, about 90%, of the more than 260,000 DHS employees are continuing to work without pay throughout the funding lapse, which began Feb. 14. Employees earlier this month received partial paychecks, compensated only for work hours they completed prior to the start of the shutdown. According to the agency’s shutdown contingency plan, most DHS employees are considered "excepted," meaning they continue working as usual but will not receive pay until after the shutdown ends. That includes employees at the Transportation Security Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Coast Guard and Secret Service. As the shutdown drags on, the excepted employees are feeling financial strain firsthand. Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of American Federation of Government Employees Council 100, which represents TSA workers, said many employees are struggling. The current DHS shutdown is also straining air travel across the country, resulting in long security wait times at airports in cities including Houston, New Orleans and Atlanta, as TSA staffing levels in some areas fall short due to the financial struggles. While most DHS staff go unpaid, certain DHS components, including Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, are continuing to pay at least a portion of their workforces without delay, using discretionary funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. A full month later, lawmakers do not appear any closer to reaching a spending agreement. Democrats stressed that they were willing to fund some of DHS, but not ICE or CBP, without changes in agency operations. Republicans made clear that some of the Democratic demands were a non-starter. The two political parties have continued to point fingers for the shutdown. Each party blocked the other’s proposal for a temporary funding resolution, after hours of debate on the Senate floor earlier this week.

FOX Business [3/13/2026 5:24 PM, Staff, 7946K] Video: HERE reports Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, analyzes the Middle East conflict’s impact on rising crude oil prices, noting its proximity to $100 a barrel. He emphasizes Texas’ role in achieving American energy independence through fracking and new refinery projects. Roy also criticizes Democrats for delaying DHS funding, impacting critical security operations like border patrol and TSA amidst global instability..

Daily Wire [3/13/2026 9:22 AM, Cameron Arcand, 2314K] reports that the impact of the Department of Homeland Security shutdown is continuing to intensify, leading to frustration from Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who is the only Democrat to support funding the department as it currently stands. "We all have to acknowledge that this shutdown had no impact, zero impact on ICE, all of the funding was already in place there from the Big Beautiful Bill that I did not vote for," the Democrat told "Elizabeth Vargas Reports" on NewsNation this week, and the comments were later shared by the Republican National Committee Research account. "Why punish all those TSA agents and all the other people under the DHS umbrella just because the base demands that we just shut it down, knowing, absolutely knowing it will have no impact on ICE," he added, acknowledging in a CBS News interview that he does support reforms to the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Negotiations on federal immigration enforcement tactics have stalled, as Democrats want to see drastic changes to policies, including the end of masking for agents and the use of judicial warrants to make many immigration-related arrests. "Democrats are ready to fund TSA. Republicans are blocking it. Democrats are ready to fund CISA. Republicans are blocking it. Democrats are ready to fund FEMA. And Coast Guard. Republicans are blocking it," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) posted to X on Thursday evening. A Senate "test vote" failed 51-46 on Thursday to potentially fully fund the department, which covers agencies like TSA, the Coast Guard, and FEMA in addition to ICE and Customs and Border Protection, according to Fox News.

Daily Wire [3/13/2026 7:37 AM, Leif Le Mahieu, 2314K] reports that just one day after voting against legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) called for the department to be funded while speaking about a terror attack on a Michigan synagogue. During a press conference on the attack at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, Slotkin said Congress should fund DHS but exclude allocations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). "We need to fund the Department of Homeland Security, and we need, in my view, to cut away all the conversation on ICE, which is its own conversation, from all the core missions of the Department of Homeland Security," Slotkin said. Her remarks came one day after Slotkin joined all Senate Democrats except Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) in blocking legislation to fund DHS. When asked whether DHS was less prepared for terror attacks because of the partial shutdown, Slotkin said essential personnel were still working. "The department, because they are essential workers, they have been at work, certainly in Michigan, we have a ton of DHS folks, CBP, and so they are on the call and they are doing their jobs," she said. "But they’re essential, they’re on the job, they’re working today." DHS has faced a funding lapse since February 14 as Democrats and Republicans clash over ICE policy. Agencies under DHS include the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), FEMA, Customs and Border Protection, and the Coast Guard. Some analysts have warned that the shutdown is hampering the government’s counterterrorism efforts.

FOX News [3/13/2026 1:11 PM, Staff, 37576K] reports that Senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy and former FBI special agent Stuart Kaplan break down the impact of frozen DHS funding following the Michigan synagogue ramming and the Old Dominion University shooting. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [3/13/2026 1:44 PM, Staff, 37576K] reports that ‘Outnumbered’ panelists discuss recent terror attacks across the U.S., including a terror shooting at Old Dominion University and a synagogue attack. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Federalist [3/13/2026 1:43 PM, Staff, 540K] reports that “I mean, I hate to point this out, but it is called the Department of Homeland Security, and our homeland was invaded for four years because Joe Biden left the border open, and we had individuals on the terror watch list cross into this country, not to mention the ones we just didn’t catch,” The Federalist’s Brianna Lyman said on Fox News at Night when asked to respond to MS NOW’s Chris Hayes’ suggestion that DHS is more focused on immigration rather than terrorism. “And as of today it is clear, you cannot talk about terrorism without talking about immigration. We have a Sierra Leone national, a Lebanese national — two different terrorist attacks. The Texas shooting — a foreign national. The National Guard shooting last year — an Afghan national. The Boulder, Colorado attack — an Egyptian national. There is a pattern, and it shows us that both legal and illegal immigration [are] contributing to terrorist attacks, so actually … you’ve got to talk about immigration if you want to tackle terrorism.”

Bloomberg [3/13/2026 11:09 AM, Hadriana Lowenkron, 18082K] reports President Donald Trump said the US has Iranians who are residing in the country “under watch” amid new concerns about the potential for domestic terrorism during the war with Iran. “We’re watching them very, very carefully. We have them under watch now,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News Radio with Brian Kilmeade that aired Friday morning. Trump, who has moved to tighten border security, conducted the interview on Thursday. He was asked about the potential threat posed by Iranians who crossed into the US under his predecessor, Joe Biden, and the danger of potential “sleeper cells” in the country, following a pair of violent incidents on Thursday. A synagogue in suburban Detroit was attacked by a man who rammed his car into the front doors and then was shot by security. The Department of Homeland Security said it was carried out by Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, who the agency said was born in Lebanon, entered the US in 2011 and was granted citizenship in 2016. In a separate incident in Virginia, the FBI said one person was killed and two wounded after a shooting at Old Dominion University by a suspect who authorities said previously pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State. The FBI is investigating the incident, in which the shooter was killed, as an act of terrorism. Trump said more than 1,700 Iranians had entered the US illegally during the prior administration. Asked if the US was poised to move against any sleeper cells, Trump said such a move would be undertaken “legally, very carefully.” “Got to be a little bit careful in a lot of ways, a lot of good people too. You know that’s the problem,” Trump said. “You got a lot of good people.”

CNN [3/13/2026 6:00 AM, Catherine E. Shoichet, 19874K] reports a key part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is far less visible than the aggressive arrests we’ve seen in the streets. But the detention centers that hold tens of thousands of immigrants behind closed doors are starting to draw more scrutiny from lawmakers and the public. And plans for a dramatic expansion of that system are meeting opposition in some unexpected places. For years immigrant detention centers, often run by private prison companies, have faced allegations of poor conditions and medical neglect. Now the federal government, which disputes those accusations, says it needs more space for "the largest deportation effort in American history." Officials are increasing the number of immigrants in custody and spending billions on a controversial plan to detain more people in converted warehouses. "These are industrial buildings that were never intended for human inhabitants. … The idea of detaining people in these buildings is really horrific," says Setareh Ghandehari, advocacy director of Detention Watch Network, an umbrella group pushing to end ICE detention. The plan marks a major change in how ICE approaches immigrant detention, and it’s not the only shift. Here are five big changes in ICE detention during the second Trump administration, and why they’re significant. The Trump administration pledged to detain more immigrants as part of its mass deportation campaign. And it has, both by increasing arrests and blocking many from requesting release on bond. There are about 70,000 detainees in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. That’s an increase of more than 80% from the total detained when Trump took office last year, according to data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

Washington Examiner [3/13/2026 8:56 PM, Emily Hallas, 1147K] reports Florida lawmakers on Thursday passed election integrity legislation modeled after President Donald Trump’s prized bill, the SAVE America Act. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is expected to sign what has been described as the Florida version of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. The SAVE Act, championed by Trump and now stalled in the Senate, strengthens voter ID and proof of citizenship requirements for residents to cast ballots. The Florida measure requires certain residents to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Valid proofs of citizenship include a birth certificate, passport, driver’s license, federal or state ID, or a court order granting citizenship. If it is signed into law, the bill would prevent college students from using their student IDs to vote in person. It would also prevent the use of retirement center identification, neighborhood association identification, or public assistance identification as IDs when voting. None of the bill’s provisions would take effect until 2027, meaning they will not apply to the crucial 2026 midterm elections. The bill does not require everyone to physically show proof of citizenship when registering to vote. New applicants must swear or affirm their U.S. citizenship under penalty of perjury. The applicant’s citizenship status must then be verified through the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles records. Applicants must provide the proof if the automatic verification process fails, according to Republican state Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, the bill’s sponsor. Persons-Mulicka has said, "A vote for this bill is a vote for our Constitution.” "While the important debate over the SAVE America Act happens on the national stage, we can and must continue to lead in Florida as the gold standard in election integrity," she previously said. The state House passed the bill along party lines, 77-28, just after the Senate sent it through, 27-12. Florida Democrats largely criticized the legislation as a "voter suppression bill.” "This bill creates real barriers for everyday Floridians, especially those with the fewest resources," state Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis posted on Facebook. "It will disproportionately impact working families, seniors, and college students who want to exercise their voice and right to vote.”

Reported similarly:
NewsNation [3/13/2026 12:36 PM, Staff, 4464K]
NewsMax [3/13/2026 10:38 PM, Michael Katz, 3760K]

The Hill [3/13/2026 2:28 PM, Sudiksha Kochi, 18170K] reports that House Republicans are threatening to oppose all Senate-passed legislation until the upper chamber advances the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, a GOP-backed voting requirements bill. “I’ll be voting ‘no’ on all Senate bills – other than DHS funding – until the Senate passes the SAVE America Act,” Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) wrote Friday on the social platform X. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) also wrote on X that, “The Senate will no longer have legislation passed until the SAVE America Act is passed and on the President’s desk.” The SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in elections and the presentation of an ID to cast a ballot, is expected to come to the Senate floor next week for a procedural vote. However, it would require some Democratic support to overcome a filibuster, posing a challenge for Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.). Thune has been facing pressure from President Trump and House Republicans to sidestep Democratic opposition through the use of a “talking filibuster,” which would force Democrats to speak continuously on the Senate floor to delay the bill. Once they cede the floor, Republicans could pass the measure with 51 votes. But Thune has previously said a talking filibuster is “much more complicated and risky than people are assuming at the moment,” and has opted to advance the bill through regular order.

Federalist [3/13/2026 7:17 AM, Shawn Fleetwood, 540K] reports the Senate GOP’s refusal to do what’s necessary to pass the SAVE America Act has been a sight to behold. From Majority Leader John Thune’s failure theater to Texas Sen. John Cornyn’s filibuster flip-flop to Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s outright opposition to the bill, the GOP establishment is pulling out all the stops to avoid having to do actual work to approve widely supported voter ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements in elections. But conservatives shouldn’t be surprised by this behavior, and here’s why. Let’s say Senate Republicans abide by the wishes of their voters and force Democrats into a talking filibuster. And let’s say that this strategy pays off and the SAVE America Act gets passed. If all that were to happen, it would prompt the GOP base to begin asking some pretty pertinent questions about the entire kerfuffle. Questions like, "Why did we have to fight tooth and nail against our own party to get this popular bill passed?" and "What other legislative priorities can we pressure Republicans into passing using this process?" They’re the kinds of questions that get conservatives to start seeing themselves as self-governing citizens who possess the power to influence their elected officials — which is exactly why the Senate GOP is doing everything it can to stonewall the SAVE America Act. For years, the Republican base has suffered a major crisis of complacency. Rather than engage in primaries and hold their elected officials accountable, too many GOP voters have opted to surrender their duty to self-governance to fake Republicans who despise them and their values. It’s why senators like Thune and Cornyn dismiss their voters as mere "paid influencers." They do it because they believe the Republicans in their home states will let them get away with it — and by and large, they have.

The Hill [3/13/2026 9:30 AM, A. Scott Bolden, 18170K] reports President Trump’s firing of incompetent Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is welcome news. But unless he changes his harmful polices on immigration and other areas the Department of Homeland Security oversees, the department will continue to be plagued by problems and Americans will suffer. Don’t expect the president to make massive changes. For years, Trump has been an extreme opponent of unauthorized immigrants — especially non-white unauthorized immigrants. He has repeatedly promised to stop their “invasion” of the U.S. Immigration was a winning issue for Trump in the 2024 election, but his approval rating on the topic in a Reuters/Ipsos poll in February fell to just 38 percent. This came after immigration enforcement agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis who were among thousands of protesters around the nation against masked ICE agents grabbing suspected unauthorized immigrants off the streets and from their homes and workplaces to be deported. You would think being on the wrong side of public opinion would prompt Trump to accept sensible Democratic proposals for reforming ICE and for comprehensive immigration reform, including a pathway to citizenship for law-abiding immigrants already in our country. But Trump believes his policy choices are brilliant, and that they become unpopular only because the people who work for him don’t properly communicate and implement them. Consequently, he seems to believe that changing the public face of his immigration crackdown by firing Noem will increase his public approval. The new face Trump wants to put on his war on unauthorized immigrants is Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), who served in the House for 10 years before becoming a senator in 2023. Mullin will start serving as acting DHS secretary March 31 and will be able to hold that position while his nomination is pending in the Senate, where the Republican majority will likely confirm him to head the department.

FOX News [3/13/2026 11:04 AM, David Marcus Fox, 37576K] Video: HERE reports when it comes to striking a deal to pay the people who keep us safe, congressional Democrats just won’t take yes for an answer. Just a month ago, they were demanding that ICE pull out of Minnesota and that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem be fired before they could vote to fund the agency. Now, with Noem gone and ICE pulling back from Minneapolis, Democrats would seem to have gotten what they wanted. So why are Senate Minority Chuck Schumer and his House counterpart Hakeem Jeffries continuing to punish their constituents through this lingering partial government shutdown? In particular, how can refusing to pay the people who keep our airports safe be justified when we are at war with Iran, the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world? Sadly, though not surprisingly, the answer is pure politics. Make no mistake, the removal of Noem was a serious concession from President Donald Trump. This is, after all, the woman who spearheaded the almost total shutdown of the southern border, arguably, the president’s top achievement. As to the aggressive ICE tactics used in Minneapolis, while they were generally unpopular, a strong number of voters in the MAGA base didn’t think they went far enough. So yes, Noem’s scalp was, in some ways, a peace offering. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

USA Today [3/14/2026 5:02 AM, Khalid Sayed, 67103K] reports the Winter Olympics in Italy have ended, and the Winter Paralympics are ending March 15. But the political storm and protests that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stirred up have not been forgotten. With the FIFA World Cup set to bring millions of international fans to North America, the Olympics backlash now feels less like an isolated controversy and more like a warning of what could lie ahead. The last Men’s World Cup drew about 1 million international visitors in 2022 to Qatar. The 2026 tournament – 48 teams hosted across Canada, Mexico and the United States from June 11 through July 19 – is expected to attract several times that number, making it the largest in the history of football, what Americans call soccer. The success of this world soccer tournament will hinge not only on logistics and policing, but also on whether teams and supporters feel welcome, safe and able to move across borders within tight time frames. That confidence is now under scrutiny. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons has said that the agency will be “a key part of the overall security apparatus for the World Cup." Yet when immigration enforcement becomes visibly woven into the staging of a global tournament, it ceases to look like routine security and instead risks appearing as a projection of domestic policy onto an international stage.

The Hill [3/13/2026 12:00 PM, Hamzah Abushaban, 18170K] reports I sit at my kitchen table, looking at the fig tree in our backyard that my cousin, Leqaa Kordia, brought as a gift three years ago. She planted it with my father; it has since grown and flourished even as she now languishes in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention, far from her loved ones. Leqaa, who came to the U.S. from Palestine 10 years ago on a student visa, marks one year in ICE detention today. The Trump administration is targeting her because she protested against Israel’s war in Gaza, which has killed almost 200 members of our family. Leqaa was detained after going voluntarily to the local ICE office in Newark for what she thought was a routine meeting. Instead, she was arrested and flown 1,500 miles away to an ICE detention center. An immigration judge has ruled twice for her to be released on bond. Both times, the Trump administration ordered an “automatic stay,” and continued to imprison her unjustly. I was bewildered. What is the point of having a legal system and due process, when the government can just override the court’s order?

USA Today [3/13/2026 6:04 AM, Hidaia Salem, 70643K] reports my daughter, Leqaa Kordia, has been unjustly held in the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, for one year now, targeted by the federal government after participating in protests against Israel’s war in Gaza. On March 13, 2025, she was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during what she thought would be a routine immigration meeting in Newark, New Jersey, and flown 1,500 miles away from her home and family. This followed days of ICE surveilling and interrogating members of our community. Leqaa, or Lulu, as I affectionately call her, grew up under Israel’s oppressive military occupation. I gave birth to her in Jerusalem, so premature that doctors told me it would be a miracle if she survived. Soon after, we moved to Gaza, where she spent the first years of her life. In 1998, after remarrying, I moved to the United States and became a citizen. I was separated from my beloved Leqaa, then living in the West Bank with her father, for two decades until we finally reunited 10 years ago when she joined me in New Jersey. I was overjoyed. We were apart for so long, it took time to get reacquainted. Now, in a cruel twist, she has been taken from me once again.

Breitbart [3/13/2026 11:56 PM, Jasmyn Jordan, 2238K] reports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Friday that officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested several individuals in the country illegally who were convicted of crimes, including aggravated sexual abuse of a child, intoxicated manslaughter, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, and burglary. DHS said nearly 70 percent of ICE arrests involve illegal aliens charged with or convicted of crimes in the United States, and the agency highlighted several recent arrests of individuals previously convicted of serious offenses. Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis remarked: "While sanctuary politicians demonize ICE law enforcement, our officers continue to risk their lives to remove criminal illegal aliens from our communities. Just yesterday, ICE arrested criminal illegal aliens convicted of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, intoxicated manslaughter, and assault with a deadly weapon. Under President Trump, if you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will find you and arrest you. The safety of the American people comes FIRST." According to DHS, those taken into custody during the latest enforcement actions include Armando Lopez of Mexico, convicted of aggravated sexual abuse of a child in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Blaze [3/13/2026 3:31 PM, Candace Hathaway, 1556K] reports the Department of Homeland Security criticized the left-wing media for overlooking the fact that most immigration arrests involve illegal aliens with prior charges or convictions. The department highlighted Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Thursday arrests of pedophiles and other criminals in a press release exclusively obtained by Blaze News. "Yesterday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested more criminal illegal aliens convicted for sexual conduct against a child, sexual assault, conspiracy to distribute narcotics, and other horrific crimes," the Friday DHS press release read. "The media and sanctuary politicians continue to ignore that nearly 70% of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S.," DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis stated. "Yesterday, the brave men and women of ICE risked their lives to get pedophiles, sexual assailants, drug dealers, and other scumbags out of this country," Bis continued. "Instead of trying to score brownie points, sanctuary politicians should be thanking our law enforcement officers for removing the worst of the worst from American communities."

National Today [3/14/2026 4:36 AM, Staff] reports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have arrested several individuals in the country illegally who were previously convicted of serious crimes, including aggravated sexual abuse of a child, intoxicated manslaughter, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, and burglary. The arrests highlight the ongoing efforts by ICE to remove criminal illegal immigrants from communities, despite criticism from some politicians who have labeled the agency as overly aggressive. The arrests also underscore the public safety concerns around illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes. According to DHS, the individuals taken into custody include Armando Lopez of Mexico, convicted of aggravated sexual abuse of a child in Salt Lake City, Utah; Sergio Alonso Rodriguez-Noyola of Mexico, convicted of intoxicated manslaughter in Dallas, Texas; Jesus Escobar-Grande of El Salvador, convicted of assault with a deadly weapon in Santa Rosa, California; Dung Duc Luu of Vietnam, previously convicted of first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary in Los Angeles, California; and Jose Muniz-Flores of Mexico, convicted of burglary of a habitation in Bailey County, Texas. “While sanctuary politicians demonize ICE law enforcement, our officers continue to risk their lives to remove criminal illegal aliens from our communities. Just yesterday, ICE arrested criminal illegal aliens convicted of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, intoxicated manslaughter, and assault with a deadly weapon. Under President Trump, if you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will find you and arrest you. The safety of the American people comes FIRST.” — Lauren Bis, Deputy Assistant Secretary (DHS)

Telemundo Washington DC [3/13/2026 3:31 PM, Martha Minjárez and Carmen Rodríguez, 120K] reports ICE keeps minors locked up in detention centers for longer than the time allowed under federal agreement. Since the 1990s, federal agreements have been established that limit the detention periods for minor children in the custody of immigration authorities. Groups that monitor these types of cases told Telemundo 39 Investiga that the agreements are not being followed because they exceed the established time and do not meet the basic conditions for their well-being. Government data collected by these lawyers each month shows that, as of March 2025, of approximately 23,000 children detained, 38% have remained in immigration custody for more than 20 days. This represents about 991 children. Telemundo 39 Investigates cannot independently verify this data, but it is similar to other publicly available data we have observed. The Deportation Data Project, a research group comprised of lawyers and professors, shows that since October, approximately 750 children have been detained for more than 20 days in Dilley alone. However, Corec Civic, the company contracted by the government to operate the Dilley detention center, said in a written statement that its staff provides respectful and humane support to residents who, according to their report, spend an average of 12 days housed in their building. On the other hand, Becky Wolonzin, an attorney with the National Center for Youth Law, said that many children spend more than 80 days there. Her agency obtained sworn testimonies from children in custody at Dilley describing their experiences.

AP [3/13/2026 12:35 PM, Charlotte Oliver, 35287K] reports attorneys and volunteers with the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project used to go into Vermont’s prisons and meet with every immigration detainee, using their phones and computers for language interpretation, according to Jill Martin Diaz, executive director of the organization. But they say that access changed this fall after Jon Murad took over as interim commissioner of the Vermont Department of Corrections. Since then, attorneys with the organization said the department has made it harder to meet and work with their clients, citing language barriers and lack of meeting space. Murad denies those claims and says he has merely enforced policies that predate his time as commissioner, cutting off practices that shouldn’t have been allowed under his predecessor. Federal immigration authorities use Vermont prisons to hold often more than a dozen immigration detainees at a time per a contract agreement with the federal government. Though detainees can be held in any Vermont prison, they’re most commonly brought to two facilities: Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington and Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans Town. As President Donald Trump has ramped up his mass deportation campaign, federal immigration authorities often swiftly shuffle people they detain around the country. And the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project has been the main organization routinely providing legal services to all immigration detainees in Vermont. "I think it’s really important to capitalize on this opportunity that Vermont can be where we disrupt this arrest-to-deportation pipeline that is happening across this country," said Hillary Rich, an attorney at the Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. The issue has raised the eyebrows of legislators focused on the state’s prison system and prompted them to write the Corrections Department a memo directing its officials to develop a memorandum of understanding with the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project to guarantee cooperation between the organization and the department.

The Hill [3/13/2026 11:06 AM, Mira Wassef and Anthony DiLorenzo, 18170K] reports a Honduran man accused of shoving two people onto the subway tracks in Manhattan over the weekend has been deported four times and sneaked back into the country a fifth time, immigration officials said Thursday. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a detainer on Bairon Posada-Hernandez, who has a lengthy rap sheet with drug and domestic violence charges, and asked New York authorities not to release him, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The detainer was placed when the suspect was arrested on Tuesday for assault, for allegedly pushing a 30-year-old man and an 83-year-old man onto the tracks in an unprovoked attack at a subway station on March 8, authorities said. “Bairon [Posada-Hernandez] is a serial criminal and four-time deported illegal alien from Honduras who should never have been able to walk our streets and harm innocent Americans,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. “We are praying for the victims and their families. DHS is calling upon New York sanctuary politicians to commit to this ICE detainer and not release this heinous criminal back into New York communities.”

Reported similarly:
Blaze [3/13/2026 10:45 AM, Dave Urbanski, 1556K]

Breitbart [3/13/2026 11:33 AM, John Binder, 2238K] reports a previously deported illegal alien is accused of sexually assaulting a teenager in the sanctuary state of New Jersey. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials say he could be released from jail thanks to the state’s sanctuary policy. "This pedophile should never have been in our country and able to prey on children in the first place," the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Lauren Bis said. Gerardo Garcia Gonzalez, an illegal alien from Mexico, was arrested this week in Ocean County, New Jersey, on charges of sexual assault of a victim between 13 and 15 years old, criminal sexual contact, and sexual assault by force or coercion. Gonzalez first crossed the United States-Mexico border in 2001 and was returned to his native Mexico. Sometime after, at an unknown date and location, Gonzalez crossed the border again, a felony under federal law. "We are calling on New Jersey sanctuary politicians to not release this predator charged with sexually assaulting a child from jail into New Jersey neighborhoods," Bis said. "This is the exact reason we need sanctuary jurisdictions to work with us. No one should want this sicko to be on our streets."

Breitbart [3/13/2026 8:18 PM, John Binder, 2238K] reports an illegal alien, who is nearly 19-years-old and in the 11th grade at Fairfax County High School in Virginia, is accused of groping about a dozen girls in the hallways of the school. Parents say school officials are attempting to cover up the allegations, even suggesting that the illegal alien would be allowed back at the school despite the charges. This week, Nick Minock of ABC 7News reports that the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office has arrested Israel Flores Ortiz, an illegal alien from El Salvador who crossed the United States-Mexico border in 2024 and was released into the U.S. by the Biden administration. Ortiz is charged with nine counts of assault and battery after police allege he groped about a dozen girls in the hallways of Fairfax County High School over the course of many months. School officials knew of the groping incidents for more than two weeks before they alerted parents of students at the high school to the issue. Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano agreed to let Ortiz walk out of jail, but a judge denied him permission to do so. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is pleading with Fairfax County officials and Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) to make sure that Ortiz is turned over to their custody if he is released from jail at any time.

Detroit Free Press [3/13/2026 5:10 PM, Staff, 4749K] Video: HERE reports U.S. House candidate Kat Abughazaleh joined demonstrators outside a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) center in Chicago in September.

Daily Caller [3/14/2026 12:12 AM, Jason Hopkins, 803K]
Immigration agents have arrested yet another illegal migrant truck driver accused of causing a horrific accident on U.S. roadways. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents took custody of Sukhdev Singh, an Indian national living unlawfully in the U.S., earlier in March after he allegedly caused a traffic accident that left a U.S. citizen hospitalized and in critical condition, the Daily Caller News Foundation has exclusively learned. Singh had obtained a Commercial Driver’s License in New York before crashing a big rig in Indianapolis, Indiana. "It is common sense: illegal aliens should not be operating 18-wheelers on American highways. We are praying this individual makes a full recovery," Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement provided to the DCNF. "It is incredibly dangerous for illegal aliens, who often don’t know our traffic laws or even English, to be operating 18-wheelers on America’s roads," Bis continued. "Sanctuary governors like Kathy Hochul must stop giving illegal aliens driver’s license before even more Americans get injured or killed.” While driving a semi-truck on March 6, the 25-year-old Singh allegedly hit a pedestrian along I-65, according to the DHS. The victim was transported to a local hospital while Indiana State Police — which operates under state laws that facilitate strong cooperation with ICE — contacted immigration agents. ICE arrived at the scene later that evening and assumed custody of the Indian national, according to DHS. It’s not immediately clear when Singh illegally entered the U.S., but records indicate he obtained a non-domiciled CDL — the type commercial license used by illegal migrant truckers — from New York officials on Jan. 2, 2025. The bust in Indianapolis marks the latest in a growing string of catastrophic or deadly roadway accidents allegedly caused by illegal migrant truck drivers. In early February, an illegal migrant trucker allegedly killed four members of the Amish community in Indiana, an accident that followed other deadly crashes in Florida, California and elsewhere. The crisis that has prompted the Trump administration to take dramatic action to keep CDLs away from illegal migrants. The Department of Transportation (DOT) in September heavily restricted non-domiciled CDLs and revealed that a federal audit uncovered "catastrophic patterns" of states unlawfully issuing licenses to foreign truck drivers. In February, the DOT doubled down with more rules to keep illegal migrants away from 18-wheelers, rolling out new screening processes and eliminating a loophole that previously allowed foreigners with bad driving records to obtain trucking licenses. While giving his State of the Union address before Congress in February, President Donald Trump unveiled his aim to pass "Dalilah’s Law," a bill named after Dalilah Coleman, a girl hit by an illegal migrant truck driver in June 2024 and left with life-altering injuries. "Dalilah Coleman was only 5 years old in June 2024 when an 18-wheel tractor-trailer plowed into her stopped car traveling at 60 miles an hour or more," the president said during the address. "The driver was an illegal alien let in by Joe Biden and given a commercial driver’s license by open borders, politicians and California.”

Reuters [3/14/2026 6:07 AM, Brad Brooks, 38315K] reports few federal agents are seen on the streets of Minneapolis these days. While many of the city’s residents still wear red whistles around their necks, used to sound an alert if they spot U.S. immigration agents, there has been little need to raise the alarm lately. Although parents dutifully patrol the perimeters of school grounds for ICE agents, sightings are rare. The network of observers who follow ICE agents remains active, but on a far smaller scale than before. Now, raids targeting undocumented migrants are mostly occurring ‌in communities outside of the city. Once scenes of turmoil as immigration agents carried out aggressive sweeps under President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, the streets of Minneapolis have today settled back into a more familiar rhythm. But everyone from Mayor Jacob Frey to teachers, doctors, lawyers, activists and immigrants who live and work in the city says the relative calm belies the lasting damage caused by Operation Metro Surge. Starting in December and running through February, about 3,000 immigration agents fanned out across the area. ICE said its immigration sweeps resulted in roughly 4,000 arrests. "The full-throttle attack that we experienced with Operation Metro Surge was not limited just to ICE agents," Frey said, estimating 400 federal immigration officers remain in the city, more than double the normal level. "We’re seeing other forms of attacks." Frey, a Democrat, ticked through them: kids with cancer who "can’t get treatment" because their families won’t leave their homes; Medicaid and Medicare transfers halted by the Trump administration; and federal grants that fund shelters and affordable housing slashed or made contingent on cooperating with immigration enforcement. Over two dozen residents who spoke ⁠with Reuters described a city trying to recover. Some are struggling to pay their rent or buy food because they have lost their jobs or remain too fearful to leave their homes. Many described a collective feeling of trauma.

New York Post [3/13/2026 9:55 PM, Sophia Compton, 40934K] reports jurors delivered a mixed verdict Friday in the federal trial of nine people accused of carrying out a 2025 "ambush" attack on an ICE detention facility in North Texas. Nine defendants accused of being part of a North Texas "Antifa cell" were convicted by a federal jury in Fort Worth for their roles in the July 4, 2025, attack on the Prairieland ICE Detention Center, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Jurors delivered the verdict around 2:30 p.m. Friday at the federal courthouse in Fort Worth following roughly a day and a half of deliberations, FOX 4 News reported. "The guilty verdicts in today’s case go to show this FBI’s 24/7 commitment to identifying, locating, and dismantling ANTIFA members and their networks," Kash Patel told Fox News Digital. "I want to thank our Dallas field office and great partners for delivering justice. If you attack federal law enforcement this FBI will use every resource at our disposal to hunt you down.” During the 12-day trial, which began Feb. 23, 2026, jurors heard testimony from more than 45 witnesses and reviewed over 210 exhibits tied to the charges against the nine defendants, the DOJ said. Benjamin Song was convicted of the most serious charge — attempted murder — for shooting Alvarado Police Lt. Thomas Gross, according to FOX 4. All but one of the nine defendants — Daniel Estrada — were found guilty of providing material support to terrorists, rioting, conspiring to use and carry explosives, and using explosives during a riot, FOX 4 reported. Daniel Estrada, who was not present the night of the incident, was convicted of concealing records and conspiracy to conceal documents, according to FOX 4. Maricela Rueda was also convicted of conspiracy to conceal documents. "Antifa is a domestic terrorist organization that has been allowed to flourish in Democrat-led cities — not under President Trump," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. "Today’s verdict on terrorism charges will not be the last as the Trump administration systematically dismantles Antifa and finally halts their violence on America’s streets.” Authorities say the July 4, 2025, attack outside the Prairieland ICE Detention Facility in Alvarado involved fireworks, damage to buildings and vehicles, and gunfire directed at officers.

Wall Street Journal [3/13/2026 9:24 PM, Elizabeth Findell and Michelle Hackman, 646K]
reports guards at Camp East Montana developed a pattern of driving detainees to the Mexico border, telling them to walk across and allegedly beating those who refused. Some detainees were able to escape the facility, which faced a host of other challenges, including a cluster of deaths. The issues plaguing the camp—the nation’s largest immigrant-detention center—have gotten so bad that they contributed to a strategic pivot the government made away from relying on similar facilities, according to officials familiar with the matter. Trump administration officials rushed to build the 5,000-bed facility over the summer. But in recent months they have instead considered purchasing industrial warehouses to convert into detention centers, the people said. One planned warehouse, also in El Paso, would hold up to 8,500 people, according to government documents. If that site opens, ICE would let the contract for East Montana lapse, the officials familiar with the matter said. East Montana, a $1.2 billion tent city on a military base, was intended to be the hub of President Trump’s mass-deportation strategy as his administration races to expand the system’s detention capacity to 100,000 beds. Officials inside U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which runs the facility, have been aware of significant issues at East Montana, the people familiar said. But leaders have resisted calls to close it because of its size. Instead, the Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s parent agency, said Wednesday that it fired the private contractor in charge of running the facility and is switching to a new one. “Far from closing, Camp East Montana is upgrading,” DHS said in an emailed statement. Still, its move this week raises questions about whether the issues at East Montana stem from a single contractor or from challenges inherent in rapidly expanding detention capacity. “It was a recipe for failure from the beginning,” said Crystal Sandoval, a legal representative for El Paso’s Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, who visited the camp weekly until a recent measles outbreak. DHS said that as bed space “rapidly expanded,” it maintained a “higher standard of care than most prisons that hold U.S. citizens.”

Univision [3/13/2026 4:15 PM, Staff, 4937K] reports starting this Wednesday, March 11, whenever a Houston officer encounters an administrative immigration warrant (NCIC hit), they must call a sergeant to review the case and coordinate the transfer of the detainee to immigration authorities if applicable. The measure, announced by Police Department Chief J. Noe Diaz and supported by Mayor John Whitmire, seeks “greater clarity and oversight” in situations involving immigrants with federal warrants. The protocol states that, after verifying the existence of the warrant, an ICE agent must arrive at the scene within 30 minutes. The timer will begin once the sergeant confirms the validity of the document and notifies the federal agency. Douglas Griffith, president of the Houston police union, said the policy does not imply a radical change in the way officers operate, except for the mandatory presence of a sergeant. He stated that cases of arrests with immigration orders are rare, just over 70 last year, and that they should not affect other police work, given that the force has about 900 sergeants available. However, Griffith acknowledged some concern about the waiting time that agents will have to maintain at the location until the arrival of an immigration agent.

ABC News [3/13/2026 7:32 PM, Armando Garcia, 34146K] reports for a third time and on the anniversary of her arrest, an immigration judge has ordered Leqaa Kordia, 33 -- a Palestinian woman arrested during a meeting with immigration officers -- released from ICE detention on bond, but it’s unclear if she’ll be freed. Kordia was arrested March 13, 2025, for allegedly overstaying her expired visa, which the Department of Homeland Security said terminated on Jan. 26, 2022. Her arrest was one of several that targeted pro-Palestinian demonstrators like Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi. Kordia also was arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest outside Columbia University on April 30, 2024, but all charges against her were promptly dismissed. DHS officials have also claimed Kordia has provided financial support to people living in countries hostile to the United States. Kordia’s attorneys say the payments in question were made to relatives displaced by the war in Gaza. The government has twice invoked an automatic stay of the bond order so that they can appeal the decision to release Kordia, which has extended her time in detention. She’s now been detained longer than any other pro-Palestinian demonstrator targeted by the Trump administration. An ABC News request for comment sent to the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately receive a response.

USA Today [3/13/2026 10:11 AM, Eduardo Cuevas, 70643K] reports new footage of federal immigration agents fatally shooting an unarmed U.S. citizen has thrust a family’s yearlong quest for more information into the national spotlight. Videos and records released by Texas officials are raising new questions about the Department of Homeland Security’s version of events that led to the killing of Ruben Ray Martinez during a chaotic traffic scene. Nearly a year has passed since the Homeland Security Investigations agent fired at close range into Martinez’s car at the scene of a late-night traffic accident on March 15, 2025, in South Padre Island, a resort town off the southern coast of Texas. Officials said Martinez, 23, accelerated his vehicle at an agent, an account his family had long disputed. Little was known about the case − which involved local, state and federal law enforcement − for months. Martinez, an Amazon and Walmart worker from San Antonio, was the first U.S. citizen killed by federal agents amid the Trump administration’s aggressive approach to immigration enforcement. But Martinez’s case came into the spotlight only after the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two U.S. citizens killed by immigration agents in Minneapolis in January. Good and Pretti’s killings have drawn scrutiny by Americans and congressional lawmakers from both parties about federal agents’ tactics. While their killings occurred during ongoing immigration enforcement operations, agents killed Martinez while they were helping local law enforcement control traffic at an intersection in a popular spring break destination. Martinez’s mother Rachel Reyes has brought attention on her son’s case, even as she said she supported President Donald Trump. Information on Martinez’s case came through a watchdog group’s release of an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement document. ICE’s internal report, obtained by the nonprofit watchdog American Oversight, said Martinez "accelerated forward" into an officer. HSI Supervisory Special Agent Jack Stevens told Texas officials he shot Martinez three times out of fear, according to a memorandum.

AP [3/13/2026 1:18 PM, Ryan J. Foley, and Michael Biesecker, 35287K] reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is terminating the contractor running its largest detention facility and replacing it with a more experienced firm that will work to improve medical care and other services, the agency said Friday. The contractor switch at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, comes as it faces scrutiny over living conditions that detainees have described as inhumane since its hasty construction and opening last year. With an average of nearly 3,000 detainees in six long tent encampments, evidence has mounted to support claims of overcrowding, medical neglect, malnutrition and emotional distress. An outbreak of measles also recently hit the camp, which several Democratic members of Congress have called for closing. Detainees say they struggle to obtain medication and health care, have lost significant amounts of weight because of a lack of food, and live in fear of security guards known to use force. At least 130 calls to 911 were made in the camp’s first five months, which included two deaths, several suicide attempts, fights and medical emergencies, The Associated Press reported last week. Acquisition Logistics, LLC, the ousted prime contractor, had been awarded a deal last year worth up to $1.3 billion to build and manage the camp at U.S. Army base Fort Bliss. It had no prior experience running an ICE detention facility, had never won a federal contract worth more than $16 million and lacked a functioning website.

Bloomberg [3/13/2026 3:15 PM, Alicia A. Caldwell, Myles Miller, and Nacha Cattan, 18082K] reports a massive warehouse on Salt Lake City’s west side has been purchased by the Department of Homeland Security, adding to a growing portfolio of industrial buildings the federal government is acquiring to expand immigration detention capacity. The 24.9-acre (10-hectare) property at 6020 W. 300 South sold for $145.4 million, according to a deed filed Wednesday with the Salt Lake County Recorder’s office. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, a Democrat in a GOP-controlled state, has been a vocal opponent of plans for an immigration jail in the city, citing concerns about strains to the city’s infrastructure. In a statement confirming the purchase, a spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement said facilities such as the one planned in Salt Lake City will meet federal detention standards and could bring economic benefits to surrounding communities. The Salt Lake City project could create about 9,900 jobs and produce more than $238 million in tax revenue, the spokesperson said. The purchase adds to a growing inventory of warehouses the government is buying across the country to convert to a series of immigration detention facilities that will house between about 500 people to as many as 10,000. The effort is part of a $38 billion “detention re-engineering” effort that will shrink the government’s existing network of more than 200 jails, including local and county facilities and private prisons, to 34 government-owned facilities. Univision [3/13/2026 8:22 PM, Staff, 4937K] reports that the site would have cost $145 million, and could house about 7,500 people. The industrial property of 10 hectares or 25 acres is located at 6020 W. 300 South, near Interstate 80 and Salt Lake City Airport in the west of the city, according to public records, is known as Building A in Mountain View Industrial Park. In a statement, ICE confirmed the purchase of the warehouse, and that it will be used as a detention center. He added that these facilities will be subjected to impact studies, as well as a “rigorous diligence to ensure that they do not harm public services or infrastructure in the area.” “They will be very well-structured detention centers that will meet our usual standards,” he says. In addition, according to an ICE spokesman, both the construction and operation of the detention center will generate thousands of jobs and contribute about $1 billion or more to the state’s economy, in addition to increasing tax revenues by hundreds of millions. He added that the agency had resources to expand detention spaces thanks to President Trump’s latest law. The bulletin adds that the aforementioned “economic benefits don’t even consider that getting criminals off the streets makes communities safer for business owners and customers.”

Reported similarly:
Axios [3/13/2026 5:06 PM, Kim Bojórquez, 17364K]

AP [3/13/2026 4:16 PM, Yana Kunichoff] reports a former prison in Marana slated to become an immigration detention center has a capacity of 513 people, according to state documents. But a procurement order released by the federal government aims to push that capacity to 775. That’s a change that local advocates say would be devastating for detained people. On Feb. 25, the federal government shared a procurement memo for an operator to run the detention center in Marana for two years. While no final agreement has been made, the federal procurement order names MTC as the operator most likely to run the immigration detention facility. The town of Marana has said that as the state owned the facility, and it was already zoned for a prison, there was no local approval required for the sale to move ahead. Local groups have raised concerns about what an expansion of immigration would mean for their communities. Of particular concern, say advocates, are the conditions inside detention.

Univision [3/13/2026 3:51 PM, Staff, 4937K] reports the morning federal agents knocked on the door of his home in Glendale, California, the family of 48-year-old Julio César Peña already knew his health was fragile. What they didn’t imagine was that the arrest would set in motion a chain of events that would end months later with his death. Peña was detained on December 8 in the front yard of his home by immigration agents. He had end-stage kidney disease and a serious medical history. Two and a half months later, on February 25, he died at home after being released by immigration authorities while intubated and unconscious in a hospital. After the arrest he was transferred to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, an immigration detention center located in San Bernardino County. In Adelanto, according to his family and lawyer, Peña’s health deteriorated. During his stay at the center he suffered another stroke and had to be urgently transferred to a hospital. According to his family, he remained in immigration custody while hospitalized. Finally, immigration authorities decided to release him. But when that happened, Peña was intubated and unconscious. According to the lawyer, he remained in that state for approximately one week after being released. Peña died on February 25 at his home. Following his death, his family and legal team maintain that there were failures in medical care while he was in immigration custody. The family maintains that the lack of proper treatment contributed to his death. They also point out that, despite his health condition, Peña remained in custody for weeks before being released.

AP [3/13/2026 9:59 PM, Staff, 31753K] reports a U.S. court ruling in Massachusetts Friday temporarily paused the looming termination of Temporary Protected Status for immigrants from Somalia. U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs’ ruling said there would be "weighty" consequences if Somalia’s TPS designation is allowed to expire Tuesday. Advocates filed an emergency motion in federal court seeking to pause the termination after the Trump administration promised to end the designation last month during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, where many Somalis live. "Over one thousand people will face ‘a myriad of grave risks,’ including detention and deportation, physical violence if removed to Somalia, and forced separation from family members," the ruling said. Burroughs said implementing an administrative stay and deferring ruling on the postponement gives both sides time to file briefs on the emergency motion. "While the stay is in effect, the termination shall be null, void, and of no legal effect," the ruling said, noting that those with TPS status or pending applications will retain rights including eligibility for work authorization and protection against deportation and detention. In a statement, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the ruling by a judge appointed by former President Barack Obama is the latest example of preventing Trump from "restoring integrity" to the U.S. immigration system.

Reported similarly:
Reuters [3/13/2026 4:08 PM, Nate Raymond, 38315K]

Washington Examiner [3/14/2026 5:00 AM, Lauren Green, 1147K] reports a string of terrorist attacks carried out by naturalized U.S. citizens is prompting a handful of Republicans to push for a sweeping crackdown not just on illegal immigration but on legal immigration and citizenship policies as well. Conservatives have honed in on three recent terrorist attacks, two of which occurred on Thursday, arguing there should be stricter enforcement of deportation laws and an end to several immigration programs, even if it means those being deported are U.S. citizens. The most recent attack occurred in Virginia at Old Dominion University, when 36-year-old Mohamed Bailor Jalloh opened fire, killing one and injuring two others. Jalloh was a naturalized citizen from Sierra Leone who quit the Virginia National Guard after being radicalized by a since-deceased Al-Qaeda leader. He was previously convicted in 2017 of providing material support to the Islamic State group and was sentenced to 11 years in prison, but was not deported. “This monster should’ve been stripped of his citizenship and shipped back to Sierra Leone,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) said in a post on social media.

FOX Business [3/13/2026 5:28 PM, Staff, 7946K] Video: HERE reports former deputy White House counsel Gene Hamilton discusses the growing national security concerns following recent terror attacks and illegal immigration issues on ‘Kudlow.’

NBC News [3/13/2026 6:00 AM, Daniella Silva, 42967K] reports Asylum-seekers with no criminal records are being detained around the country as the Trump administration seeks to remove immigrants looking for legal pathways to remain in the United States. The move is a major departure from previous practice, under which asylum applicants were allowed to work and build lives in U.S. communities as their cases played out. The arrests follow a pattern, attorneys and advocates told NBC News. One day, the asylum-seekers are with their families, often after having lived in the U.S. for years. Then an errand or a drive to work ends with their being swept into ICE’s vast detention system. There, they face difficult conditions and a more adversarial immigration process, along with pressure to self-deport, the attorneys and families say. Their arrests have been reported around the U.S., including in Minnesota, New York, Virginia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Maine, Alaska, Wisconsin, California and Texas. Six of attorney Robin Nice’s asylum applicants were detained by ICE despite not having criminal issues, she said, as a federal immigration law enforcement operation swept over Maine near the end of January. Some were finishing shifts at work. One was driving to work. One was going to buy medicine and groceries. One was picked up on the way to get their newborn a U.S. passport. "This is absolutely unprecedented," Nice said, adding that up until around six months ago she felt confident telling her clients that if they had pending applications for asylum, they did not need to worry about being detained. "We talked about it in the same way as getting struck by lightning."

CBS Miami [3/13/2026 7:24 AM, Ivan Taylor, 51110K] reports a federal lawsuit expected to be filed next week in South Florida could reopen a path to U.S. residency for thousands of Cuban immigrants who entered the country legally but now find themselves without immigration status. The legal action is being prepared against U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and seeks relief for Cuban nationals who arrived in the United States under programs implemented during the Biden administration but whose immigration processes have stalled. Miami immigration attorney Claudia Canizares, who has practiced immigration law in South Florida for more than 15 years, is preparing the lawsuit. She says thousands of Cuban migrants are now stuck in legal limbo. "There is a need for people right now to get their status adjudicated," Canizares said. "They’re right now in a limbo." According to Canizares, as many as 100,000 Cubans could be affected. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AP [3/13/2026 1:09 PM, Mauricio Savarese, 16072K] reports that Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Friday his government revoked the visa of a U.S. State Department official, calling it a reciprocal measure after Brazilian officials had their visas revoked in the United States last year. Lula’s decision against Darren Beattie is tied to a move in August by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that revoked and restricted visas of some Brazilian officials who Washington claimed to have links to a Cuban program that sends doctors overseas. On Thursday Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes denied Beattie access to the Brasilia prison where former President Jair Bolsonaro is jailed. "That American fellow who said he had come here to visit Jair Bolsonaro was forbidden to do so," Lula said, adding that he will be blocked from Brazil until the visas for Brazil’s health minister and his family are reinstated. Moraes, who sentenced Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison for leading a coup attempt in 2023, said in his ruling that Beattie had requested a visa to attend the Brazil–US Critical Minerals Forum in São Paulo on Wednesday. The ruling mentions the Brazilian foreign office’s view that Beattie’s visit to Bolsonaro could represent "undue interference." The 80-year-old Lula is running for reelection later this year, with Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, one of the sons of the far-right leader, expected to be his main opponent in his bid for a fourth term.

Reported similarly:
Breitbart [3/13/2026 4:57 PM, Staff, 2238K]

Reuters [3/13/2026 3:23 PM, Nate Raymond, 38315K] reports one of the largest U.S. labor unions filed a lawsuit on Friday challenging a decision by President Donald Trump’s administration to revoke security clearances for at least 80 noncitizen ​workers at airports nationwide. The Service Employees International Union sued in Boston federal court alongside ‌four immigrant workers who lost their jobs at Logan International Airport after U.S. Customs and Border Protection last month stripped them of their clearances. The union’s lawyers said that for four decades, immigrant workers with lawful status work authorization ​and CBP-granted security access were allowed to perform services at airports, such as cleaning airplane cabins and ​handling luggage. But ​the lawsuit said that abruptly came to an end in February, when CBP, after altering its interpretation of long-standing employment eligibility standards, revoked customs seals en masse for immigrant workers to advance Trump’s "zealous anti-immigrant agenda under the pretext ​of airport security." The lawsuit said workers had lost their clearances at numerous other airports including San ​Francisco International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and Orlando ‌International Airport ⁠in Florida. Among the employees whose seals were revoked were green card applicants, Temporary Protected Status holders and asylum seekers, all of whom possessed valid work authorization, the lawsuit said.

USA Today [3/13/2026 5:30 PM, Amaris Encinas, 70643K] reports after embarking on a long journey aboard a cargo ship, a "sly as a fox" stowaway is now calling the Bronx home. Discovered on a ship arriving at the Port of New York & New Jersey from Southampton, England, the red fox was placed in the care of the Bronx Zoo on Feb. 19, one day after it was "safely secured" by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. According to the Bronx Zoo, the animal spent approximately 14 days at sea among several automobiles. The vessel carrying the cars and the stowaway left Southampton on Feb. 4. The red fox is currently at the zoo’s Animal Health Center, where veterinarians are still awaiting results from an "additional routine health screening." The zoo, following the screening, will work with wildlife experts to find a more "appropriate" and permanent home for the 2-year-old.

Bloomberg [3/13/2026 12:50 PM, Ryan Autullo, 763K] reports that Uvalde school district’s former police chief is asking a Texas judge to make 19 employees of the US Customs and Border Protection available to testify at his criminal trial in connection to law enforcement’s response in the 2022 deadly shooting at Robb Elementary School. Pete Arredondo, facing 10 counts of endangering a child, said the Border Patrol wrongly denied his request to make the agents participate as witnesses in his defense last month Their testimony is necessary, his lawyers say, to show the federal agents knew there were children alive inside two classrooms when they entered one of them... [Editorial note: consult extended commentary at source link]

New York Post [3/13/2026 9:42 AM, Alex Oliveira, 40934K] reports that Iran could attack Americans with "thousands" of sleeper cells hiding across the country, along with innovative drone assaults never before seen in the country, a former top US fighter pilot cautioned after intelligence reports suggested strikes on California were possible. "It’s not a matter of if — it’s a matter of when," retired Top Gun Navy fighter pilot Matthew "Whizz" Buckley told The Post, warning that Americans were vulnerable to Iranians hungry to retaliate after the US killed the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader and unleashed war across the Middle East. Chief among the dangers are scores of Iranian agents who "likely" slipped into the US over the southern border and could be waiting for orders from handlers in Tehran to strike, Buckley said. "There is probably thousands, if not tens of thousands of Iranian agents and sleeper cells in this country," he said, adding that sources in Customs and Border Protection have ominously told him, "You wouldn’t believe how many Korans and prayer rugs we find in the desert." "These people are here," Buckley said. "So not only do we have potential lone wolf or homegrown terrorists, but we have actual Iranian agents in this country." Buckley’s warning comes after the FBI issued a notice to California law enforcement in late February that Iran could be plotting a drone attack on the state in retaliation for the US-Israeli attack on Tehran, which left despotic Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and nearly 50 of his top officials dead.

ABC News [3/13/2026 8:56 AM, Ayesha Ali, 34146K] reports the Transportation Security Administration rolled out a new video at airports across the country Friday warning travelers of longer-than-usual wait times and staffing shortages, blaming Democrats for the partial government shutdown. "You may be experiencing longer-than-average wait times due to the ongoing Democrat shutdown of TSA and the Department of Homeland Security," the agency’s video message says. At several airports nationwide, passengers have seen security wait times ranging from 20-30 minutes to as long as two hours at certain points, with travelers being advised to arrive at the airport early to allow adequate time for screening. The roughly 30-second video message was released as TSA officers begin receiving their first $0 paycheck Friday, with the length of the shutdown nearing a month. The message also encourages travelers to show gratitude toward the TSA officers. "The TSA Officers you are interacting with have shown up to work despite having missed paychecks. Please take the opportunity to thank the dedicated men and women of the TSA when you fly today," the video message says. Assaults on TSA officers have increased during the shutdown, Acting Deputy Administrator Adam Stahl told ABC. "We’ve seen increases in assaults on our TSA officers which is always completely unacceptable, particularly unacceptable right now," he said in an interview. "And so we just ask our passengers to please be respectful, thank them because they’re doing an incredibly difficult job under incredibly difficult circumstances.”

The New York Times [3/13/2026 2:22 PM, Karoun Demirjian and Madeleine Ngo, 148038K] reports that many Department of Homeland Security employees are on track to miss a paycheck Friday amid the nearly monthlong lapse in funding for the agency, leading officials to warn of potential disruptions in air travel if more airport security workers call out of work. Travelers have already experienced long security line delays at some major airports, including John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, as Transportation Security Administration workers who scan baggage, check identification and do other tasks have posted absences at unusually high rates. About 100,000 employees across the Department of Homeland Security will miss their first full paycheck, an agency spokesperson said. More than 300 T.S.A. officers have left the work force since the shutdown began, according to the department. The shutdown stems from a congressional deadlock over how to fund the department, which is also responsible for federal immigration enforcement. Democrats have refused to approve funding without changes to aggressive tactics employed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. The shutdown has had little direct effect on ICE because of a financial cushion of tens of billions of dollars appropriated by Congress last year to support President Trump’s mass detention and deportation agenda. The brunt of the shutdown, which began Feb. 14, has instead fallen on other agencies housed in the department, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Employees deemed essential are required to report to work even without pay. NPR [3/13/2026 2:02 PM, Joel Rose, 28764K] reports "I won’t be traveling anywhere, but I’ll be helping out getting people to where they’re going," said Jones, a TSA security officer at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. He also serves as the Secretary-Treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees Council 100, which represents about 45,000 TSA officers nationwide. Those TSA officers have been working without pay since funding for the Department of Homeland Security lapsed on February 14th. They’ve already missed part of one paycheck, and many security officers received no money at all in their paychecks on Friday as the partial shutdown approached the one-month mark. "They’re panicking, they’re scared, they’re afraid. And they don’t know what they’re going to do," Jones said in an interview. The majority of TSA employees work paycheck to paycheck, Jones said, and don’t have enough savings to cover their expenses. "They’re just flat-out not paying their bills because they don’t have any money," he said. Passengers have encountered hours-long security lines at major airports in Houston, Atlanta, New Orleans, Austin, and elsewhere, as many TSA officers have called out sick. Some officers have taken on second jobs in order to make ends meet, Jones said.

Reported similarly:
Breitbart [3/13/2026 10:43 AM, Staff, 2238K]

CNN [3/14/2026 4:45 AM, Alexandra Skores, Tami Luhby 19874K] reports a father and Transportation Security Administration officer said he "crumbled" when one of his children asked whether he needed money in the wake of the four-week-long government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. "I’ve always been self-motivated," said Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees’ TSA Council 100, in an interview with CNN. "I wanted to take care of myself. I don’t want to depend on anybody else for anything, because people depend on me.” He’s one of about 61,000 TSA employees that must keep working during the shutdown. Funding for DHS lapsed in mid-February amid a standoff between Republicans and Democrats over federal immigration enforcement. This weekend, these workers will miss their first full paycheck, just as the spring break travel season heats up. TSA employees just went through the longest government shutdown in American history late last year, not getting paid for the hours they worked until weeks after it was over. Then, in February, they stopped getting paychecks again when funding for their department ran out. Federal employees are guaranteed to receive back pay once the shutdown ends, according to a 2019 law, but getting by until then can be hard. "A lot of people don’t have that (stability). They never recover," Jones said. "They don’t have the levers to pull to help them weather the storm, I’m afraid. I’m seeing desperation in the eyes of my coworkers.” TSA workers make an average salary of $35,000, according to Airlines for America. The agency’s leadership is also aware of the hardship that employees are facing and how their struggles can affect their work. Many staffers live paycheck to paycheck, Ha Nguyen McNeill, a senior official performing the duties of TSA administrator, said in written testimony for a House subcommittee hearing before the funding lapsed. "During a shutdown, the ability to pay for rent, bills, groceries, child care, and gas just to get to work becomes very challenging, leading to increased unscheduled absences (call outs) as a shutdown progresses," she said. "Higher call outs can result in longer wait times at checkpoints, leading to missed or delayed flights, which has a cascading negative impact on the American economy.”

Washington Times [3/13/2026 10:57 AM, Brad Matthews, 1323K] reports that airports are soliciting donations for Transportation Security Administration personnel who are working without pay during the shutdown. The Department of Homeland Security has been closed due to lack of funding since Feb. 14, and TSA workers are missing their first full paycheck on Friday, according to Reuters. Denver International Airport put out a social media post Wednesday asking for “$10 and $20 grocery store and gas gift cards.” Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas officially reopened its food pantry for the unpaid workers on Monday, asking for “nonperishable food items, toiletries and hygiene products, baby supplies, household essentials” and other such goods. Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Florida’s Orlando International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport started asking for similar donations last week. Other airports are partnering with charities to help provide for TSA personnel. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey worked with the charity City Harvest to give 14,000 pounds of food to 644 affected workers at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on Tuesday. Nevada’s Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority, meanwhile, said Monday that it’s working with a local nonprofit, The Children’s Cabinet, to “deliver food and essential items directly to impacted federal employees.” The TSA did send out a caveat explaining that during the whole-of-government shutdown in October, its management “may NOT accept cash or cash equivalent gift cards.”

FOX Business [3/13/2026 11:49 AM, Staff, 7946K] reports Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., joins ‘Varney & Co.’ to blast Democrats over the DHS shutdown, accusing Chuck Schumer of playing politics amid heightened national security threats. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

The Hill [3/14/2026 6:00 AM, Sarah Fortinsky, 18170K] reports long lines and flight delays are plaguing airports around the country as spring break ramps up, sparking concerns that the partial government shutdown could exacerbate problems during an already busy travel season. Industry leaders say this spring could bring record-breaking air traffic, with an estimated 171 million passengers expected to fly in March and April, up 4 percent from the record set last year, according to a forecast from Airlines for America (A4A). Airlines have responded to rising demand by adding roughly 2 percent more flights and seats, but as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) remains unfunded for its fourth week, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is grappling with mounting strain as officers work without pay, staffing shortages worsen and passenger volumes continue to climb. “It’s not sustainable, and what’s going to happen is lines are just going to continue to get longer and longer as spring breaks goes on,” said Cameron Cochems, the vice president of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 1127 and a lead TSA officer based in Boise, Idaho. “What’s going to happen is longer wait times. Passengers are going to get more frustrated. They’re going to take their anger out on, who do you think? Us,” Cochems added. “We’re not the ones in charge of any of this, and so they’re going to continue to push back on us.” Last weekend saw specific air travel hubs around the country crippled with hours-long wait times. At Houston’s Hobby Airport, passengers were advised to arrive four or five hours ahead of the scheduled departure time to accommodate the two- or three-hour security delays. In New Orleans, the airport officials told passengers they should arrive at least three hours early, and travelers at Atlanta’s airport were given similar guidance. TSA has used its National Deployment Force (NDF) of transportation security officers (TSOs) to support a few dozen airports around the country dealing with high passenger volume or staffing shortages, functioning as a “surge force” to bolster security.

Daily Wire [3/13/2026 1:27 PM, Tim Rice, 2314K] reports planes have been grounded at all three Washington, D.C.-area airports after a strong chemical smell forced workers to evacuate the region’s air traffic control center. Flights were abruptly grounded at Reagan National, Dulles, and Baltimore-Washington International Airports late Friday, and inbound flights were diverted, causing major delays at one of the nation’s largest air travel hubs. It is unclear what caused the smell, or how long the airports will remain locked down. Flights were also grounded at Richmond International Airport. The FAA said the smell caused employees at the Potomac Consolidated Terminal RADAR Approach ​Control (TRACON) in Warrenton, Virginia, to evacuate the building, causing the delays. The agency is relocating controllers to a nearby facility, where they may begin diverting incoming flights due to congestion, Reuters reported. "The FAA has temporarily stopped traffic at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) because of a strong chemical smell at the Potomac TRACON that is impacting some air traffic controllers," the agency said in a statement. Friday’s shutdown is the latest incident to put stress on the nation’s airports. Over 300 TSA agents have quit amid the ongoing partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, which directly affects their pay. Even more are expected to begin calling out of work beginning Friday, the first day agents missed a paycheck since the shutdown began.

New York Post [3/13/2026 12:00 PM, Allison Lax, 40934K] reports the Denver International Airport (DEN) has taken to X to ask the public to fork over gift cards to TSA workers amidst the federal government shutdown, which has been tied to a fight over funding in the Department of Homeland Security. As the shutdown (which began on February 14) bleeds into another week, airport security staff are not getting paid — though according to Reuters, around 50 have continued to toil away anyway. The March 11 post reads, "! DONATIONS NEEDED ! Support the dedicated TSA employees working without pay by donating $10 and $20 grocery store and gas gift cards. Visa gift cards cannot be accepted. Drop off locations can be found at the Final Approach cell phone lot and in the Jeppesen Terminal." A press release shared by DEN aligned with the X post. "Once again, DEN’s federal employees are working tirelessly to ensure our airport operates efficiently and safely without getting paid. TSA employees just missed their first paycheck, and as we enter a busy spring break travel period, we want to do what we can to ease the stress of this moment," DEN CEO Phil Washington said in the statement. "That’s why we are calling on the public, our passengers, and other airport employees to donate grocery store and gas gift cards to help make this moment a little more bearable for these federal workers," he continued.

New York Post [3/14/2026 2:20 AM, Michael Sinkewicz, 40934K] reports a California man was federally charged after allegedly attacking two Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers and seriously injuring a Dallas police officer at Dallas Love Field Airport, officials said. Idress Vinay Solomon, 33, of Oakland, California, faces up to 20 years in prison after being accused of assaulting a federal officer and inflicting bodily injury. According to a federal complaint filed Wednesday, Solomon had a ticket for a Southwest Airlines flight to Oakland International Airport March 10. Prosecutors said Solomon approached the airport security checkpoint without identification and was directed by a TSA officer to a different lane to be identified through the agency’s ConfirmID process. Solomon allegedly became "verbally disruptive and aggressive" after the process failed to verify his identity, according to the complaint. "Violent conduct perpetrated against TSA and law enforcement officers will never be tolerated in the Northern District of Texas," US Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould said in a statement. "We will prosecute such offenses to the fullest extent to seek justice for the victims here and to deter others from resorting to aggressive attacks against officers responsible for ensuring the public’s safety while traveling.” Solomon allegedly punched a TSA officer in the back of the neck after the officer called for a supervisor. According to a complaint, the Dallas Police Department responded to the incident, and Solomon allegedly punched one of the officers multiple times in the face, causing a serious orbital blowout fracture to the officer’s left eye that required hospital treatment. After he was arrested, Solomon "deliberately spit saliva" onto a police officer’s right arm as officers attempted to place him into a police vehicle, the complaint states. Prosecutors alleged that Solomon refused to follow lawful verbal commands and continued to yell and pull away from officers.

New York Post [3/13/2026 1:52 PM, Ryan King, 40934K] reports that former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s team wanted to radically transform the Federal Emergency Management Agency by cutting its workforce in half and relocating personnel across the country, according to a draft report seen by The Post. The FEMA Review Council, a panel on which Noem served as co-chair, called for shifting the organization of emergency response to the states while having the feds take on a secondary role. "FEMA needs to be fundamentally transformed from how it exists today, and the core missions must be remade into a new, supportive agency," read a draft of the council’s report, which remains under review by the White House and hasn’t yet been made public. "‘FEMA’ as a brand and as an agency has been irreparably damaged by the last four years of mission creep and programmatic failures." The report also called for converting FEMA’s Public Assistance program to a block grant system, where the feds would foot the bill for 50% for disaster relief costs and provide up to 75% for states deemed most effective at managing taxpayer money. Currently, FEMA is required to cover 75% of eligible disaster relief costs, though that figure can jump to 100% in extreme situations. The shift to block grants was intended to combat issues with administrative costs and bureaucratic snarls.

CNN [3/13/2026 5:00 AM, Gabe Cohen, 19874K] reports as deadly tornadoes tore through the Midwest and Plains last weekend, state and local search-and-rescue crews rushed to the devastated areas to look for survivors. It wasn’t until the teams deployed that they realized they were operating without a critical tornado-tracking tool typically provided by FEMA. That left responders with a less precise picture of where to search first, two sources familiar with the situation told CNN. The mapping tool pinpoints a tornado’s path of destruction within minutes of touchdown, helping responders focus on the hardest-hit neighborhoods as quickly as possible. Even in storms where FEMA itself doesn’t respond, state and local rescuers rely on the mapping tool, which is provided to them through the agency. But it wasn’t available this time, because FEMA’s roughly $200,000 contract with the company that provides the data expired in February, and the agency’s request to renew it is still moving through Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s strict spending-approval process, according to the two sources and internal documents reviewed by CNN. “Rescuers were flying blind, having to drive around or use news reports to figure out where the impacts were,” one of the sources told CNN. “And when a tornado hits in the middle of the night, every moment counts.”

AP [3/13/2026 9:32 AM, y Seth Borenstein,12718K] reports that nearly every part of the United States is getting walloped by wild weather or just about to be. Days of downpours have begun in Hawaii. The Southwest will soon bake with day after day of record 100-degree-plus heat. Two storms will dump snow by the foot over northern Great Lakes states. And the dreaded polar vortex will again invade the Midwest and East with soul-crushing Arctic chill. This forecast of extremes comes as weather whiplash has already hit much of the East. On Wednesday, Washington, D.C., residents walked around in shorts in record-breaking 86 degrees Fahrenheit. On Thursday, it snowed. "All of the country, even if you’re not necessarily seeing extremes, are going to see generally changing from cold to warm, or warm to cold to warm," said meteorologist Marc Chenard of the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in Maryland. Former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist Ryan Maue said he expects extreme weather in all 50 states. A heat dome will form early next week and park over the Southwest, baking temperatures to triple digits that haven’t been seen this early in the year, Maue and Chenard said. Some forecasts see 98 Fahrenheit in Phoenix on Tuesday, followed by 103, 105 and two days of 107.

CBS News [3/13/2026 1:14 PM, Staff, 51110K] reports that three tornadoes tore through parts of central Georgia early Thursday, damaging homes, toppling trees and leaving at least two people injured, according to the National Weather Service. Storm survey teams confirmed tornadoes in Macon, Bibb and Baldwin counties as a line of severe storms moved across the region Thursday morning. The strongest tornado struck near Marshallville in Macon County around 6:41 a.m., where investigators say an EF2 tornado with winds between 110 and 115 mph carved a path nearly 5 miles long and about 600 yards wide. The storm destroyed four manufactured homes, overturned another and ripped the tops off two silos. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted. Officials reported two injuries. Just minutes later, another tornado touched down in Bibb County near Wesleyan, where the National Weather Service confirmed an EF1 tornado with winds up to 100 mph. The tornado traveled about 3.4 miles and was roughly 200 yards wide, damaging homes, trees and power lines. A third tornado hit Milledgeville in Baldwin County around 7:25 a.m., where an EF0 tornado with winds near 75 mph knocked down trees along State Dairy Farm Road and Blandy Road before moving into the city. Survey crews also reported damage at an elementary school on Blandy Road. In nearby Forsyth, residents reported multiple trees uprooted or snapped during the storm, though officials said that damage may have also been caused by a possible tornado.

NPR [3/13/2026 5:01 PM, Conrad Wilson, 28764K] Audio: HERE reports in a recent lawsuit against the federal government’s use of tear gas and other crowd control measures on protesters, depositions of DHS officers gave a rare glimpse into federal agents’ training.

NewsMax [3/13/2026 10:10 PM, Sam Barron, 3760K] reports that, as part of its overhaul of the grounds of the White House, the Trump administration has proposed an underground center to provide security screening for visitors. Plans published by the National Capital Planning Commission include renderings of the 33,000-square-foot center. The plans were published as part of a preliminary agenda for the commission’s upcoming meeting on April 2. The commission is responsible for approving any construction on federal land in Washington, D.C. The screening facility will be built beneath Sherman Park, which is located southeast of the White House and directly south of the Treasury building. A new 4,000-square-foot building along East Executive Avenue would serve as both an entry point for badged staff and contractors and the exit point for those leaving the grounds, The Hill reported, citing the proposed plans. Sherman Park was the area where White House visitors and guests lined up for security checks before they cleared a series of trailer-type structures and walked to the East Wing entrance. But the East Wing was torn down by President Donald Trump as part of construction of a new White House ballroom. Visitors now line up near Lafayette Park. The proposed screening facility would have seven lanes to reduce wait times and ease processing and replace the temporary trailers and tents used by the Secret Service since 2005. If approved, construction could start as early as August, with the goal of having the facility screening visitors by July 2028. The monument of Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, located in the center of the park, would not be removed. The project is a collaboration of the Executive Office of the President, the U.S. Secret Service, and the National Park Service. The commission will also hold a final vote on Trump’s ballroom project at the same meeting.

New York Times [3/13/2026 12:29 PM, Julian E. Barnes, Aaron Boxerman, and Helene Cooper, 148038K] reports that days into the U.S.-Israeli bombardment of Iran, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said confidently that the leader of the Iranian covert unit that had planned to assassinate President Trump had been “hunted down and killed.” “Iran tried to kill President Trump, and President Trump got the last laugh,” Mr. Hegseth boasted last week. The White House posted a clip of the defense secretary’s comment. But Mr. Hegseth did not identify the man. Neither the White House nor the Pentagon has clarified or provided additional details. U.S. officials privately acknowledge that the story is complicated. U.S. officials and others briefed on the intelligence said Mr. Hegseth was referring to Rahman Makdam, a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, who was targeted last week in an airstrike. Mr. Makdam, whose last name is transliterated by the U.S. government as Moghddam, was also identified in Israeli news media as the target of the strike. But American officials are divided on whether Mr. Makdam is dead. Some say Mr. Hegseth is correct — that the man was killed in the strike. Other people briefed on the intelligence said his death has not been confirmed by either the United States or Israel. And officials say Mr. Hegseth’s statement that Mr. Makdam led the unit that plotted the assassination is somewhat overstated.

StateScoop [3/13/2026 6:30 PM, Sophia Fox-Sowell, 37K] reports a bipartisan bill introduced to Congress last week would help small and rural water utilities adopt modern cybersecurity protections and digital monitoring tools. The Futureproofing Local Operations for Water Systems, or FLOWS, Act, introduced by Sens. John Boozman, R-Ark., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., would create a federal grant program to help rural communities upgrade water, wastewater and stormwater systems with updated industrial control systems and adopt modern technologies like real-time sensing tools, artificial intelligence software and advanced modeling platforms. The legislation would authorize $50 million annually for Environmental Protection Agency grants, aiding communities with limited resources. The bill would not require a local funding match, a major barrier for small utilities with limited ratepayer bases. It would also allow grants to cover both the purchase and ongoing maintenance of software, to help ensure upgrades remain sustainable. “Every family deserves safe drinking water. That requires up-to-date, reliable water infrastructure,” Kelly said in a press release. “Right now, rural communities are dealing with aging systems, tight budgets, and growing cyber threats. We’re helping local water providers upgrade their equipment, catch problems before they become costly emergencies, and protect their systems from attacks so families aren’t left footing the bill for breakdowns and disruptions.”

CBS News [3/13/2026 10:52 AM, Emmet Lyons, 51110K] reports Iran has listed a number of major U.S. tech companies as potential targets as it expands its attacks across the Middle East in retaliation for the ongoing U.S. and Israeli attacks on its military and security forces and leadership. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency, which is linked to the country’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, published a list of major U.S. tech companies in a social media post on Tuesday, which included Amazon, Microsoft, Palantir, and Oracle, with the caption: "Enemy’s technological infrastructure: Iran’s new goals in the region." Iranian drone strikes have already damaged data centers in the region, hitting Amazon facilities in two countries last week. The list published by Tasnim was accompanied by a threat that, "with the expansion of regional war dimensions into infrastructure, cyberwarfare, and scope, Iran’s legitimate targets are gradually expanding." The companies named by Iran have offices, research and development centers, data centers and cloud infrastructure across the Middle East, including in the United Arab Emirates, Israel and Bahrain.

NPR [3/13/2026 4:17 PM, Odette Yousef, 28764K] Audio: HERE reports this week saw multiple attacks in the U.S. that the FBI is investigating as terrorism. Experts say they reflect an accelerating threat environment fed by foreign conflict and online radicalization.

National Review [3/13/2026 10:55 AM, Jim Geraghty, 109K] reports you’re going to want to read this one all the way to the end, because in the last two weeks, we’ve had four separate Islamist terrorist attacks or attempted attacks against Americans on U.S. soil. None of the perpetrators snuck into the country illegally; they were welcomed in and, in some cases, given U.S. citizenship. And most egregiously, you’re seeing Democratic elected lawmakers try to blame American gun owners for the awful decisions made by the U.S. government. Yesterday, ROTC students subdued and killed a gunman who yelled “Allahu Akbar” before opening fire in an Old Dominion University classroom, killing one and wounding two. The FBI later identified the shooter as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh. A former Army National Guardsman, Jalloh was sentenced in February 2017 for providing support to the designated foreign terrorist organization Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, more commonly referred by its acronym: ISIL. The city of Norfolk’s Commonwealth’s Attorney — the local chief prosecutor — Ramin Fatehi did his best to muddy the waters on Thursday afternoon, demonizing law-abiding gun owners in the aftermath of an Islamist terrorist attack. Except it wasn’t the “cult of gun absolutism” at work in Norfolk yesterday. It was the cult of ISIS. Meanwhile, in another state, another legal immigrant from a Muslim country attempted his own attack against innocent Americans: The armed man who rammed his vehicle into one of the nation’s largest Reform synagogues Thursday has been identified as a 41-year-old naturalized citizen born in Lebanon, according to federal officials. Ghazali came to the U.S. in 2011 on an immediate relative visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen and was granted U.S. citizenship in 2016, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit field office, called the crime a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community” and said at a news conference Thursday that the FBI is leading the investigation. Meanwhile, up in New York City, the U.S. Department of Justice has released the details of its charges against Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, the guys who brought and hurled two explosive devices at police near Gracie Mansion Saturday. Following his arrest, while en route to the NYPD precinct, Balat stated to NYPD officers: “this isn’t a religion that just stands when people talk about the blessed name of the prophet . . . We take action! We take action!”; and “if I didn’t do it someone else will come and do it.” After Kayumi was arrested, and as he was being placed inside an NYPD vehicle to be transported from the scene to an NYPD precinct, an individual from the surrounding crowd yelled to Kayumi and asked why Kayumi had done this. Kayumi responded, “ISIS.” Brittany Freeman and Lori Jane Gliha of Scripps News have done a welcome deep dive into the background of Ndiaga Diagne, the man who killed four people and injured 15 more in downtown Austin on March 1. Years before Ndiaga Diagne was accused of a mass shooting outside a crowded Texas bar, he was accused of making a string of violent threats against his wife, an auto shop employee, and even himself. . . . Records obtained by Scripps News show authorities responded to numerous complaints about threats made by Diagne in the years leading up to the mass shooting. None of the encounters resulted in arrest or criminal charges. This guy had more red flags than a Chinese army parade, but the system never took a step to put him behind bars or expel him from the country. Note that so far, in all these attacks, we have no discernible ties to the Iranian regime. But we do have a lot of stated ties to ISIS.

New York Times [3/13/2026 5:03 AM, Ruth Graham and Elizabeth Dias, 148038K] reports in the eight years since a gunman killed 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh — the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history — synagogues and other Jewish institutions across the country have gone to great lengths to fortify themselves. They have hired security guards, installed metal detectors, reinforced locks, bought cameras and established checkpoints. They have logged onto security briefings and participated in training sessions for clergy members specifically focused on preparing for active shooter events. Outside their walls, however, antisemitic violence and rhetoric have only increased, with tensions ratcheting up further in recent weeks, in the wake of Israel and America’s new war in Iran. Last weekend, two men were beaten outside a restaurant in San Jose, Calif., in an attack police are investigating as a possible hate crime. Three synagogues in Toronto have been sprayed with gunfire in the last several weeks. And on Thursday, a driver rammed a truck into a large synagogue outside Detroit, dying after an exchange of gunfire with security guards. The attack was “a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community,” Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the F.B.I. office in Detroit, said at a news conference on Thursday afternoon. The suspect was identified by the Department of Homeland Security as Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a 41-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Lebanon. He drove through the doors of the building and down a hall, Sheriff Michael Bouchard of Oakland County, Mich., said at a news conference. A fire started inside the building, and the sheriff said that video showed the attacker “traveling with purpose” through the hallway. Security measures in Michigan very likely prevented a more deadly outcome, some noted. But the intense escalation of violence has left many people feeling scared, angry and defeated. And some are asking what more they could possibly do.

FOX News [3/14/2026 6:00 AM, Michael Ruiz, Greg Wehner, and Adam Sabes, 37576K] reports two young men from Pennsylvania are accused of driving to New York City with a pair of homemade bombs before throwing them at protesters and police officers on March 7. Both devices failed to detonate. Police arrested both men at the scene. They were identified as Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, both described by the FBI as supporters of the Islamic State terror group. Prosecutors say they brought the devices to target a protest outside the mayor’s home, Gracie Mansion, in Manhattan. Surveillance footage obtained by Fox News Digital appears to show Balat purchase a 20-foot roll of fuse from Phantom Fireworks in Penndel, Pennsylvania. The purchase was made just two days after the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran and killed dozens of top leaders, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In the street outside Gracie Mansion, about 20 people joined a protest organizers dubbed "Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City: Stop New York City Public Muslim Prayer." A counterprotest titled "Run the Nazis out of New York City: Stand Against Hate" drew about 125 more. Video appears to show Balat emerge from behind a counterprotester at about 12:15 p.m. and throw the first device near the intersection of 87th Street and East End Avenue. Although it smoked, the explosive compound inside did not go off, saving people nearby from metal and glass shrapnel packed inside. Another video appears to show Kayumi handing a second alleged IED to Balat, who allegedly lit it and dropped it at the feet of a group of police officers. Officers arrested him after it failed to detonate. "After being apprehended by NYPD officers, both Balat and Kayumi stated they were aligned with ISIS," U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton said in a statement. "This was an alleged ISIS-inspired act of terrorism that could have killed American citizens," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. "We will not allow ISIS’s poisonous, anti-American ideology to threaten this nation—our law enforcement officers will remain vigilant, as they were when these devices were brought to a protest." The SDNY also announced federal charges against the suspects and released new details about their alleged support for ISIS.

CBS News [3/13/2026 8:29 PM, Jake Rosen and Faris Tanyos, 51110K] Video: HERE reports a Virginia man is facing federal charges, accused of selling a stolen firearm to the gunman who used it in Thursday’s deadly shooting at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, according to officials and court documents. Kenya Mcchell Chapman, 32, of Smithfield, is charged with three counts of making false statements while purchasing a firearm, and one count of selling a firearm without a proper license. The three counts of false statements are for unrelated gun purchases Chapman allegedly made in 2021, authorities said. He made his first court appearance on Friday, the Justice Department said. "Chapman allegedly stole a firearm and illegally sold it to a convicted terrorist, who murdered a decorated American veteran, and he will finally face the full weight of justice," Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement Friday. Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a 36-year-old former Virginia National Guardsman, killed one person and injured two others Thursday in an Old Dominion classroom, authorities said. A law enforcement source told CBS News that Jalloh walked into a classroom in the school’s business college, asked if it was an ROTC class, and when told yes, opened fire. The ROTC instructor of the class was killed. Jalloh died after being "subdued" by students in the classroom following the shooting, Dominique Evans, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Office, told reporters. CBS News has learned that one of the students killed the gunman with a knife. A Glock 44 .22-caliber firearm with a partially altered serial number was recovered from the scene, according to a federal law enforcement affidavit. Authorities said Thursday that it was the only gun found on the suspect. In an interview with federal investigators Thursday after his Smithfield home was raided, Chapman allegedly admitted that earlier this week, he had sold Jalloh a Glock 44 .22-caliber firearm for $100, but denied knowing whether its serial number had been altered, according to the affidavit. Chapman told investigators that he had stolen the gun about a year prior to the shooting from a vehicle in Newport News, Virginia. Chapman showed agents the $100 bill used in the purchase, the affidavit states. A phone belonging to Jalloh was found next to his body in the classroom, and a review of his recent contacts in the week leading up to the shooting led investigators to Chapman, according to the affidavit. When his home was searched, .22-caliber ammunition was found consistent with the gun recovered from the shooting scene.

Reported similarly:
ABC News [3/13/2026 6:42 PM, Alexander Mallin, 34146K]
FOX News [3/13/2026 4:48 PM, Brie Stimson, 37576K]
Washington Examiner [3/13/2026 4:49 PM, Emily Hallas, 1147K]

Daily Wire [3/13/2026 12:19 PM, Staff, 2314K] reports a convicted ISIS terrorist walked into a gun-free school zone and murdered a United States Army officer. This was a targeted attack on an educator of our future military service members. But Soros-backed Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi just stood at a microphone and blamed lawmakers for gun violence. Now, I sit on the Virginia House of Delegates Criminal Subcommittee of the Courts of Justice Committee. I have watched Fatehi advocate year after year for soft-on-crime policies that lead to tragedies just like this. The real question is why was Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a felon convicted of supporting ISIS, in possession of a firearm, especially in a gun free school zone? And why was Jalloh released 3 years early on an 11-year prison stint? These are the failures of soft-on-crime politicians more interested in policing federal ICE agents that protect their own citizens. That failure raises a larger question about what Virginia’s lawmakers are doing right now in Richmond. The 2026 Virginia General Assembly session ends this week. When the gavel falls, Governor Abigail Spanberger will have on her desk a stack of gun bills unlike anything this Commonwealth has ever produced — not a single sweeping law, but a coordinated layering of restrictions designed to strangle the Second Amendment from every direction at once. Which gun you can buy. Where you can carry it. Whether the industry that makes it can survive being sued into submission. How you pass it on when you’re gone. No single bill tells the whole story. The story is the stack — and what that stack adds up to is the systematic dismantling of our Second Amendment rights in Virginia. Start with SB 749, the centerpiece. It criminalizes the import, sale, manufacture, purchase, and transfer of so-called “assault firearms” — semi-automatic centerfire rifles, pistols, and shotguns identified not by how they function, but by how they look. A folding stock. A pistol grip. A threaded barrel. Cosmetic features that have no bearing on rate of fire. The identical firearm with a wooden stock is legal. The one with a synthetic pistol grip is contraband after July 1. Firearms you already own before that date are grandfathered for possession — but you cannot sell them to another Virginian. You can sell to a dealer or transfer them out of state (but that’s a federal Class 5 Felony). And how does a family who wishes to move to Virginia with their firearms – are they not “importing” assault firearms? You can pass them by inheritance to family. Beyond that, your grandfathered rifle is a dead-end asset.

Washington Post [3/13/2026 7:37 PM, Peter Hermann, Alex Horton and Omari Daniels, 24826K] reports Lt. Col. Brandon Shah flew hundreds of hours of combat missions piloting an Apache attack helicopter in Iraq and Afghanistan before returning four years ago to Old Dominion University, the research school in Norfolk that propelled his military career. The 42-year-old taught the next generation of Army officers military science and led the same Monarch Battalion of the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps he had graduated from in 2007. On Thursday, Shah was fatally shot when, the FBI said, an Islamic State sympathizer opened fire in a classroom at the business school in Constant Hall, wounding two others before two students subdued the assailant, who was found dead. The FBI is investigating the incident as an act of terrorism. “To think that someone who deployed overseas to defend this country would be gunned down here at home while mentoring young cadets is something I am still struggling to process,” Rizwan Shah, a cousin who lives in Middleburg, Virginia, wrote in a tribute on LinkedIn. On Friday, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) announced that flags on all state and local buildings will be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset Saturday in honor of Shah. More tributes for Shah poured in on social media. The FBI identified the shooter as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, 27, a former member of the Army National Guard who lived in Sterling, Virginia.

Reuters [3/13/2026 5:55 PM, Kanishka Singh, 38315K] reports the deceased victim in Thursday’s shooting at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, had served for the U.S. in wars in ​Afghanistan and Iraq and came from a family that moved from ‌Pakistan. Lieutenant Colonel Brandon Shah, 42, the ODU Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps professor of military science and a native of Chesapeake, Virginia, ​died from gunshot wounds sustained during the shooting. The FBI said it opened a terrorism investigation into the Thursday shooting ⁠that killed ​Shah and injured two others. All three victims ​were affiliated with the university, which, according to its website, has close ties with the ​military. The shooter was also killed.

New York Times [3/13/2026 7:37 PM, Julie Bosman and Katherine Rosman, 148038K] reports the bang that shattered the afternoon on Thursday at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich., was so loud, so inexplicable, that several rabbis and staff members in the building rushed into the hallway all at once. A truck had rammed through the building doors and down a corridor, past the nursery where infants slept, veering toward the gym where children played. Debris was falling from the ceiling and crumpled walls. Rabbi Arianna Gordon saw an overturned stroller surrounded by broken glass and a security guard rushing by with his weapon drawn. Then the sound of gunfire ricocheted through the building, reaching the administrative offices and classrooms, and the ears of dozens of children enrolled in the preschool. The truck became engulfed in flames, filling the halls and offices with smoke. “We needed to get away and get to a safe place,” said Cassi Cohen, a development director, who was in her office. “That was the only thing going through my head.” In the end, the assault on Temple Israel, which left the attacker dead and one security guard injured was, as some members put it, a shock but not a surprise. A sprawling Reform synagogue with some 12,000 members, it is one of the largest in the country, an anchor of the Jewish community in suburban Detroit. Security had been an ever-present concern, particularly since the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, leaving synagogues throughout the United States bracing as potential targets for violence. Temple Israel had ramped up its security, studying threats to Jewish people and assessing what more could be done to keep its own community safe. Only weeks ago, staff and clergy members participated in active shooter training. Special agents from the F.B.I. briefed the staff and rabbis on what to do if the synagogue was under attack. On Thursday, with 103 children and nearly 50 teachers, clergy and staff members inside the building, Temple Israel responded without a pause. Security guards ran toward the truck, shouting at staff members to stay in their offices. Rabbi Gordon did as she had been trained, using a texting platform to notify teachers that there was an emergency. Teachers shut doors and barricaded them with overturned tables. Ms. Cohen, fighting an urge to flee, also did as she was told, locking her office door, pulling down the window shade and huddling under her desk. Within five minutes, police officers had arrived at the synagogue, the wail of their sirens loud enough to be heard for miles. Lindsay Kalt, a reading specialist who works part time at Temple Israel and has a 4-year-old son in the preschool, had just left the school at noon but returned when she glimpsed smoke billowing from the building. Police officers who had just arrived barred her from entering. Desperate to help, she messaged teachers from her phone, passing along instructions from the police. Barricade the doors, she told them. Do not let anyone in. But if you can get kids out windows, do that. Ms. Kalt texted her son’s teacher. “Marci,” she wrote, “protect our kids.” The teacher responded: “We are in the bathroom. Jodi and I have them. We’ve got this.”

NBC News [3/13/2026 9:25 PM, Nicole Acevedo and Rich Schapiro, 42967K] reports Jewish leaders said they knew an attack like the one that unfolded Thursday at Temple Israel was possible, which is why they were prepared and why the car-ramming and fire wasn’t deadly for the dozens of children and staff inside the Michigan synagogue. Quick action from security guards, safety protocols, drills and training likely all played a role in limiting the devastation caused by an armed driver who plowed into the Detroit-area temple with his explosives-laden pickup. "We’re angry, we’re sad. I wish I could say we were surprised, but this is the kind of stuff that’s happening in our world right now," said Steven Ingber, a member of the congregation and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Detroit. The FBI has called the attack "a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.” As the investigation continued Friday into the attack carried out by Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, Jewish leaders surveyed the damage to the shuttered temple in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, and re-examined the security measures and networks they say they’ve had to take to combat a growing threat of targeted violence. Multiple security officers — and more than 100 preschoolers —were at the synagogue when Ghazali, 41, plowed into the building with his truck. The temple’s security director was hit by the pickup and knocked unconscious, according to Gary Torgow, chairman of the Jewish Federations of North America, and Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard. The Ford F-150 Ghazali was driving got jammed between hallway walls, said Jennifer Runyan, special agent in charge of the FBI Detroit field office. That’s when Ghazali began firing through the windshield, and a security officer engaged him in a gunfight. Ghazali was "unable to extract himself due to the vehicle being jammed," Runyan said. A second security officer exchanged gunfire with Ghazali, and the truck’s engine compartment caught on fire. "At some point during the gunfight, Ghazali suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head," the FBI agent said. That was the only fatality from Thursday’s attack, which is a credit to the security personnel who Torgow said "helped ensure that the outcome yesterday was very different from what might otherwise have been.” "No preschool children were injured, no staff members were harmed. The only injury was the heroic security guard," Torgow said during a virtual law enforcement briefing Friday afternoon. Teachers, staff and security personnel seamlessly executed evacuation protocols that led all the children, all under the age of 5, to safety, the sheriff said Friday. Temple Israel’s injured security director was taken to the hospital for treatment and is expected to continue recovering at home, Ingber said.

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [3/13/2026 5:43 PM, Allan Lengel, Annie Gowen and Praveena Somasundaram, 24826K]

AP [3/14/2026 12:01 AM, Ed White and Anthony Izaguirre, 31753K] reports the Michigan synagogue that came under attack this week when an armed man drove his car into the building had for months been strengthening its security apparatus by hiring a seasoned police lieutenant as its security director and holding active shooter training. That beefed up security, which came in response to rising antisemitism and other attacks at places of worship, is being credited with saving lives in an event that ended with only the attacker dying. An armed, private security guard shot back at the attacker after he opened fire through his windshield in a hallway inside the building. When the car barreled in, there were 140 students inside in an early childhood learning center. All were unscathed. The car’s engine caught fire, and the gunman, Ayman Mohammad Ghazali, a Lebanese-born U.S. citizen, eventually used his own weapon to fatally shoot himself, according to Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit field office. "If they had not done their job almost perfectly we would be talking about an immense tragedy here today with children gone," U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin said of the building’s security. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer added: "These heroes threw themselves in harm’s way, engaging a suspect." "Unfortunately the entire Jewish community, no matter where we are in the world, we have to plan for things like this," Temple Israel Rabbi Jennifer Kaluzny told CNN. The effort to bolster security at Temple Israel, outside Detroit, came as many houses of worship have undergone similar efforts, with leaders working to fortify facilities in the wake of deadly attacks. Synagogues around the world have increased protections after the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran.

Bloomberg [3/13/2026 3:35 PM, Myles Miller, 18082K] reports the man who rammed his vehicle into a Detroit-area synagogue on Thursday, setting off a fire and an exchange of gunfire that left him dead, was interviewed by federal law enforcement years before the attack, according to a person familiar with the matter. During a 2019 interview in Atlanta, federal agents questioned Ayman Mohamad Ghazali after he returned from a trip to Lebanon. In the course of that interview they discovered that two of his brothers were identified as Hezbollah members, and were among the contacts in his phone, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the details aren’t public. Ghazali, who was born in Lebanon, told investigators he made the trip for a medical procedure, the person said. It was unclear whether the bureau continued to monitor him after that initial interview. The Department of Homeland Security said Ghazali, who was 41, was a naturalized US citizen who entered the country in 2011 and was granted citizenship in 2016. Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit field office, described the assault as a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said Ghazali drove his vehicle into the synagogue’s front entrance, breaching the doors before security personnel returned fire. A fire broke out when the vehicle ignited, engulfing part of the building and sending roughly 30 law enforcement officers to local hospitals for smoke inhalation after they entered the structure. The 140 students enrolled in the synagogue’s early childhood center were unharmed. Ghazali was killed during the attack. Bouchard said Thursday that officials hadn’t yet determined the exact cause of death. Bomb technicians and explosives-detection dogs swept the vehicle and building for improvised explosive devices.

CNN [3/13/2026 12:14 PM, Casey Tolan, et al., 612K] reports the assailant in Thursday’s attack on a Michigan synagogue had previously been flagged in US government databases for connections with suspected members of the militant group Hezbollah, although he was not believed to be a member himself, law enforcement officials briefed on the matter told CNN. The Department of Homeland Security said that Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, drove a vehicle laden with explosives into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township near Detroit. It then caught fire, in what the FBI called a "targeted act of violence against the Jewish community." The FBI said the agency is continuing to investigate the attack. A week before the attack, Ghazali’s two brothers and two of their children were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon, the mayor of the Lebanese village where they lived told CNN. Ghazali was killed after security officers for the synagogue engaged him and "neutralized the threat," West Bloomfield Police Chief Dale Young said Thursday. One security officer was hurt in the attack, and at least 30 law enforcement officers were treated for smoke inhalation, authorities said. According to law enforcement officials briefed on the matter, Ghazali shows up in federal government databases as having connections to "known or suspected terrorists" associated with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Ghazali, who is a naturalized US citizen from Lebanon, is not listed in the government databases as a member of Hezbollah himself, they added. According to the officials, Ghazali’s last foreign travel was from the United States to Lebanon in 2019. He returned to the US through Atlanta, where he was flagged in DHS systems for "threshold targeting" based on prior records of his contact with suspected Hezbollah members. In an interview with Customs and Border Protection agents at the time, Ghazali said he had traveled abroad to receive hair transplant treatment. Ghazali’s phone was inspected by CBP, and agents found individuals who were known or suspected Hezbollah members in his contacts, according to the officials. It is not clear who those contacts were, or what Ghazali’s relationship to them was.

FOX News [3/13/2026 11:01 AM, Staff, 37576K] reports that Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer hailed security workers as ‘heroes’ who ‘saved lives’ during remarks on Friday in the wake of a Thursday attack at Temple Israel. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS News [3/13/2026 11:40 PM, Eric Henderson, 51110K] reports surveillance video shows the man who rammed a truck into a Michigan synagogue buying $2,250 worth of fireworks days before the attack. Ayman Mohamad Ghazali made two purchases at a Phantom Fireworks store in Livonia, Michigan, on Tuesday, officials with the retail chain told CBS News. The first purchase was for $1,369.02 at 2 p.m., followed by a second purchase for $881.94 at 2:17 p.m. Ghazali, 41, bought 20 items total, including a variety of firecrackers, aerial repeaters, and one fountain product, according to Phantom Fireworks. He told the store staff that the fireworks were for the end of Ramadan, according to the retailer. The surveillance footage shows Ghazali shopping in the store’s retail showroom but contains no audio. The purchases came just days before Ghazali drove a truck through the doors of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield on Thursday afternoon. The FBI said the attack was a "targeted act of violence against the Jewish community." Law enforcement sources told CBS News there were mortar-type explosives in the vehicle, which caught fire when it rammed into the building. The Department of Homeland Security identified Ghazali as a Lebanese-born U.S. citizen who came to the country legally in May 2011. A source in Michigan’s Lebanese American community told CBS News Ghazali was a resident of Dearborn Heights. The FBI is leading the investigation into the attack. Authorities have not identified a motive. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Post [3/13/2026 10:57 AM, Patrick Reilly, 40934K] reports that the antisemitic attack on a Jewish synagogue’s preschool could have ended up like the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the morning after carnage was thwarted. All students and staff were miraculously unharmed after a wannabe bomber plowed his explosives-filled car into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, which was hosting preschool for some 140 children under 6 years old at the time. Whitmer told reporters Friday that if it weren’t for heroic responders, the attack "could have looked a lot more like Sandy Hook" — referring to the 2012 school shooting in Connecticut when 20 first-graders were gunned down. "It was incredible how the teachers and the staff, how the local law enforcement, federal agencies, state agencies all worked together quickly [and] acted selflessly," Whitmer said. "I know they’re trained to do that, and they don’t even like it when you thank them for doing their jobs. But it’s incredible to see people run to the fire to help kids get out — and everyone got home last night." Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a 41-year-old naturalized US citizen who had been in the country since 2011, drove his car through the temple’s entrance just after noon, knocking a security guard unconscious. Other guards opened fire and stopped the driver as the car burst into flames, sparking a fire as police and firefighters swarmed the synagogue. Ghazli was found dead inside the car and burned beyond recognition. He was armed with a rifle, and mortar shells were discovered in the vehicle’s rear, sources told The Post. At least 30 emergency responders are also being treated for smoke inhalation at local hospitals, police said. Whitmer declined to say whether the attacks were motivated by the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Daily Wire [3/13/2026 3:57 AM, Brecca Stoll, 2314K] reports the man who targeted Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, on Thursday has been identified as Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a Lebanese national who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2016 under the Obama administration, the Department of Homeland Security told Fox News. Ghazali ran his car into Temple Israel, the largest Reform Judaism congregation in the United States, and opened fire with a rifle on Thursday. He was pronounced dead at the scene after the synagogue’s security engaged him with gunfire. Ghazali was born in Lebanon in 1985 and first entered the United States in 2011 on an immigrant visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen, the Department of Homeland Security said. After he applied for naturalization in October 2015, he was granted citizenship in February 2016. One security guard was injured as a result of being struck by the attacker’s vehicle, but is in stable condition. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard confirmed that no one else was injured in the attack. Temple Israel runs a drive-thru food pantry on Thursdays and has a preschool that was in session. The synagogue said on Thursday that "all 140 students in our Susan and Harold Loss Early Childhood Center, our amazing staff, our courageous teachers, and our heroic security personnel are all accounted for and safe.” The attack comes amid a heightened concern over terror attacks after President Donald Trump launched "Operation Epic Fury" in Iran. Abroad, at least 11 U.S. soldiers have been killed during the operation, with about 140 others wounded.

CNN [3/13/2026 12:14 PM, Casey Tolan, John Miller, Charbel Mallo, and Jeff Winter, 19874K] reports a week before Thursday’s attack on a Michigan synagogue, the suspect’s two brothers and two of their children were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon, the mayor of the Lebanese village where they lived told CNN. The Department of Homeland Security said that Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, drove a vehicle laden with explosives into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township near Detroit. It then caught fire, in what the FBI called a "targeted act of violence against the Jewish community." The FBI said the agency is continuing to investigate the attack. Ghazali was killed after security officers for the synagogue engaged him and "neutralized the threat," West Bloomfield Police Chief Dale Young said Thursday. One security officer was hurt in the attack, and at least 30 law enforcement officers were treated for smoke inhalation, authorities said. Iskandar Barakeh, the mayor of Mashghara, Lebanon, said in a phone interview that Ghazali’s brothers, Kassim and Ibrahim, were killed in an Israeli airstrike there on March 5, along with Ibrahim’s children, Ali and Fatima. The two men’s wives and Ghazali’s parents also sustained injuries, Barakeh said.

NewsMax [3/13/2026 1:15 PM, Staff, 3760K] reports that a man with a rifle who crashed into a large Michigan synagogue in what federal officials say was an attack had lost four family members in an Israeli airstrike in his native Lebanon last week, an official said Friday. Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Lebanon, was killed by security after ramming into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township near Detroit and driving down a hallway in a vehicle that then caught fire, according to authorities. The FBI, which is leading the investigation, described the attack on one of the nation’s largest Reform synagogues as an act of violence targeting the Jewish community. About 140 people — 106 children and more than 30 staff — were at the synagogue at the time of the attack, said Cassi Cohen, Temple Israel’s director of strategic development. None of them were injured, according to Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Sen. Elissa Slotkin during a news conference Friday praised Temple Israel’s private security for swiftly stopping the attack. "If they had not all done their jobs almost perfectly, we would be talking about an immense tragedy here with children gone," Slotkin said. Ghazali came to the U.S. in 2011 on an immediate relative visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen and was granted U.S. citizenship in 2016, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Detroit Free Press [3/13/2026 2:52 PM, Frank Witsil, 4749K] reports after two separate incidents that may be linked to terror or the war in Iran — one at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield and the other hundreds of miles away on a university campus in Norfolk, Virginia — the website for the nation’s public alert system on terror threats still lists "no current advisories.” Some terrorism experts suggest the incidents may prompt one. "I’m thinking they are going to have to respond to this," former Wayne State University adjunct professor Richard Chasdi, now a lecturer at George Washington University in Washington, DC, said, referring to the Department of Homeland Security. He suggested that federal, state and local governments now need to step up efforts to standardize their system to offer advisories and precautions across "a whole host of communities and networks." Since the start of Iran air strikes, federal officials have mentioned terrorism several times, saying that Iran is "the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism," but now has a note on the page that blames "the lapse of federal funding" for not maintaining the National Terrorism Advisory System website. One question law enforcement and homeland security officials may be wrestling with, Chasdi said, is whether the public alerts enhance safety by heightening awareness or if the publicity about them may, unintentionally, inspire more of them. Another question is how officials are balancing politics and security.

NewsNation [3/13/2026 9:52 AM, Josh Hinkle, 4464K] reports that following the March 1 shooting on West Sixth Street that left at least 15 injured and four others – including the gunman – dead, Austin police are now explaining why the agency did not request an active shooter alert to warn people nearby of potential danger. An APD spokesperson told NewsNation affiliate KXAN, “The threat had been stopped in a short amount of time and transitioned to medical care and securing the crime scene,” adding that the call originally came in as a “gun hot shot call” and later changed to a “shoot/stab call.” City leaders have said first responders arrived at Buford’s Backyard Beer within 57 seconds of initial 911 calls for help. At 1:58 a.m., Ndiaga Diagne, 53, drove past the bar and opened fire on its patio and outside area with a semi-automatic pistol from the window of his vehicle, according to police. He then parked, exited the vehicle and continued shooting with an AR-15-style rifle. APD said its officers engaged with Diagne at about 2:03 a.m., shooting him multiple times as he returned fire. He was later pronounced dead at the scene. During that five-minute period, and in the hours to follow as the investigation launched into what the FBI would eventually call “indicators” of terrorism, APD, the lead agency on the case, decided against an active shooter alert — one tool available meant to save lives. The Texas Department of Public Safety is responsible for verifying an agency’s request for such an alert to ensure it meets certain criteria. DPS confirmed to KXAN an alert “was not activated” related to the incident and referred further questions to APD.

Daily Wire [3/13/2026 12:47 PM, Jennie Taer, 2314K] reports the Department of Justice charged the man accused of selling a firearm to the Old Dominion University shooter, who had already been convicted of supporting terrorism. Feds charged Kenya Chapman Friday for allegedly carrying out the sale to Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former National Guard soldier who was previously convicted of supporting ISIS, but released early in 2024 after completing a drug program, according to the Associated Press. Jalloh, 36, killed an ROTC professor, who was a decorated war hero, during the Thursday attack. Two other service members were injured before heroic students intervened to subdue him. Chapman told authorities that he had no idea Jalloh planned to carry out the attack, the news outlet reported. He faces charges for making a false statement during a firearm purchase and engaging in the business of firearms dealing without a license. Chapman said he stole the gun from a car in Newport News, Virginia, about a year ago, before he recently sold it to Jalloh, the Associated Press reported. After the pair met at work, Jalloh told Chapman he needed a gun for protection as a delivery driver. Chapman said he knew Jalloh was previously incarcerated, but claimed he didn’t know of his past felony conviction. It’s not the first time Chapman has been the subject of a federal investigation, according to the Associated Press. In 2021, federal authorities issued Chapman a "straw purchaser warning letter.” Chapman later sent an apology letter admitting to selling guns to buyers who intended to give the firearms to people who can’t legally purchase them, per the AP. The serial number on the gun Jalloh allegedly used Thursday was partially destroyed. Authorities combed through phone records, finding that Chapman and Jalloh had multiple calls in the week before the shooting.

San Diego Union Tribune [3/13/2026 8:47 PM, Alex Riggins, 1257K] reports that, when members of the Sinaloa cartel sought to assassinate a rival in 2024 after he had fled to Chula Vista following the theft of a massive drug shipment in Tijuana, they turned to Mexican Mafia-linked criminal associates in San Diego and Los Angeles, who in turn chose two 15-year-old gang members to carry out the hit. The choice was deliberate, since they knew that under California law, the boys could not face adult charges nor lengthy prison terms because they were not yet 16 years old. What they apparently did not expect — or perhaps they were simply willing to take the gamble — was that federal prosecutors would take over the case, and those same statutes would not apply. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Todd Robinson sentenced the teens to 25 years each in prison. The judge said the lengthy terms were meant to both punish the boys for what they did — their attempts to murder the Sinaloa rival were unsuccessful, but their associate was killed in a shootout — and also to deter criminal groups from believing that they can outsource murder attempts to young teens without severe consequences. “The Sinaloa cartel and Mexican Mafia need to be put on notice — you don’t get a pass when you get a juvenile to commit a serious crime like this,” Robinson said. Johncarlo Quintero, now 17, and Andrew Nunez, 16, tried twice to kill the Sinaloa cartel’s target but were ultimately unsuccessful. However, during the second attempted assassination, an adult member of their gang who was accompanying them was killed in a shootout. Last year, the boys each pleaded guilty to one count of murder in aid of racketeering in connection with the death of their accomplice, and two counts of attempted murder in aid of racketeering. Meanwhile, three men with alleged links to the Mexican Mafia who are suspected of hiring and helping the teens — Poly Antunez, Antonio Quinones and Jovanny Enriquez — also appeared in Robinson’s courtroom Friday afternoon for a motion hearing. The judge set an October trial date for the trio, all of whom have pleaded not guilty to the various charges in an indictment against them. Friday’s sentencings, and recently unsealed court documents related to the charges against the three older men, continue to shed light on a March 2024 episode in which brazen cartel violence spilled across the border. Federal prosecutors argued the genesis of that violence was a November 2023 heist in Tijuana in which a “massive drug load” belonging to the Sinaloa cartel was stolen. The thieves were allegedly corrupt police officers working with a remnant cell of the Arellano Félix Organization, or AFO, a cartel that once dominated Tijuana.

FOX News [3/13/2026 9:59 PM, Brie Stimson, 37576K] reports that, as spring break gets underway, travel agencies are issuing their own warnings about travel in Mexico following last month’s cartel attacks. The State Department classifies Mexico at a Level 2 – "exercise increased caution" because of terrorism, crime and kidnapping threats. "Many violent crimes take place in Mexico," the State Department’s warning issued last summer says. "They include homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery. There is a risk of terrorist violence, including terrorist attacks and other activity in Mexico.” The threats also vary from region to region, for instance, the State Department classifies several states in Mexico, including Jalisco and Baja California as Level 3 – "Reconsider travel" and states such as Sinaloa and Colima, where cartel violence is rampant, as Level 4 – "Do not travel.” "Conditions vary significantly by state, and what’s happening in one region may look very different from what travelers are experiencing in a major resort corridor," AAA said in a recent article on travel to Mexico on its website. "Because of that, safety isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer; it’s a personal decision best made with up-to-date, destination-specific information.” The travel agency noted that "ongoing cartel conflicts in parts of Mexico led to temporary spikes in violence," recently, "prompting heightened US security alerts, including shelter-in-place notices in some popular resort regions.” "According to US Embassy alerts, these incidents are typically tied to localized security operations involving Mexican authorities and criminal groups," AAA added. "While most tourist visits to Mexico occur without incident, short-term flare-ups underscore why travelers should review current, destination-specific guidance before departure.” Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, was killed in a Mexican military operation helped by U.S. intelligence on Feb. 22. His death led to widespread unrest in Jalisco — which is home to popular tourist destinations like Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara — and other states, as the cartels conducted retaliatory attacks that lasted several days, but have left travelers feeling shaken. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Times [3/14/2026 3:01 AM, Ian Austen, 330K] reports Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada unveiled a multibillion-dollar plan on Thursday to significantly build up the country’s military capacity in the Arctic, including establishing new bases in a region where the country has had to rely on the United States to ensure its defense. The announcement follows President Trump’s repeated calls for Canada’s annexation and his musings about acquiring Greenland, Canada’s Arctic neighbor. Mr. Carney is not the first Canadian prime minister with grand plans for improving the security and asserting Canada’s sovereignty over its enormous yet largely unpopulated Arctic region. But his proposal is more comprehensive and extensive than past efforts. “With this plan, we are taking control of our future,” Mr. Carney said, speaking in an airplane hanger in the city of Yellowknife surrounded by troops. “We will no longer rely on others to defend our Arctic security or to fuel our economy. We are taking full responsibility for defending our sovereignty.” Mr. Carney said that past efforts “lacked the scale of ambition and the depth of strategy worthy of this vast region and its people.” The cornerstone of the new effort will be spending 32 billion Canadian dollars, about $23.5 billion, to build three military bases in the northern territories, including one in Yellowknife, and making improvements at an existing base in Labrador. Two “operational support nodes” — essentially service stations for military aircraft and troops — will also be built for another 2.67 billion Canadian dollars. The government will spend 294 million dollars on improving two Arctic airports to allow the landing of larger aircraft, civilian and military. “The primary purpose of all this spending is to show Donald Trump that Canada can take care of security in its own Arctic, so that the U.S. doesn’t need to,” said Michael Byers who studies Arctic sovereignty and Canadian defense policy at the University of British Columbia. Professor Byers added that “in other circumstances, permanently stationing more than a few hundred troops in the Canadian Arctic would not make sense. It’s too vast, cold, and sparsely populated.” He said that it would be more effective and less expensive to set up a special northern rapid reaction force in southern Canada that could be swiftly sent north.

New York Times [3/14/2026 3:01 AM, Frances Robles, Patricia Mazzei and Dariel Pradas, 330K] reports that, in what was seen as a last-ditch effort to save his hobbled government, President Miguel Díaz-Canel of Cuba announced on Friday that his government had been holding talks with the Trump administration while managing an increasingly severe lack of fuel. Cuba’s government is facing an existential crisis as the Trump administration ratchets up pressure on the 67-year-old Communist state, maintaining what amounts to an oil blockade. Fuel is rapidly running out, plunging Cuba into prolonged periods of darkness. Though the discussions with the United States had previously been reported by U.S. news outlets, it was the first time the government had acknowledged that talks were underway. Mr. Díaz-Canel, in a 90-minute news conference broadcast on state media, said the talks were aimed at finding solutions to Cuba’s differences with the United States. He said the discussions were based on “respect for the political systems of both countries, sovereignty and our government’s self-determination,” suggesting that, from his point of view, political changes in Cuba were not on the table. He said international factors had facilitated the exchanges, without providing specifics. Cuba’s foreign minister recently met with the Vatican, as did Mike Hammer, the top U.S. diplomat in Havana. The Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said the Vatican had taken “the necessary steps, always with a view to a dialogue-based solution to the problems that exist.” Cuba’s government announced on Thursday that it would soon release 51 prisoners, in what appeared to be an effort to appease the Trump administration. Mr. Díaz-Canel said a development to be announced on Monday would “greatly facilitate” the participation of Cubans abroad in the island’s “economic and social development program,” strongly suggesting that the government would allow Cubans overseas to invest in the nation’s economy. Exiles in Florida and other places with large Cuban communities have been pushing for that for years. Over the past year, Mr. Díaz-Canel said, the island’s foreign ministry has held talks with Cubans abroad to listen to their ideas. He acknowledged that there had been a significant exodus from the country, saying the number of Cubans overseas “has grown.” More than two million Cubans have left the country in the past five years, demographers estimate. “It is our responsibility as the government to embrace them, listen to them, tend to them and offer them a space to participate in the economic and social development,” Mr. Díaz-Canel said. He said Cuba’s power grid was growing increasingly unstable because the country had imported no oil in three months. Two crucial power plants had exhausted their supplies of fuel, he said. “Therefore, a considerable number of megawatts that we were generating, especially during peak and nighttime hours, are lost from that generation system, putting the grid in a very unstable situation,” Mr. Díaz-Canel said.

New York Times [3/14/2026 5:01 AM, Patricia Mazzei and David C. Adams, 148038K] reports before Héctor Cruz Correa left his home in South Florida for an ill-fated boat trip to Cuba last month, he told his mother that he was going fishing. He asked her to make his favorite beef soup for the trip. Another man, Roberto Álvarez Ávila, a father of three, told his wife that he would see her after his shift as a Walmart security guard. A third, Conrado Galindo Sariol, who had spent eight years in a Cuban prison, told his wife he was going to work delivering packages. None of them returned home. The three men were among 10 Cuban immigrants who, according to the Cuban government, stowed a stockpile of weapons on two boats in the Florida Keys, set sail and wound up in an armed confrontation with the Cuban coast guard about a mile off the island’s northern coast. The government called it a foiled terrorist attack. Four of the men, including Mr. Cruz Correa, died in the firefight on Feb. 25. Mr. Álvarez, who had been shot, died nine days later. The five others were all injured and remain detained in Cuba. More than two weeks later, what the men intended to do that day remains a mystery. They knew each other from TikTok group chats and fringe organizations dedicated to freeing Cuba from communism. Most of them lived and worked in and around Miami and Tampa, two hubs of anti-Castro sentiment. Their relatives remain skeptical of the Cuban government’s account. Yet some Cubans in Miami have started to believe that the men might have convinced themselves that a few anti-communist militants could take on the Cuban dictatorship. Cuba’s economy is on the brink of collapse. Its Communist government looks weaker than at any other point in recent history. After deposing the Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, who had provided Cuba with an economic lifeline, President Trump has said that the Cuban regime may be the next to crumble. The Cuban government confirmed on Friday that it is in talks with the White House over its economic future. Some in South Florida’s exile community suspect that a handful of their own seized an opportunity to try to provoke unrest in their homeland. “It was a display of bravery, of courage,” Jorge Luis García Pérez, a well-known activist against the Cuban government who goes by the name Antúnez, said last Sunday during a small ceremony that exile groups held for the men in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami. “Those men went there to leave everything.”

Reuters [3/14/2026 12:31 AM, Luc Cohen, 38315K] reports ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro should not be able to use Venezuelan government funds to defend himself against U.S. drug trafficking charges, U.S. prosecutors said on Friday, noting that Washington has not considered him the legitimate leader of the South American country for years. Last month, Maduro’s lawyer Barry Pollack urged U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein to dismiss the indictment against Maduro because the Treasury Department had without explanation revoked an exemption to U.S. financial sanctions on Venezuela that had allowed the South American country’s government to fund his defense. Pollack argued that the revocation interfered with Maduro’s right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. He said that "Venezuelan law and custom" dictate that the government pay the expenses of the president and his wife. An official in Venezuela’s attorney general’s office said in a court filing last month that the government was prepared to pay. In urging Hellerstein not to dismiss the indictment, prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office on Friday said the initial exemption was an "administrative error.” The prosecutors said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, would still be allowed to use their personal funds for their defense. Flores’ lawyer, Mark Donnelly, had also asked Hellerstein to dismiss charges against her over the funding of her defense. "While both defendants claim that they are entitled to funds under the Venezuelan constitution ... both defendants also surely knew that the U.S. Government did not consider them to hold legitimate positions," prosecutors wrote, noting that one purpose of the U.S. sanctions was to drive Maduro and Flores from power. The Venezuelan communications ministry, which handles all press queries for the government, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Maduro and Flores were captured on January 3 in a U.S. military raid on their Caracas home. Both have pleaded not guilty and are jailed in Brooklyn pending trial. Their lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Hellerstein is expected to consider the legal fees dispute during a court hearing on March 26 in Manhattan. The U.S. accuses Maduro, a socialist who took office in 2013, of rigging his re-election votes in 2018 and 2024, which he denies. Maduro’s former Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has been running Venezuela since his capture. A State Department official said in a March 11 court filing in a separate case that the U.S. recognizes Rodriguez as Venezuela’s sole head of state.

FOX News [3/13/2026 7:22 PM, Staff, 37576K] reports Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reports on the Pentagon sending additional troops to the Middle East and the history of Iranian speedboat attacks on ‘Special Report.’ [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Times [3/13/2026 6:34 PM, Helene Cooper, Luke Broadwater and Thomas Fuller, 148038K] reports the leaders of America’s war effort vowed on Friday to thwart Iran’s attempts to block the Strait of Hormuz, calling Iran’s move on the crucial shipping route “desperation.” But they did not offer any timetable to restore safe navigation for the vast oil exports that had flowed through the channel. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a news conference that the disruptions in the strait were “something we are dealing with,” but added, “Don’t need to worry about it.” His remarks came as the Trump administration sought to reassure a world lurching into crisis over surging oil prices caused by Iran’s retaliatory attacks on Gulf maritime traffic. Hours earlier, the administration had lifted some sanctions on Russian oil to try to bolster the global supply, dismaying European allies who wanted to continue punishing Moscow for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, U.S. officials said they were sending more forces to the Middle East, while President Trump continued his bellicose messaging. “Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media shortly after midnight on Friday. “They’ve been killing innocent people all over the world for 47 years, and now I, as the 47th President of the United States of America, am killing them. What a great honor it is to do so!” He did, however, back away from his frequent early calls for the Iranian people to rise up against their rulers. It was an acknowledgment that one of the original goals of the war, to replace the repressive regime, might have been harder than it seemed. There are government forces in Iran that “go around with machine guns,” Mr. Trump said on Friday morning in an interview with Fox News. “And they say, ‘Anybody protests, we’re going to kill you in the street,’” he added. “So I really think that’s a big hurdle to climb for people that don’t have weapons.” Mr. Hegseth said on Friday that the Iranian leadership was “desperate and hiding,” but that portrayal was at odds with the scenes in Tehran, where thousands of Iranians turned out for an anti-Israel rally as the sound of explosions resonated nearby. The attendees included the president, the top security official, the chief of the judiciary and the foreign minister, according to social media posts and Iranian news media. The rally commemorated Quds Day, an annual, government-sponsored event held on the last Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The country’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, shared a video on social media of Iranians gathering for the demonstration, pumping their fists and defiantly chanting, “God is great,” as a large cloud of smoke possibly from a blast is seen in the sky. In the Pentagon briefing on Friday, Mr. Hegseth said that the United States had hit 6,000 targets in Iran since the start of the war.

Washington Post [3/13/2026 9:53 PM, Cat Zakrzewski and Dan Lamothe, 24826K] reports President Donald Trump on Friday night announced that the United States had bombed Kharg Island, targeting Iran’s most critical oil terminal in an attack that Tehran has warned would mark an escalation of the conflict. Located about 15 miles from the Iranian mainland in the Persian Gulf, Kharg Island is the centerpiece of Iran’s oil-based economy. About 90 percent of the country’s oil exports move through facilities there, and an attack could strangle what remains of Tehran’s economy — including the government’s limited ability to pay its military. Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the U.S. had “totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel.” Washington Post could not immediately independently verify Trump’s description of the attack or provide a damage assessment. “Iran’s Military, and all others involved with this Terrorist Regime, would be wise to lay down their arms, and save what’s left of their country, which isn’t much!” Trump posted while flying from Washington to Palm Beach, Florida, where he is expected to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate. The president said that he had decided not to target the oil infrastructure on the island, but threatened to change course if Iran interfered with the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most vital oil transit chokepoint. Shipping traffic through the strait has been effectively halted since the start of the conflict, rocking global energy For the U.S., decimating Kharg has significant strategic advantages, and The Post previously reported on the potential for a ground invasion of the island. The island has an airstrip on its northeastern corner and numerous jetties for ship loading, according to a review of satellite imagery. It is also protected by a network of military infrastructure on other nearby islands and mainland Iran, said Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who has advocated for the Trump administration to seize Kharg. Rubin said the bombing is “setting the stage to take the island,” should Trump give the order. To prepare, Rubin said, Trump could approve strikes on what Iran calls its “invisible jetties,” or low-profile launch points across a number of islands from which the Iranian navy could launch speedboats to harass or endanger vessels in the gulf. In a news briefing earlier in the day on Friday, Pentagon officials promised to combat Iran’s efforts to limit transit through the Strait of Hormuz, following criticism that the administration had failed to anticipate the war’s impact on the channel and the resulting economic effects. Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, forecast that Friday would be “our heaviest day of kinetic fires” across the region, with U.S. forces continuing to target Iranian ballistic missiles and drone-launching points. He also said the U.S. military would go after Iran’s mine-laying capability and destroy its ability to attack commercial vessels “As the world is seeing, they are exercising sheer desperation in the Straits of Hormuz,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said during the briefing. “It’s something we’re dealing with, we have been dealing with it. Don’t need to worry about it.”

New York Post [3/13/2026 3:46 PM, Steven Nelson, 40934K] reports that the State Department announced Friday that Iranian citizens can earn up to $10 million and the right to move to America if they inform on the whereabouts of 10 senior Islamic Republic leaders. "Got information on these Iranian terrorist leaders? Send us a tip. It could make you eligible for a reward and relocation," the department’s Rewards for Justice program tweeted. People with knowledge of their locations can share that information via a Tor browser tip line or the secure Signal messaging app, the department said. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and national security adviser Ali Larijani are the best-known figures on the list. The US previously used playing cards in 2003 to identify wanted Iraqi officials following George W. Bush’s decision to invade and topple dictator Saddam Hussein.

Reuters [3/14/2026 12:37 AM, Muayad ​Hameed, 38315K] reports the U.S. Embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad was hit in a missiles attack, Iraqi security sources told Reuters on Saturday. The attack caused smoke to rise from the embassy’s building, the sources said, without providing details on the damage.

Reuters [3/14/2026 1:06 AM, Daewoung Kim and Anton Bridge, 38315K] reports North Korea fired more than 10 ballistic missiles into the sea on Saturday, South Korea’s military said, as the U.S. and South Korean forces conducted military drills and U.S. President Donald Trump renewed overtures towards Pyongyang for dialogue. Japan’s coast guard said it had detected what could be a ballistic missile that fell into the sea. It appeared to have fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, public broadcaster NHK said, citing the military. The missiles were launched from an area near the capital Pyongyang, around 1:20 p.m. (0430 GMT) towards the sea off the country’s east coast, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. North Korea has test-launched a wide range of ballistic and cruise missiles for more than two decades in a push to develop the means to deliver nuclear weapons, which it is believed to have successfully built. As a result, Pyongyang has been under multiple U.N. Security Council sanctions since 2006 but it remains defiant, despite severe obstacles they created to its trade, economy and defence. South Korea and Washington this week launched the annual major drills in South Korea, which they say are purely defensive, aimed at testing readiness against military threats from North Korea. Hundreds of U.S. and South Korean troops conducted river-crossing drills on Saturday with hardware including tanks and armoured combat vehicles, overseen by the commander of their combined forces. The U.S. military has about 28,500 troops and squadrons of fighter jets stationed in South Korea. North Korea frequently displays its anger at such exercises, saying they are "dress rehearsals" for armed aggression against it by the allies. On Thursday, South Korea’s Prime Minister Kim Min-seok met U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington to discuss ways to reopen dialogue with the North. Trump is eager for any opportunity to sit down with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, South Korea’s Kim told reporters.

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