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 [5/13/2026 3:28 AM, Hamed Aleaziz and Tyler Pager, 330K] reports the Trump administration on Tuesday said that David Venturella, a former career Immigration and Customs Enforcement official who worked at a private prison company before rejoining the agency last year, would serve as ICE’s acting leader. The decision to appoint Mr. Venturella comes as the Department of Homeland Security recovers from the intense scrutiny that followed its operations in Minneapolis and the shooting of two Americans by immigration agents. Todd Lyons, the acting head of ICE, announced his departure in April, and will leave the agency on May 31. Mr. Venturella will then take over, a D.H.S. spokeswoman said. ICE has long operated with directors who serve only in an “acting” capacity, and has been without a Senate-confirmed director since an Obama-administration official retired in January 2017. Mr. Venturella’s selection is in line with a push by Markwayne Mullin, the homeland security secretary, to keep D.H.S. under the radar and out of headlines. Mr. Venturella was known to prefer quieter operations than the volatile ones conducted by D.H.S. officials in major cities over the past year. “My goal in six months is that we’re not in the lead story every single day,” Mr. Mullin said during his confirmation hearing in March. “My goal is for people to understand we’re out there, we’re protecting them and we’re working with them.” Last year was tumultuous for ICE, which was pressured by Stephen Miller, a top White House adviser, to ramp up arrests and deportations as it faced increasing opposition from leaders of Democratic-led cities and states. Its popularity has dropped, and President Trump has openly floated changing the name of the agency to NICE. Mr. Venturella, who left during the Obama administration and worked for the private prison company the GEO Group, has allies inside the agency and the administration, including Mr. Miller, Mr. Trump’s deputy chief of staff and omnipresent immigration lead, according to a federal official. His appointment will likely prompt criticism from those skeptical of the influence of private prison companies on ICE, which relies on them to detain undocumented immigrants. In March, New York Times reported that Mr. Venturella called ICE officials in Miami to make sure that officers there picked up the ex-wife of a Trump ally embroiled in a custody battle with the woman. The Department of Homeland Security said at the time that the woman was arrested because of a criminal charge. “Any suggestion that she was arrested and removed for political reasons or favors is FALSE,” the department said in a statement. The Washington Examiner [5/12/2026 9:42 PM, Molly Parks, 1147K] reports Todd Lyons oversaw the agency for just over a year under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s tenure. Under his leadership, ICE experienced a great deal of public blowback from Democrats over its immigration enforcement tactics. The agency’s controversy came to a head in January 2026, when an ICE officer shot and killed U.S. citizen Renee Good in Minneapolis. Mullin praised Lyons’s work at the helm of the agency in the April statement announcing his resignation. "Director Lyons has been a great leader of ICE and key player in helping the Trump administration remove murderers, rapists, pedophiles, terrorists, and gang members from American communities. He jumpstarted an agency that had not been allowed to do its job for four years. Thanks to his leadership, American communities are safe," Mullin said in his statement. The Hill [5/12/2026 7:42 PM, Jonathan Carter, 18170K] reports that Venturella, who worked for ICE during the administrations of former President Obama and former President George W. Bush, currently works for the department to facilitate contracts between ICE and immigrant detention facilities. Before he rejoined the department last year, Venturella worked for a private prison company that operates immigration detention facilities, according to reporting from CBS News. The Senate has not confirmed a director for ICE since 2017, resulting in almost ten years of the agency having a leader in an acting capacity. Venturella’s pick comes amid a funding impasse for ICE and Border Patrol, which were not covered in a recent DHS funding bill ending a record-long partial government shutdown. The Washington Post [5/12/2026 11:19 PM, Douglas MacMillan, 24826K] reports that under Venturella’s watch, ICE has held immigrants in makeshift tent encampments and revived dormant prisons, partnering with private prison contractors, local sheriffs and Republican governors to house its record number of detainees. ICE has also awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to Geo Group, the company for which Venturella previously worked for more than a decade. One of the largest contractors with ICE, Geo Group runs immigration detention centers and services for transporting detainees. It also owns the only company with an ICE contract to track immigrants through GPS ankle monitors. A federal ethics rule generally bars government employees from working on contracts awarded to their former employers for one year, but the administration granted him a waiver from this rule, Washington Post reported last year, based on interviews and documents. At the time, an ICE spokesperson said Venturella “has no role in reviewing, approving, or recommending contracts,” but declined to comment on why he was given a waiver that authorizes him to work on Geo matters. He worked as an executive at Geo from 2012 to 2023 and as a paid consultant for Geo through Jan. 31, 2025, the company said in a filing. He joined ICE as a senior adviser less than two weeks later, in early February, 2025, his ethics disclosure says.

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Reuters [5/12/2026 11:07 PM, Kanishka Singh, 38315K]
ABC News [5/12/2026 9:56 PM, Luke Barr, 34146K]
CBS News [5/12/2026 7:24 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez and Nicole Sganga, 51110K]
CNN [5/12/2026 10:29 PM, Priscilla Alvarez and Aleena Fayaz, 19874K]
FOX News [5/12/2026 8:39 PM, Alexandra Koch and Bill Melugin, 37576K]
NBC News [5/12/2026 11:22 PM, Laura Strickler and Phil Helsel, 42967K]
NewsMax [5/12/2026 10:12 PM, Staff, 3760K]

ABC News [5/12/2026 7:40 PM, Laura Romero, 34146K] reports immigrants are giving up their claims in immigration court and opting to voluntarily leave the U.S. in exponentially higher numbers under the current Trump administration’s immigration crackdown than at any time previously, according to a new report based on federal data. The report by the Vera Institute of Justice shows that the number of people in removal proceedings receiving "voluntary departure" decisions has risen dramatically -- particularly among those held in federal detention. "This is widespread across the United States," said Jacquelyn Pavilon, one of the authors of the report. "In three-quarters of U.S. states and territories, the number of voluntary departure decisions increased more than fivefold since the end of Biden’s term.” Voluntary departures in immigration court -- in which a formal request to depart the country is approved by a judge, assuming the requester is legally permitted to leave -- is different from self-deportations arranged through the Department of Homeland Security, in which migrants inform DHS they’re leaving the country in order to avoid potential detention or removal. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

FOX News [5/12/2026 9:00 PM, Nora Moriarty, 37576K] Video: HERE reports Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin blamed California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s policies for leading to the alleged infiltration of Chinese actors into California on "The Story" Tuesday. His comments come after the Justice Department accused a California mayor of acting at the direction of the Chinese Communist Party. "[Newsom] does the bidding for the extreme left, and he’s more interested in taking care of the criminals on the streets than taking care of the constituents on his actual streets," Mullin told Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum. "You expect this kind of stuff to happen. It’s shameful. It should never happen, but unfortunately, in this case, it looks like it did.” Former Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang was federally charged with acting as an illegal agent for the People’s Republic of China, according to the DOJ, and has since resigned from her post. Mullin said California’s sanctuary jurisdiction as well as Democrats’ "political theater" entices foreign adversaries to infiltrate the United States. "They feel like there is an open-door invitation in these sanctuary cities, and it’s not just China. This is North Korea, this is Russia," the DHS secretary said. "This is our adversaries all over the place that’s using the political theater that the Democrats have drawled as a point of weakness to be able to infiltrate our communities." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [5/12/2026 7:28 PM, Staff, 37576K] reports Fox News correspondent Matt Finn reports that former Arcadia, California Mayor Eileen Wang will plead guilty to illegally acting as an agent of the Chinese government on ‘Special Report.’ [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Daily Wire [5/12/2026 9:31 AM, Jennie Taer, 2314K] reports that federal investigators have made yet another discovery of a sophisticated fraud scheme involving a work authorization program for foreigners. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced Tuesday that the Operational Practical Training program, known as OPT, has “become a magnet for fraud” with foreign students claiming employment from “highly suspect employers,” Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said. He described the controversy at a press conference, noting the program allows foreign students to work in their area of study for up to one year while attending school. Federal investigators say OPT fraud has exploded nationwide, reporting shocking discoveries upon visiting the alleged worksites claiming to employ the foreign students. They found empty buildings with locked doors where hundreds of foreign students were said to be working. In some cases, multiple employers claimed the same address, but none of them actually had a lease there. Some small homes were also listed as worksites for hundreds of foreign students, but had no employees present. When someone answered the door at one of the residences, they claimed to have no knowledge of the business. Other alleged employers claimed to have offshore HR and payroll personnel. Many of the employers had tax liens, civil lawsuit collections, and breaches of contract on their records. Last week, agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a branch of ICE, visited 18 worksites in north Texas and made an “alarming” discovery of “coordinated employer clusters, where numerous employers in the same building complex are running nearly identical websites, sharing job postings and management personnel, but claiming no business relationships with each other,” John Condon, the agency’s Acting Executive Associate Director, said during Tuesday’s presser.

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Breitbart [5/12/2026 5:51 PM, Neil Munro, 2238K]

FOX News [5/12/2026 7:28 PM, Stepheny Price and Peter D’Abrosca, 37576K] reports a New York-based, Iran-born U.S. citizen pleaded guilty Tuesday to running a migrant smuggling operation that brought foreign nationals into the country, including a traveler tied to a U.S.-designated terrorist group, while also stockpiling graphic child sexual abuse material, federal authorities said. Sharon Gohari, who lived in Nassau County and frequently traveled to Iran, pleaded guilty in federal court in Brooklyn to human smuggling and receiving child sexual abuse material, capping what authorities described as a yearslong scheme that posed both national security risks and involved disturbing exploitation. Prosecutors say Gohari turned illegal entry into a business from at least late 2020 until his arrest in May 2025, charging thousands to move Iranian nationals and others into the U.S., routing them through Turkey and Mexico, even helping secure visas through the Mexican embassy in Iran, before guiding them across the southern border with an international network. At least one individual he helped enter the country had ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization. That individual was later detained by border agents and admitted to carrying out tasks for the IRGC abroad, officials said. "As this case illustrates, we cannot protect our national security without a secure border," Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said. He added that Gohari "made a business of smuggling aliens into the United States," including someone linked to the IRGC. U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said the defendant "exploited and endangered vulnerable individuals for profit, over and over again," while also "put[ting] our national security at risk" by helping people bypass the country’s vetting systems.

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DailySignal [5/12/2026 4:51 PM, Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, 474K]

CBS Baltimore [5/12/2026 5:37 PM, J.T. Moodee Lockman, 51110K] reports Kilmar Abrego Garcia was back in court in Greenbelt, Maryland, on Tuesday as the federal government continued to pursue its effort to deport him to Liberia. Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, has been in the spotlight for over a year after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, returned, and then charged with human smuggling in Tennessee. He pleaded not guilty to those charges and asked a judge to dismiss the case. He now faces a second deportation effort, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) saying that it intends to deport him to an African country, despite an agreement with Costa Rica to take some deportees. Abrego Garcia appeared for a hearing on the motion Tuesday, where U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis considered whether ICE could take him back into custody and deport him. The Washington Examiner [5/12/2026 7:42 PM, Kaelan Deese, 1147K] reports a federal judge upheld her block on the Trump administration from redetaining and deporting Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia, sharply criticizing the government’s handling of the case during a Maryland court hearing on Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, accused the administration of making "false assertions" about her prior rulings to an appeals court on Tuesday as Immigration and Customs Enforcement sought to answer questions about what happens to Abrego Garcia’s case once he is deported by the Trump administration. "You need Mr. Abrego Garcia here to try him," Xinis said, referring to his criminal human smuggling case in Tennessee. Her decision to keep him out of ICE custody marked a second blow to the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to send him to a third country and largely stemmed from confusion surrounding a plan for his removal to Liberia. Xinis ordered both sides to meet and confer on a proposed briefing schedule by Wednesday to address unresolved portions of Abrego Garcia’s petition. The renewed deportation effort took off again this spring after ICE filed a court motion seeking to deport Abrego Garcia to Liberia following his release order issued by Xinis in December. The case has become a flash point in the Trump administration’s broader effort to expand deportations to third countries, with Xinis serving as a stopgap toward a successful final deportation of Abrego Garcia and the administration contentiously asserting that she is overstepping her authority as a non-immigration judge. President Donald Trump has portrayed Abrego Garcia as an MS-13 gang member, citing his various tattoos that are common among such gang members. And during his bond hearing before an immigration judge in 2019, a field interview sheet linking him to gang activity was found to be "trustworthy," with the judge finding him eligible for deportation to any country other than El Salvador. The 30-year-old Salvadoran national had previously resided in the United States illegally for years, and claimed to fear persecution from gangs back in his home country. He was returned to the U.S. last summer after being deported to El Salvador in March 2025 over an error made during his initial removal. Meanwhile, his criminal case in Tennessee has been delayed after another Obama-appointed judge found a "likelihood" that the case against him is vindictive. In a statement Tuesday, immigrant advocacy group We Are CASA said Abrego Garcia would prefer deportation to Costa Rica, but alleged the administration has continued pursuing removal to Liberia despite concerns he could ultimately be sent back to El Salvador. "The court raised concerns about those efforts in light of the same administration’s ongoing criminal prosecution against Kilmar in the Middle District of Tennessee," the group said. "That case is actively keeping him in the United States and points to a lack of sincerity in the government’s purported goal of simply removing him as soon as possible.” [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

The New York Times [5/12/2026 5:23 PM, Patricia Mazzei and Hamed Aleaziz, 148038K] reports Florida intends to shut down a high-profile immigration detention center that it opened last summer in the Everglades, according to a federal official and three people familiar with the facility’s operations. Officials at the center, known as Alligator Alcatraz, told vendors there on Tuesday afternoon that it was closing, the people familiar with the facility’s operations said. Vendors were told that detainees would be moved from the facility by the start of June and that the center would be broken down over the following weeks, the three people said. The three people and the federal official all requested anonymity to discuss the closure, which has not yet been made public. It is unclear where the detainees would go; the federal government runs many other detention centers, including in Florida. The Everglades center, which is run by the state, held about 1,400 detainees as of last month, according to ICE data.CBS Miami [5/12/2026 5:30 PM, Jim DeFede, 51110K] reports companies hired by the state of Florida to operate the Alligator Alcatraz detention center were notified Tuesday afternoon that the facility is being shut down, with the remaining 1,400 detainees expected to be removed in the coming weeks, four sources familiar with the announcement told CBS News Miami. The closure comes amid escalating operating costs for the facility, which are now estimated to total nearly $1 billion. The decision to close the facility has been speculated about for the past week, with Gov. Ron DeSantis saying he expected it to close soon. Tuesday’s announcement to the vendors is the first formal acknowledgment that the facility was closing and would wind down relatively quickly. Officials from the Florida Department of Emergency Management (FDEM) delivered the news to the vendors at the site. Once the approximately 1,400 people currently held at the facility are removed — either transferred to other detention centers or deported — state officials told vendors the process to "demobilize" the site will begin. This will involve taking down fencing, removing trailers and other structures built at the site, which is located in the middle of the Everglades. That demobilization is expected to take another two to three weeks. After demobilization is complete, the site will reopen as a small airport used to train pilots. The decision to close Alligator Alcatraz was driven primarily by the escalating cost of operating the facility, which was once hailed by President Trump as a model for other states to emulate.

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Telemundo [5/12/2026 7:05 PM, Staff, 162K]

NPR [5/12/2026 6:30 AM, Greg Rosalsky, 28764K] reports shortly after Inauguration Day in 2025, Planet Money visited Little Village, a predominantly Mexican-American neighborhood in Chicago. It felt oddly quiet for what was usually a bustling part of the city, almost like a ghost town. The Trump administration had signaled it was about to do big ICE raids there (and eventually did). Many in the community seemed to be scared to go about business as usual. There seemed to be a clear "chilling effect" on their economic activity — like going to work, shopping, eating out, and so on. For that episode, we spoke with Chloe East, an economist at the University of Colorado Boulder, who has done extensive research on the economic effects of deportations. But back then, the only way to gauge the potential fallout from the second Trump administration’s immigration crackdown was to look at past deportation efforts. Well, we now have data from last year’s immigration crackdown. East and a co-author, Elizabeth Cox, recently released a new working paper, "Labor Market Impacts of ICE Activity in Trump 2.0," which analyzes how Trump’s beefed up immigration enforcement affected employment, both for immigrants and workers born in the United States. So, did the immigration crackdown help the job prospects of U.S.-born workers? East says no. "The mass deportations in Trump 2.0 are not helping the labor market overall and not creating more job opportunities for U.S.-born workers," East says. In fact, she and her co-author find evidence that, if anything, the clampdown has hurt the employment prospects of U.S.-born workers, particularly working-class men who work in industries that are heavily reliant on undocumented workers, like construction.

New York Times [5/12/2026 9:54 PM, James Wagner and Hogla Enecia Pérez, 148038K] reports the Dominican Republic said on Tuesday it had agreed to take third-country deportees from the United States, as the Caribbean nation sought to strengthen its ties with the Trump administration and join other Latin American countries that had struck such deals. The move was an about-face for the country’s president, Luis Abinader, who said last year that the Dominican Republic would not accept deportees from other countries — “only Dominicans, who we have the duty and the right to do so.” The new pact is part of President Trump’s efforts to find nations willing to take migrants detained in the United States. Many deportees have come from countries in Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia, where the U.S. authorities cannot easily send them back. Many migrants also cannot legally be returned to their home countries for fear of persecution or abuse. The Dominican foreign ministry announced a “nonbinding memorandum of understanding” with the United States to accept third-country deportees without criminal records. They would not include Haitians or unaccompanied minors. It said the deportees would be considered “in transit” through the country. Dominican law doesn’t specify a time limit for those in transit. It was also not immediately clear how many deportees would be sent from the United States. The Dominican government said that it would be a “limited number.” Bernardo Vega, an economist and former Dominican ambassador to United States, said in a Dominican TV interview that the deal was “bad news” and a sign that the United States was pressuring the Dominican Republic. In other countries across the region, such as El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama, the U.S. deportation of migrants from other countries has come under heavy scrutiny and legal challenges. Under Mr. Abinader, the Dominican government has been aggressively deporting Haitians, including unaccompanied children, to violence-torn Haiti, with which it shares an island. Nearly 380,000 Haitians were deported last year, according to Dominican government figures. The Dominican government said that the U.S. deportations would occur on a case-by-case basis, and have “financial and operational support from the U.S. government to ensure adequate conditions during temporary stays and facilitate orderly return to countries of origin.” The Dominican foreign ministry and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the number of deportees or the frequency of deportations. “Cooperation between the Dominican Republic and the United States is based on mutual respect, shared responsibility and transparency, with the aim of strengthening regional security, combating drug trafficking and transnational organized crime, fighting terrorism in all its forms, and contributing to the orderly and humane management of migration flows,” the ministry said in a statement. It was not clear why Mr. Abinader had reversed course. He has maintained a strong relationship with the Trump administration and was among the conservative Latin American leaders invited to an inaugural Shield of the Americas summit organized by Mr. Trump in Florida in March. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also praised the Dominican Republic last year as one of the Latin America countries that was “doing it the right way.”

Reuters [5/13/2026 5:01 AM, Alexander Chituc, 38315K] reports Amnesty International and Human Rights First on Wednesday urged Poland to stop cooperating with U.S. deportation flights transferring ‌Ukrainian nationals via its territory, saying the practice may breach international law. In a joint statement, the groups said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had carried out at least two such operations via Poland in November 2025 and March 2026, deporting more than 50 people to Ukraine. "Forcibly transferring Ukrainians into an active war zone, where missiles strike nationwide, shocks the conscience and violates international law,” said Uzra Zeya, CEO and president of Human Rights First. “Poland, which has offered generous safe ⁠haven to so many Ukrainian refugees, should refuse to facilitate the Trump administration’s forced transfers that send Ukrainians back to life-threatening circumstances,” she added. The groups said they had written to Polish authorities on April 17 raising concerns about the flights, which they said departed from Phoenix, Arizona to Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport in southeastern Poland, but had received no response and decided to publish the letter. "Poland has no agreement or arrangement with the United States regarding deportations. This is an internal matter between two countries — Ukraine and the United States," Polish Interior Ministry Spokesperson Karolina Galecka told Reuters. Poland was only a transit point, the country was not directly involved and its Border Guard only carrying out clearance procedures, she added. "Perhaps a Ukrainian citizen who is to be deported from the United States ‌to ⁠Ukraine has no right to enter Poland. And here, a simple check is being carried out within the framework of statutory authority," Galecka said. Bartosz Gorski, vice president of Rzeszow-Jasionka airport, declined to comment on the deportation flights and did not answer questions on the Polish government’s involvement. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Bloomberg [5/12/2026 6:00 AM, Mark Gongloff, 18082K] reports the government agency responsible for handling natural disasters is something of a disaster itself. The good news is that its prospects are marginally better today than they seemed just a few months ago. The bad news is that those prospects would still mean a federal response and preparedness body that struggles to respond to and prepare for catastrophes. Last week, a task force convened by President Donald Trump issued a list of recommendations for reforming the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The punch list was equal parts sweeping and performative, as exemplified by the last page of its slide deck, which managed to sum up its proposals in seven squishy verbs, such as “Cultivate” and “Amplify,” that formed the acronym “AMERICA.” The overall gist was mostly in keeping with Trump’s long-stated desire to shrink (if not obliterate) FEMA and hand over the burden of disaster response to states, towns, private companies, faith-based groups and disaster victims. FEMA, perpetually underfunded and under political duress, does need reform. But when the number of billion-dollar weather catastrophes has never been higher, the panel’s prescription is mostly the opposite of what’s needed. “Weakening FEMA does not create resilience, it creates abandonment,” Chrishelle Palay, who lived through Hurricane Harvey and the 2024 Houston Derecho, said at a press conference arranged by Organizing Resilience, a nonprofit advocacy group.

Washington Times [5/12/2026 12:11 PM, Staff, 1323K] reports just when you thought Trump derangement syndrome on the unhinged left and among Democrats more generally could not get worse, along comes more evidence that TDS is a virus every bit as malignant as COVID-19. How else can one explain a poll conducted by YouGov and released Monday that found that 24% of those surveyed — including fully one-third of Democrats — believe the April 25 gunman’s attack at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner was somehow staged or faked. Never mind that Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, arrested in connection with the incident, is charged with four felonies, including the shooting of a Secret Service agent, whose life was saved by body armor. Furthermore, to believe that the entire episode was staged by President Trump to gin up sympathy for him and/or his political agenda also requires believing that Mr. Allen was a participant (or at least a patsy) in the scheme. The latter seems highly unlikely, given that by all accounts, Mr. Allen was a brilliant mechanical engineer and computer scientist with a promising career, one he apparently has thrown away for an Andy Warhol-style "15 minutes of fame" — or, in this case, infamy.

Washington Post [5/12/2026 7:30 AM, Matthew Lynn, 24826K] reports the White House ballroom? Appointing Elon Musk to streamline the federal government? A war against Iran? When future historians try to work out what was the biggest flop of President Donald Trump’s second term, they certainly won’t be short of choices. But the winner is surely already clear: the “gold card” visa. It has turned into what the president would usually refer to as a “total loser.” And yet, it wasn’t a terrible idea. Perhaps the White House should try again? The gold card visa was announced last September to great fanfare. For a contribution of $1 million, plus processing fees, foreigners could have their application for residency in the United States fast-tracked. “They can invest in America,” Trump boasted on the official website. “And we can continue to build the greatest economy on Earth.” There was even the promise of a “platinum card,” which for $5 million would allow the international uber-wealthy to spend up to 270 days a year in the United States without becoming subject to U.S. taxes. The idea seemed to be to turn America into a glitzy mash-up of Monaco and Dubai, attracting the world’s footloose multimillionaires, entrepreneurs and Instagram influencers to Trump’s domain. It has not gone well. At the most recent count, only one person has been approved. Just to be clear, that is not a misprint. One, and even that one might be someone the president met on the golf course. In fairness, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who revealed the statistic on April 23, claimed that there are “hundreds” of applicants awaiting approval. Even that is a dismal number, unlikely to cover the costs of launching the visa project. Even worse — especially for the president — it creates the impression that no one wants to move to Trump country. Making America great again? Not exactly. Making America look slightly ridiculous? Almost certainly.

FOX News [5/12/2026 9:00 AM, Bill Wells, 37576K] reports I never thought I would sue the state I have lived in my whole life. But standing outside El Cajon City Hall, I announced that our city is taking California Attorney General Rob Bonta to court. It might be one of the most important official acts of my life. Here is the moment that brought us here. A few months ago, the federal Department of Homeland Security contacted our city with a list of names and addresses of children who may be living unsupervised in unsafe conditions alongside illegal alien adults. Knowing the prevalence of human trafficking in this region, we were gravely concerned about the wellbeing of these kids. We asked the attorney general’s office a simple question: could El Cajon police conduct welfare checks on these children who are potentially in danger? The answer from the Attorney General’s office was essentially "no"– not if our officers wanted to remain compliant with California law. The AG’s office told us that doing those welfare checks would violate Senate Bill 54, the state’s sanctuary law. Read that again. The state told a city of 110,000 people that its police officers could not check on potentially endangered children simply because doing so may expose the addresses of illegal aliens. That is the opposite of public safety – it is moral collapse.

NewsMax [5/12/2026 8:05 PM, Jim Thomas, 3760K] reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested five illegal immigrants over the weekend with prior convictions for child enticement, armed robbery, assault, and other violent offenses, the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday, as the agency used Police Week to spotlight its targeting of criminal aliens. Acting Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Lauren Bis announced the arrests in a statement released by DHS, framing them as part of the broader enforcement push under President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who was sworn in on March 24 after succeeding Kristi Noem. "Yesterday, the men and women of ICE arrested multiple criminal aliens convicted of enticing children for indecent purposes, assault and battery, and armed robbery," Bis said. The department said the announcement was meant to highlight what Bis called some of the worst criminal illegal aliens taken into ICE custody during the annual law enforcement observance. Among those taken into custody was Roberto Valdes-Catalan, a Cuban national previously convicted of felony enticement of a minor for indecent purposes in Davidson County, Tennessee, and domestic violence in Austin, Texas. Jorge Luis Fuentes, also of Cuba, had been convicted of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in Boston. Carvette Anthony Gentles, a Jamaican national, was previously convicted of assault in the Bronx, the department said. Carlos Jared Gonzalez-Trejo of Mexico had been convicted of armed robbery and attempted destruction of a public jail in Navajo County, Arizona. Juan Gonzales-Cruz, also of Mexico, was previously convicted of intoxication assault of a peace officer in Fort Bend County, Texas. DHS did not disclose where each man was apprehended or their current detention status. The release also did not specify whether any of them face new criminal charges or are being processed for removal. The announcement is part of a recurring DHS communications strategy that names individual arrestees and their prior convictions to publicize the agency’s enforcement priorities. Similar releases were issued in January and over the Easter weekend, each highlighting what officials described as the "worst of the worst" criminal illegal aliens taken into custody. DHS directs the public to a dedicated webpage, DHS.gov/wow, that catalogs additional cases. Bis, a former communications director at the Public Interest Legal Foundation, was elevated to acting assistant secretary in February after the departure of Tricia McLaughlin, the previous DHS spokeswoman.

Breitbart [5/12/2026 3:16 PM, John Binder, 2238K] reports the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested several illegal aliens this week, including those convicted of child sex crimes, armed robbery, and assault. "Yesterday, the men and women of ICE arrested multiple criminal aliens convicted of enticing children for indecent purposes, assault and battery, and armed robbery," the Department of Homeland Security’s Lauren Bis said. "This Police Week, we are highlighting some of the worst of the worst ICE law enforcement arrested," Bis said. "Every single day, our ICE law enforcement officers put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists. When you see a law enforcement officer, say thank you for their service."

The Hill [5/12/2026 5:00 AM, Rebecca Beitsch, 18170K] reports a bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to undergo training to recognize tribal IDs following reports of Native Americans being wrongly detained by immigration enforcement. New legislation from Reps. Sharice Davids (D-Kansas), Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.) and Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to train immigration agents to recognize tribal IDs and enrollment documents as valid proof of citizenship. “When they show a tribal ID or a valid tribal identification document, they’re providing proof that they’re U.S. citizens and U.S. citizens to be able to provide the proof of their citizenship and not be detained or harassed by federal agents. And this is a straightforward training fix,” Davids, a co-chair of the Congressional Native American Caucus, told The Hill. “When mistakes happen, or when tribal IDs are being ignored, it really erodes trust,” she added. Numerous Native Americans have reported being approached by ICE officers, only to have their ID rejected. Several Democratic senators last year said they were aware of a string of “alarming reports of ICE improperly stopping or detaining Tribal citizens for no apparent reason aside from their physical appearance.”

Los Angeles Times [5/12/2026 6:29 PM, Andrea Castillo, 12718K] reports a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy requires members of Congress to seek advanced approval in order to speak with detainees during oversight inspections at detention facilities. It’s the latest twist in a months-long effort by ICE to restrict such visits by lawmakers, which have skyrocketed amid the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign. In it, Lyons calls the visits disruptive and resource-intensive because they pull staff away from law enforcement duties. Lawmakers sometimes request to speak with a particular kind of detainee — for example, people held longer than 90 days — and Lyons said meeting such requests takes up too much time. Moving forward, members must identify detainees by name at least two business days in advance of a visit and provide a signed consent form from each detainee. Levin said the new policy effectively defeats the purpose of unannounced oversight visits.

Washington Times [5/12/2026 3:39 PM, Stephen Dinan, 1323K] reports more than 5,000 churches have publicly declared themselves to be sanctuaries, immune from the most aggressive of ICE’s immigration enforcement. The churches are part of a lawsuit that challenged the Trump administration’s rollback of Biden-era protections that had put houses of worship and other "sensitive locations" largely off-limits for ICE to make arrests. Some religious organizations went to court and won a ruling keeping the Biden restrictions in place for them — and they have now submitted a list of the specific churches that are covered by the decision. Under the judge’s order, Homeland Security agents and officers cannot make a warrantless arrest at the churches unless there is an immediate threat to safety or they have prior approval from their agency’s headquarters. And they cannot conduct enforcement within 100 feet of the churches unless there’s a threat to safety or they have prior approval from agency headquarters in Washington. The ruling applies to both U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, DHS’ two main enforcement agencies. The list spans 5,320 different churches. Some are storefront operations, and some don’t have their own buildings but rent space from other churches. Several churches also claimed associated daycares and preschools.

CNN [5/12/2026 1:45 PM, Michael Williams and Priscilla Alvarez, 19874K] reports that President Donald Trump has made clear on social media and in interviews that he thinks Immigration and Customs Enforcement needs a rebrand — more specifically, a new name: National Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or NICE. Whether that change will move forward, in the form of an executive order, or whether it will just be a meme, has been the topic of internal debate at the White House and the Department of Homeland Security. The idea to change the name of ICE — which would require an act of Congress, not simply an executive order — appears to have originated on social media. In late April, the president shared to his Truth Social account a screenshot of a suggestion made on X that the name be changed "so the media has to say NICE agents all day.” "GREAT IDEA!!! DO IT," the president wrote on Truth Social. Since then, both the White House and the Department of Homeland Security, the Cabinet agency that oversees ICE, have shared memes to their social media accounts endorsing the name change. Trump said he’s felt pushback from rank-and-file officers, along with the White House’s border czar, Tom Homan, who were not as enthusiastic. "But I’m not sure that the guys liked it, because… I think they like their image of being strong, and they’ve done a great job," he said during a Tuesday interview on WABC’s "Sid and Friends in the Morning." A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that "the NICE men and women of ICE continue to risk their lives to arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens from American communities."

New York Post [5/12/2026 6:19 PM, Brandon Cruz and Anna Young, 40934K] reports an illegal Guatemalan migrant allegedly behind a twisted year-long arson spree on Long Island walked free under the state’s bail reform laws – but was quickly handed over to ICE in a coordinated effort to keep him behind bars, according to police and officials. Elder Lopez Avalos, 27, was scooped up by federal immigration agents Tuesday after a judge was forced to cut him loose on non-bail-eligible offenses following his arrest over sparking a string of destructive car fires in Freeport, including a late-night blaze at a municipal parking lot on Sunday. ICE issued a detainer after his Sunday arrest, and under an agreement with the agency, authorities picked up the accused firebug Tuesday morning and turned him over to the feds. The alleged arsonist, found near the scene, was later tied to earlier car fires on May 2, June 18, 2025, and June 29, 2025. Avalos is also accused of setting brush and dumpster fires along Nassau’s south shore, according to authorities. The suspected fire starter was hit with 11 counts of arson, one count of reckless endangerment, and one count of criminal mischief. But because arson is a non-bail-eligible offense under the state’s bail reform laws, a judge had no choice but to release him back into the community following his arraignment. Authorities said Avalos had no ID and no fingerprints on file after being arrested – and allegedly admitted to entering the US illegally through the Texas border from Guatemala. He was then driven to Westchester County before settling in Freeport with his brother. Police took Avalos back into custody Tuesday morning and handed him over to ICE, where officials said he will be held in a federal holding cell – skirting bail reform rules – pending trial. Donnelly insisted ICE will honor the county’s request not to deport him before trial and would only remove him if he is convicted and serves his sentence.

New York Post [5/12/2026 3:28 PM, Marissa Matozzo, 40934K] reports a cash-sniffing canine just busted a traveler trying to take a small fortune south of the border — and now federal officials are barking a warning to summer flyers: Don’t try to sneak stacks past airport security. Nitro, a 3-year-old chocolate Lab working with Customs and Border Protection at Philadelphia International Airport, sniffed out a whopping $44,690 in undeclared cash from a passenger headed to Cancun, Mexico, according to officials. The 54-year-old traveler — a naturalized US citizen from Peru — allegedly tried to fly under the radar with bundles of cash tucked away on his person and inside his carry-on bag. CBP officers said the man initially claimed he was carrying just $10,000 — the magic number travelers can legally transport internationally without extra paperwork. But a deeper inspection revealed tens of thousands more hidden in multiple spots. Federal officers seized nearly all of the cash, leaving the traveler with just $240 "for humanitarian purposes," officials noted. Now, with summer travel season about to take off, authorities are reminding jet-setters that while carrying large amounts of cash isn’t illegal, failing to report it absolutely is.

Reuters [5/12/2026 5:35 PM, Daphne Psaledakis and Ted Hesson, 38315K] reports Florida intends to shut down the controversial federal migrant detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz", the New ​York Times reported on Tuesday, citing a federal official and three people familiar with the facility’s operations. According to the report, vendors were told by officials on Tuesday afternoon that the facility was closing and that detainees would ​be moved by the start of June. The facility, which cost ​about $250 million to build, would be broken down over the ⁠following weeks, according to the sources cited in the report. A ​spokesperson for DHS, asked about the New York Times report, said the agency continues to evaluate detention needs and requirements to ensure they meet the latest operational requirements.

USA Today [5/12/2026 2:05 PM, Sarah Perkel, 70643K] reports that Florida immigrant advocates expressed skepticism after the chair of the Miami FIFA World Cup Host Committee said the secretary of state told him there’d be no ICE agents operating at World Cup venues. "A lot of people are talking (and saying), ‘Well, ICE will be at the stadium,’" Rodney Barreto, chair of the Miami FIFA World Cup Host Committee, told The Athletic. "I talked to Marco Rubio. ICE is not going to be at the stadium. This is not going to turn into some ‘round them up’ type of thing. That’s not the purpose of this." In a release distributed on May 8, several immigration advocates said the pledge wasn’t sufficient. "A personal assurance is not policy, and it is not protection," said Yareliz Zamora, Florida coordinator for American Friends Service Committee. If the administration wants to "ensure that everyone who wants to attend World Cup events safely can do so" without fearing "being kidnapped," Zamora said it has to announce an official moratorium on immigration enforcement at the tournament. Thomas Kennedy, a policy analyst with the Florida Immigrant Coalition, said that, in Florida, "this is not simply an ICE issue." "Local police departments have been transformed into immigration agents through 287(g) agreements and other enforcement partnerships," Kennedy said in the same release. "For many Floridians across the spectrum, there is no meaningful distinction between ICE and local police anymore.” Miami will host seven World Cup games in 2026, including the Bronze Final.

AP [5/12/2026 9:08 AM, Jade Le Deley, 35287K] reports at night, silence fell over the Louisiana immigration detention facility where 85-year-old Marie-Thérèse Ross was held. Then the wailing began. ‘‘Children crying, and even babies," said Ross, the French widow of a U.S. military veteran, whose arrest last month as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown made international headlines. Ross spoke to The Associated Press on Monday about her 16 days in federal immigration custody after being arrested on April 1 in Alabama following an alleged visa overstay, and the late-in-life love story that brought her to the United States. She has been released and returned to France. The experience in detention, she said, changed her and her view of politics. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Ross had overstayed her 90-day visa at the time of her arrest. The AP on Tuesday sought comment from DHS, which previously didn’t respond to requests. Ross described strict rules and constant shouting from guards and condescending treatment at the detention facility in Louisiana. "The prison was clean, the food was okay, but it was the way they spoke to us," she told the AP. "The guards could not speak without yelling.” She described the place as noisy. ‘‘Everybody was talking loudly so everybody could hear what they were saying, but when silence came, you could hear children crying and even babies crying,″ she said. ‘‘There’s babies in this jail.″ [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Times [5/12/2026 4:10 PM, Jack Healy, 148038K] reports growing up, Kevin Gonzalez, 18, dreamed of going to college and becoming a lawyer. But as he lay in a hospital bed in Chicago this winter, his gaunt frame ravaged by colon cancer, those aspirations narrowed to one final wish: seeing his parents before he died. Fulfilling that dream meant a desperate fight against time in his final weeks of life as his father, Isidoro Gonzales Avilés, and his mother, Norma Anabel Ramirez Amaya, sat in President Trump’s immigration-detention system. Kevin Gonzalez, an American citizen, was being treated at the University of Chicago Medical Center, but his parents, Mexican citizens on the other side of the southwestern border, had already been deported multiple times after illegal crossings. That made it nearly impossible for them to get legal permission to return to the United States. So last month, relatives said, the parents decided to cross once again illegally, this time to see their dying son, only to be apprehended on April 14 near the Arizona border. As they sat in a detention center and Mr. Gonzalez’s health faded, his family grew desperate. They pleaded his case to the Mexican consulate, to elected officials, to the news media, to anyone who would listen. Department of Homeland Security officials asserted that Mr. Gonzalez’s father had a criminal history beyond immigration violations. According to the agency, Mr. Gonzalez’s father first entered the United States in 2000 and was charged with crimes that included sexual abuse, battery and theft. He was deported in 2011. The Department of Homeland Security also said the parents had not requested humanitarian parole into the United States as they sought to get to their son in Chicago. They had applied for visitor visas, which were denied because of their earlier illegal entries.

FOX News [5/12/2026 6:07 PM, Brittany Miller, Brooke Taylor, 37576K] reports United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested a Vietnamese national convicted of attempted murder of a police officer who remained free in the country for over 15 years because his home country refused to take him back. The case underscores a broader shift in U.S. deportation policy targeting previously protected foreign nationals with criminal convictions. Dinh Quy Nguyen, who was convicted of attempted capital murder of a police officer and burglary on June 28, 1989, was taken into custody in Houston, Texas, on May 5, 2026. Despite being ordered deported in 1997, Nguyen was released in 2011 after Vietnam refused to take him back. For over a decade, Nguyen was considered "untouchable" by immigration officials. Under a previous agreement, the U.S. could not repatriate Vietnamese citizens who arrived in the country before July 12, 1995. Because Nguyen arrived on Dec. 15, 1977, he was effectively shielded from deportation despite a violent criminal record. The arrest marks a significant shift in enforcement under President Donald Trump and Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, according to DHS officials, who say recent policy changes are aimed at removing longstanding barriers that allowed certain convicted criminals to remain in the United States. Nguyen is currently being held at the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas, pending his removal to Vietnam.

FOX News [5/12/2026 4:29 PM, Michael Ruiz, 37576K] reports U.S. Marshals and Texas police have arrested an illegal immigrant and suspected serial killer in connection with a pair of strangling murders from 2024 and 2018 — and two more recent shootings in which female victims survived. Luis Fernando Benitez-Gonzalez, 26, is accused of killing 34-year-old Alyssa Ann Rivera, in Austin, and 28-year-old Alba Jenisse Aviles-Marti in Bastrop County. He was arrested on April 27 in the Dallas area by the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, Anderson said. The detective alleged that the evidence and Benitez-Gonzalez’s own statements show "a repeated pattern of violence conducted against vulnerable female victims." He said Benitez-Gonzalez may have interacted with more potential victims in Austin, Dallas, Houston and Hidalgo County. During the briefing, Deputy U.S. Marshal Brandon Filla revealed that Benitez-Gonzalez is a Mexican national who had previously been voluntarily deported in 2020. Benitez-Gonzalez is being held without bail at the Travis County Jail on charges including first-degree murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has also filed a detainer request.

Univision [5/12/2026 3:39 PM, Staff, 4937K] reports a Colombian family is experiencing moments of anguish and uncertainty after their sister and daughter, Jennifer Santos, suffered inhumane treatment at the hands of ICE agents, who moved her from one detention center to another on a 30-hour journey while she was fully handcuffed by her neck, hands, and feet, and also postponed her deportation. The treatment Jennifer received from the U.S. government has been described as inhumane and unjust, after she traveled 30 hours by land from Texas to Louisiana to be deported to Honduras, but was then returned to Texas again after being denied permission to leave for the Central American country. The family claims to have requested support from the Colombian Consulate in Texas, but received no response.

Houston Chronicle [5/12/2026 7:00 AM, Peter Warren, Sam González Kelly, Matt deGrood, and Ralph Green, 2493K] reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement won’t be present at 2026 FIFA World Cup matches in Houston, according to Tommy Calabro, chief safety and security officer for Houston’s World Cup host committee. Agencies involved in security talks agreed that they wanted all visitors to the games to feel welcome, Calabro said at a Monday media briefing. That includes everyone from local partners all the way up to representatives of the Trump administration. Calabro was one of numerous stakeholders and host committee officials who met with journalists Monday to review and explain how the city has prepared for the upcoming World Cup, which will take place in June and July. Houston will host seven matches at NRG Stadium starting June 14, and the local host committee will put on a FIFA Fan Fest in EaDo for the duration for the tournament. The first World Cup match will kick off June 11 in Mexico City. Around a dozen people from the Houston host committee and other agencies spoke Monday about various preparation details, from transportation and security to the cabanas at the FIFA Fan Fest. “We’re ready to go,” said host committee President Chris Canetti.

Houston Chronicle [5/12/2026 7:00 AM, Samantha Ketterer, 2493K] reports University of Houston students are demanding answers about how the school would respond to federal immigration authorities as enforcement expands nationwide. Soon after Donald Trump’s second inauguration in 2025, UH published a Q&A online, giving guidance about potential interactions with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Schools and churches were no longer considered "sensitive areas" and largely protected from immigration enforcement. That guidance has since disappeared, and UH does not appear to have posted anything in its place. Some student advocates worry that a lack of guidance might make UH more accessible to ICE, either through the university or through students unaware of potential protections in places like dorms or classrooms. They renewed pressure on the university this spring after the campus newspaper The Daily Cougar reported that UH confirmed it would "comply with the law on all matters related to ICE." "If ... they just see someone in law enforcement and assume that they’re doing the right thing and let them in, then it doesn’t matter if that was a private space ultimately, because then they gained access," said Nora Pierce, co-chair of the immigrant justice campaign for UH’s chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America. "We’re trying to get information to inform students, and UH is just dragging its feet and making sure that we basically can’t. University representatives did not respond to the Houston Chronicle’s questions on what it means to comply with ICE, including what areas of campus remain restricted for immigration authorities without warrants. UH officials instead issued a statement saying that their policies haven’t changed.

AP [5/12/2026 7:13 PM, Jacques Billeaud, 35287K] reports a federal judge ruled Tuesday that immigration officers in Colorado have violated his order limiting when they can arrest people without a warrant. U.S. District Senior Judge R. Brooke Jackson said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have violated his November order that barred them from arresting anyone without a warrant unless they had probable cause to believe a person is in the country illegally and likely to escape before officers can get a warrant. Since then, Jackson said ICE agents have violated the order by continuing to make warrantless arrests “without individualized, pre-arrest probable cause determinations of flight risk.” The judge also ordered immigration agents who are authorized to make warrantless arrests to undergo training on the court’s orders and for the government to turn over records of such warrantless arrests. The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado over so-called collateral arrests of people accidentally caught up in immigration enforcement actions. The ACLU accuses U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of indiscriminately arresting Latinos to meet enforcement goals amid President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts and ignoring legal restrictions on who should be detained. In his latest ruling, Jackson concluded ICE had failed to adequately train its deportation officers on the requirements of his November court order and is now requiring such instruction within 45 days. He also found ICE had “uniformly failed” to follow documentation requirements for warrantless arrests under his court order. ICE, which has appealed Jackson’s November decision, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday’s ruling. “This is a profoundly important decision for the rule of law and the people of Colorado,” Tim Macdonald, legal director for the ACLU of Colorado, said in a statement. “The court made clear that ICE is not above the law and cannot continue to violate the law.”

Univision [5/12/2026 12:39 PM, Staff, 4937K] reports that a group of Democratic representatives expressed "grave concerns" regarding deportation flights conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), while simultaneously demanding transparency and oversight from President Donald Trump’s administration to ensure that the due process rights of immigrants being expelled from the country are respected. In a letter addressed to Bryan Bedford, Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a group of 40 Democratic representatives raised questions about the deportation flights carried out by the Air Operations division—led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—and demanded that the agency address allegations of mistreatment and inhumane conditions aboard the charter aircraft utilized by ICE, the federal agency commanding Trump’s national deportation force. In 2025, during the first year of the administration, ICE deported between 600,000 and 700,000 undocumented foreign nationals—a figure falling short of the one million promised by Trump during his 2024 campaign. However, in January, Tom Homan—the President’s "border czar"—assured N+ Univision that in 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—under whose authority ICE operates—would deport one million criminal foreign nationals.

FOX News [5/12/2026 5:07 PM, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, 37576K] reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer asking Montana officials to not release an illegal alien from jail who is charged with raping his dead girlfriend’s daughter. Wualter Jesus Travieso Soto, 29, who authorities say entered the United States illegally in 2023 and was later released, is being held in Flathead County on felony charges of sexual intercourse without consent involving a child under 16, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office started to look into Soto in May 2025 after his former girlfriend’s sister told authorities that he took custody of her sister’s children after she died in a car accident in 2024. After the children’s aunt secured guardianship, the girl told investigators Soto had raped her multiple times and, in one alleged incident, choked her, according to DHS. Soto was arrested Feb. 1 and remains jailed on $200,000 bail, authorities said. Records reviewed by Fox News Digital also showed he sought legal guardianship of at least one of the children in court following his girlfriend’s death in the car accident in 2024. He pleaded not guilty before Judge Danni Coffman at his April 9 arraignment. Soto remains in the county jail, held on an immigration detainer and $200,000 bail. His next court date is Aug. 3.

New York Post [5/12/2026 9:51 PM, Daniel Farr, 40934K] reports a previously deported illegal migrant who federal officials say was kicked out of the US four separate times admitted to a California hit-and-run that killed an 11-year-old boy, reigniting outrage over the state’s sanctuary laws and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s immigration policies. Hector Amador Balderas, 44, pleaded guilty Friday to felony hit-and-run leading to the death of 11-year-old Aiden Antonio Torres De Paz. The crash happened in Escondido outside San Diego, on Nov. 26, 2025, the day before Thanksgiving. "Hector Balderas-Aheelor was previously removed FOUR times before he chose to commit a felony and illegally re-enter the country a fifth time," former DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. "Gavin Newsom, we are calling on YOU to do the right thing and honor ICE’s arrest detainer.” Federal officials said Balderas had previously been deported on March 19, 2004; June 10, 2004; June 15, 2004; and March 4, 2010, before allegedly re-entering the US again illegally. Investigators said Aiden ran into the street to retrieve a soccer ball near East Washington Avenue and Hickory Street around 5 p.m. when Balderas struck the child with his vehicle and fled the scene instead of stopping to render aid. The young boy was rushed to Rady Children’s Hospital, where he died Thanksgiving morning. Authorities said Balderas surrendered to police days later. Court records show he is expected to receive between two and three years in state prison at sentencing early next month. He remains jailed without bail. The case erupted into a political flashpoint after the Department of Homeland Security revealed that after Balderas’ arrest, Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued an immigration detainer requesting notification before any potential release from custody. But the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office rejected the request under California sanctuary-state restrictions. "On November 29, 2025, a Department of Homeland Security – Immigration Detainer – Notice of Action (DHS Form I-247-A) was received for Hector Balderas-Aheelor (aka: Hector Amador Balderas)," Sheriff’s Lt. David Collins said. "In accordance with California Government Code 7282.5, a review of the criminal history was conducted, and the Immigration Detainer was rejected.” Collins said the denial stemmed from the California Values Act, the sanctuary law signed by former Gov. Jerry Brown during President Trump’s first term.

San Diego Union Tribune [5/12/2026 11:38 AM, Alexandra Mendoza, 1257K] reports that U.S. Representatives Mike Levin and Sara Jacobs conducted an unannounced oversight visit to the Otay Mesa Detention Center on Monday—days after a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., reaffirmed their authority—for the time being—to do so. However, when the lawmakers requested to speak with some of the detainees, they were informed of a new policy. Previous rules required 48 hours’ advance notice to meet with unspecified detainees; this timeframe was deemed "necessary for the facility to post sign-up sheets, identify detainees wishing to participate (if any), and process required privacy waivers." But under the new policy from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), members of Congress must identify detainees by name and obtain their written consent at least two business days prior to a visit in order to meet with them—as outlined in a memo issued Monday by Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons. "That is going to make it harder for us to conduct our oversight work in a clear, transparent, and effective manner," Levin told reporters outside the facility. "This is an extremely troubling and disappointing memo." Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security immediately responded Monday to a request for comment.

Washington Times [5/12/2026 12:42 PM, Stephen Dinan, 1323K] reports the Labor Department on Tuesday suspended AI firm Cloudera Inc. from its program for workers to gain permanent resident status, citing allegations that it treated foreign workers better than U.S. citizens. Cloudera is banned from being able to sponsor its workers for permanent resident status for the next 180 days, and the department said that timeline could be extended if facts warrant it. The move comes two weeks after the Justice Department filed a lawsuit alleging that Cloudera had a special recruitment and hiring program that favored guest workers over U.S. workers. That included an email address for American workers’ applications that didn’t work, then telling the government no Americans had applied. The PERM program, or Permanent Labor Certification, allows companies to sponsor foreign workers only after they have tried and failed to find American workers. "Protecting the integrity of our immigration and labor systems requires employers to follow the law and provide American workers a fair opportunity to compete for jobs," said acting Labor Secretary Keith E. Sonderling. The suspension came on the same day that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that one of the country’s student visa programs is riddled with fraud, allowing both the students and companies to skirt U.S. law. Known as Optional Practical Training, the program was intended to give foreign students who have completed their degrees a chance to remain in the U.S. for two extra years while they do internships or entry-level jobs in their fields of study. But acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said it’s become a workaround to the regular immigration system, with businesses claiming to host hundreds of students — yet when authorities visit, none of them are actually on the job.

Telemundo [5/12/2026 6:19 PM, Daniel Andrade, 56K] reports that in an instant, a woman’s life and her entire family changed to a “blind mule.” Unknowingly, he was carrying a person hiding in his vehicle when he was preparing to cross into the United States by the gate of San Ysidro. As any day, Samantha was on her way to the United States on April 24, but a person entered her trunk and remained there looking for her to be illegally interned with the American Union. “And that’s when he says, you know why you’re here, I said no and he says you bring a person in your trunk. I did not believe what I heard, because within seven hours I was thinking that I had done the only thing that happened to me was that they were drugs, the most likely thing they hit you under the car,” Samantha told Telemundo 20. The consequence was the revocation of his visa and his sentri card, a situation that also affected his children and his family. “And then he says, then they also revoked it (his sister), because the same email came to him and immediately my mother’s mail came to me, which was also revoked her sentri,” he added. Together with their lawyer, they have decided to make it public to raise awareness about the problem that is experienced at the border, which according to the specialist, is increasing. “Preemptively so that we check the trunks and our cars, most people cross to the United States, being on the border I would dare to say that 50% or 60% cross in the United States, these people are always waiting for the opportunity, it is very important that before crossing, even if you lose a few minutes, and even if they are beeping you, because here life is very accelerated, you go down and check your trunk, your car,” said Josefina.

Reuters [5/13/2026 2:00 AM, Rishika Sadam, 38315K] reports the United States has said it was imposing visa restrictions on 13 people linked to Indian online pharmacy KS International Traders for selling counterfeit prescription pills laced with fentanyl. The 13 people ‌are close associates of KS International Traders, which operates out of India, and its owner, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday. The Mumbai-based company’s web site, as listed in U.S. government records, could not be accessed. No names or contacts of its senior executives were ⁠available. India’s foreign and health ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. KS International Traders generated revenue through trafficking in fentanyl, which President Donald Trump has designated as a "weapon of mass destruction", the State Department said. Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid used for pain relief, but it is tightly restricted in the United States because of its high potency and its role in a surge in overdose deaths linked to illicit use. "Illicit fentanyl ‌is ⁠killing too many Americans. Those complicit in poisoning Americans will be denied entry to the United States," State Department spokesperson Thomas Pigott said in a statement. This is not the first time that the U.S. government has pulled up KS International ⁠Traders. The online pharmacy, along with two Indian nationals, was sanctioned last year for supplying counterfeit fentanyl-laced pills. The company sold hundreds of thousands of counterfeit prescription pills ⁠containing illicit fentanyl to people in the United States, harming families and communities nationwide, the State Department said on Tuesday. The United States last year ⁠announced a new visa restriction policy aimed at stopping the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into the country.

NewsMax [5/12/2026 1:56 PM, Staff, 3760K] reports that heavy-truck maker Oshkosh Corp and toy maker Basic Fun on Tuesday said they received partial payments of the refunds they had sought of the import tariffs they had paid under the Trump administration that were invalidated earlier this year by the Supreme Court. The payments mark a milestone in a ⁠fraught battle over the taxes. The U.S. government has been ordered to refund up to $166 billion to importers after ⁠the tariffs were deemed illegal, and doubts have lingered about whether a last-minute move by the Trump administration could still stall ‌or slow the process. "The issue is will the funds flow ‌like a river or fire hose or like a stream or garden ‌hose," Jay Foreman, CEO of Basic Fun, which sells Tonka trucks, Care Bears and K’Nex construction toys, said in ⁠an email. "So far, the ‌funds are trickling ⁠out but they have started." Foreman said he received $400,000 out of his $7.4 ⁠million in claims. ⁠Oshkosh hasn’t disclosed the amount it is seeking, but the company acknowledges ‌it started receiving a portion. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said as of early April, some 56,497 importers had ‌completed the necessary steps to receive ‌electronic refunds, an amount totaling $127 billion, or more than three-quarters of the total eligible to be refunded. More than 330,000 importers paid the tariffs on 53 million shipments.

Reuters [5/12/2026 12:15 PM, Staff, 38315K] reports the U.S. customs agency has processed refunds including interest worth $35.46 billion as of May 11 for tariffs imposed ​by President Donald Trump last year that were deemed ‌illegal, according to a Tuesday court filing. As of 7 a.m. ET on May 11, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection had received 126,237 applications ​for refunds covering an undisclosed number of shipments or ​entries, according to the court filing. The agency said it ⁠had validated 86,874 of those applications covering 15.1 million entries ​which were eligible for refunds. Of that total, 8.3 million ​shipments have been finalized and the expected refund with interest had been calculated, totaling $35.46 billion, according to a declaration from Brandon Lord, a CBP official, ​that was filed with the U.S. Court of International Trade ​in New York. The tariff refund report comes as major importers from carmakers ‌to ⁠sportswear company Under Armour (UAA.N), opens new tab have said they expect a profit boost from tariff reimbursements.

Reuters [5/12/2026 4:25 PM, Timothy Aeppel, 38315K] reports heavy-truck maker Oshkosh Corp and toy maker Basic Fun on Tuesday both said they had ​received partial payments of the refunds they had sought of the import tariffs they had paid ‌under the Trump administration that were invalidated earlier this year by the U.S. Supreme Court. The payments mark a milestone in a fraught battle over the taxes. The U.S. government has been ordered to refund up to $166 billion to importers after the tariffs ​were deemed illegal, and doubts have lingered about whether a last-minute move by the Trump administration ​could still stall or slow the process. "The issue is will the funds flow like ⁠a river or fire hose or like a stream or garden hose," Jay Foreman, CEO of Basic ​Fun, which sells Tonka trucks, Care Bears and K’Nex construction toys, said in an email. "So far, the funds ​are trickling out but they have started." Foreman said he received $400,000 out of his $7.4 million in claims. Oshkosh hasn’t disclosed the amount it is seeking, but the company acknowledges it started receiving a portion. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a Tuesday ​court filing that it anticipates paying refunds of $35.46 billion on 8.3 million shipments that have been processed as ​of 7 a.m. Eastern time on May 11. That is just a small slice of the money expected to be returned. As ‌of ⁠early April, the CBP said importers had completed the necessary steps to get refunds totaling $127 billion, or more than three-quarters of the total eligible to be refunded. More than 330,000 importers paid the tariffs on 53 million shipments.

NewsMax [5/12/2026 4:35 PM, Jim Thomas, 3760K] reports former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the Biden administration should have moved sooner to tighten the southern border, conceding ground on a critique that fueled Republican attacks on the department he ran for four years. Mayorkas made the comments Tuesday at the Politico Security Summit, one of his few public appearances since leaving office in January 2025. Mayorkas blamed what he called a "broken immigration system" with a "low bar" for admission based on a "credible fear of persecution.” Asked whether earlier action might have blunted President Donald Trump’s path back to the White House, he declined to speculate, saying he "would be far more better rested and less punched.” The remarks revisit a fight that defined his tenure. President Joe Biden waited until June 4, 2024, to invoke Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and suspend most asylum processing at the southern border once daily encounters topped a seven-day average of 2,500. The accompanying interim final rule from DHS and the Justice Department took effect June 5, raising the screening threshold and ending the practice of asking migrants whether they feared return. "I was very pleased that in June of 2024, we took executive action that, I thought, made reforms that were sensible and that proved successful," Mayorkas said.

Detroit Free Press [5/12/2026 11:12 AM, Jalen Williams, 4749K] reports the U.S. Border Patrol’s Detroit Sector has among the highest drug seizure rate along the northern border since 2019, the federal agency announced on Tuesday, May 5. The eight sectors — Spokane, Blaine, Havre, Grand Forks, Detroit, Buffalo, Houlton, and Swanton — cover a combined 4,000 miles of border with Canada across 13 states. "No matter the challenge, Detroit Sector agents continue to collaborate with our local, state, and federal partners to safeguard our communities and uphold the security of the United States. Their dedication and vigilance are unwavering, and I am proud of the professionalism and resolve they demonstrate in protecting our nation’s northern frontier. This commitment is shared across all northern border sectors, where teams work tirelessly every day to keep America safe," Detroit Sector acting Chief Patrol Agent Javier Geronimo Jr. said. Over seven years, Detroit Sector, headquartered at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, recorded 681 narcotics seizures, the most on the northern border from 2019 through March 31, 2026. "Our region provides a challenging environment as narrow waterways and the expansive Great Lakes make our area attractive to smuggling," Geronimo said. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, Detroit Sector agents averaged 150 narcotics seizures per year over the last two full fiscal years. Statistics include arrests and seizures that Border Patrol made in partnership with state, federal, and local taskforces. U.S. Border Patrol’s Detroit Sector covers approximately 863 maritime miles of the border and includes stations in Detroit, Gibraltar, Marysville, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and Port Clinton, Ohio. Local and federal agencies seized multiple drug types including marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, heroin and ecstasy, among others.

Washington Examiner [5/12/2026 10:34 AM, Anna Giaritelli, 1147K] reports Federal customs officers who inspect imported packages arriving at Chicago-area international airports seized more than 100 shipments of Glock switches and suppressors from Chinese senders that were bound for recipients across the United States last month. In April, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Anti-Terrorism Contraband Enforcement Team in Chicago seized 269 various parts that modify weapons to make them fully automatic or suppress the sound of a gunshot. "These illicit attempted importation of weapon modification devices pose a danger to our communities. CBP’s dedication and attention to detail when scrutinizing cargo protects our nation," Michael Pfeiffer, acting director of field operations for CBP’s Chicago field office, said in a statement. "Our frontline CBP officers continue to exercise vigilance in all mail environments; and their inspectional experience coupled with an exercise of keen observational techniques resulted in these seizures.” Across a total of 107 shipments, federal law enforcement officers found 255 pistol automatic fire conversion switches, as well as 14 suppressors, also called silencers. CBP did not provide the number of seizures in fiscal 2025 but said 1,507 pieces of gun-altering devices were seized in 2024, making April’s seizures much higher than normal.

Univision [5/12/2026 6:57 PM, Staff, 4937K] reports Denis Isaiah Anariba Herrera dreamed of hugging his wife and his one-year-old daughter in Houston. But the young Honduran, who in two weeks would turn 25, died along with six other migrants inside a train car in Texas, in a case that authorities investigate as possible human trafficking. The tragedy occurred on Sunday, May 10, 2026 in the Laredo area, where authorities located several bodies inside a railway container of the Union Pacific company. According to preliminary information from the Webb County medical examiner, the victims were reportedly killed by heat stroke after remaining locked up under extreme temperatures. Among the dead was Denis, originally from Honduras and deported from the United States on December 24, after having lived five years in the Houston area. Her mother, Denia Herrera, told N+ Univision that the young man was trying to return to reunite with his family, although no one knew he would board a train during his journey. "His longing was to come back here for his daughter because she has a one-year-old girl," she said. According to his family, Denis spent about two months in Mexico before arriving in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, a point from where he allegedly boarded the train to North Texas. The last time they spoke was last Monday. His mother still remembers the words he said to him before saying goodbye... forever.

Univision [5/12/2026 12:12 PM, Staff, 4937K] reports forensic authorities in Webb County confirmed the nationality of the immigrants found dead in a train car in Laredo, Texas; one of them was reportedly a minor. The sixth victim was only described as a man. His age and nationality were not revealed. The Webb County medical examiner said he was working with the Mexican consulate to officially identify the victims and assist with the repatriation of their remains. Mexican authorities also confirmed that three of the six victims were Mexican and that they are already in contact with the families of the deceased to provide consular assistance, legal support and to arrange the repatriation of their bodies. Authorities in San Antonio found the lifeless body of another immigrant believed to have been in the train car where six other bodies were found in Laredo.

ABC News [5/12/2026 1:56 PM, Meredith Deliso, 34146K] reports that six people, including a teenager, were found dead inside a shipping container at a Texas rail yard near the U.S.-Mexico border, officials said. A seventh person who was found dead along train tracks in an area outside San Antonio is also believed to have been part of the same group in what is a suspected smuggling incident, authorities said. The six bodies were discovered Sunday at the Union Pacific rail yard in Laredo, police said. An employee at the rail yard called police after discovering the bodies during a routine rail car inspection, police said. The victims include a 14-year-old boy and a 24-year-old man from Honduras, as well as a 29-year-old woman and two men -- aged 45 and 56 -- from Mexico, according to the Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office. So far, the woman has been confirmed to have died from hyperthermia, according to the Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office, which said it is "highly probable that hyperthermia was the cause of death for the entire group." The body of the seventh person was found Monday afternoon near tracks in Bexar County, some 150 miles north of Laredo, according to authorities. The man, whose identity has not yet been confirmed, was carrying a Mexican voter registration card, according to Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar. "At this point, the prevailing theory is that he’s a resident of Mexico that was among that group that was being smuggled into the country in one of these shipping containers," Salazar said during a press briefing on Monday. It is unclear if the man had died while in the shipping container and his body was dumped, or if he died in a fall from the train, he said, noting that the medical examiner will be determining the cause and manner of death.

Axios [5/12/2026 6:00 PM, Brittany Gibson, 17364K] reports a holy site home to a 29-foot-tall limestone statue of Jesus Christ is in the crosshairs of President Trump’s border wall construction plans. The Trump administration is now suing a Catholic diocese to seize church land at the base of the holy site at Mount Cristo Rey, New Mexico, making it the latest hot spot of local resistance to border wall construction. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin initiated the lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces, according to a complaint filed last week and first reported by Bloomberg. The Trump administration is seeking to use eminent domain to take about 14 acres of land from the Catholic Church in Dona Ana County, New Mexico. Officials suggest that just compensation for the land is $183,071, according to the legal complaint. The Diocese is trying to keep the land by using a First Amendment defense, for the right to religious expression, as well as a Religious Freedom Restoration Act defense.

Newsweek [5/12/2026 5:44 PM, Hollie Silverman, 52220K] reports the Trump administration has moved to seize more than 14 acres of land owned by the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces to expand border‑wall infrastructure near Mount Cristo Rey in southern New Mexico, according to court documents reported by KVIA. The effort puts federal border‑security construction on a collision course with religious‑freedom protections tied to one of the region’s most significant Catholic pilgrimage sites. If approved by a judge, the action could disrupt annual pilgrimages and set a legal test for using eminent domain against religious institutions along the U.S.-Mexico border. The civil case was filed at the request of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and seeks to acquire 14.259 acres of church‑owned land south of Mount Cristo Rey through eminent domain. In a statement emailed to Newsweek on Tuesday, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson said the agency "is working across the Southwest border to acquire land necessary for the construction of Smart Wall, to include a steel bollard wall, along with roads, detection technology, cameras, and lighting. "It is always CBP’s preference to obtain real estate interests voluntarily, however, if CBP is unable to acquire the necessary access voluntarily within a reasonable timeframe, CBP refers the matter to the Department of Justice to acquire any necessary property interest(s) through eminent domain.”

FOX News [5/12/2026 10:45 AM, Robert McGreevy, 37576K] reports U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) deported 27 cruise ship workers alleged to have been involved in the receipt or production of child pornography, the agency said in a Monday statement. CBP boarded eight cruise liners ported in San Diego from April 23-27 as part of an ongoing investigation into child sexual exploitation material (CSEM), CBP told Fox News Digital. The agency detained 28 employees and determined 27 of them "were involved in either the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution, or viewing of CSEM or child pornography," an agency spokesperson told Fox News Digital. CBP canceled visas for 27 of the individuals, 26 of whom were from the Philippines, and deported them back to their home countries. At least 10 of the detained subjects were employees of Disney Cruise Line, according to NewsNation. A spokesperson for Disney Cruise Line told NBC News they have a "zero-tolerance policy for this type of behavior" and that the company cooperated with the investigation fully. "While the majority of these individuals were not from our cruise line, those who were are no longer with the company," the spokesperson told NBC. Another cruise liner, Holland America, also confirmed to NBC that some of its employees were involved in the investigation. The company called the allegations "deeply disturbing" and told NBC the employees had been "terminated.”

USA Today [5/12/2026 3:37 PM, Saleen Martin, 70643K] reports travelers aboard a Frontier Airlines flight over the weekend in Denver were forced to deplane after someone found a gun magazine on the aircraft, the airline confirmed. Flight 4765 was scheduled to fly from Denver to Phoenix on Sunday, May 10, when someone aboard found an ammunition magazine on the plane, Frontier said in a statement to USA TODAY this week. "As a matter of precaution, passengers were deplaned and rescreened," the company said, adding that officials conducted a security sweep but found nothing else. Customers were booked on a new flight that left the morning of May 11. According to Frontier Airlines, the magazine belongs to a law enforcement officer. When USA TODAY contacted the Denver Police Department on May 12, the agency said the FBI is looking into the case. The FBI Denver Field Office told USA TODAY in an emailed statement that its agents are trying to determine whether there was a criminal violation of federal law. The investigation is ongoing, the office added. The field office or airline did not answer questions about who found the magazine or identify the officer who owns it. When contacted on May 12, the Denver International Airport referred USA TODAY to Frontier Airlines and the FBI’s Denver Field Office for comment.

San Diego Union Tribune [5/12/2026 12:52 PM, Noelle Phillips and Lauren Penington, 1257K] reports that the pedestrian fatally struck by a Frontier Airlines plane at Denver International Airport on Friday died by suicide, according to the medical examiner. Michael Mott, 41, died from multiple blunt and sharp force injuries caused by the plane engine, Denver Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Sterling McLaren said in a Tuesday morning news conference at the airport. “As a scientific investigation, we can’t really know, really, what someone’s intent was,” McLaren said. “The best way to determine manner is to evaluate the totality of the investigation — scene findings, circumstances and history. Based on all of those findings together, we determined the manner of death to be suicide.” The fatal crash happened just before 11:20 p.m. Friday, minutes after Mott jumped the Denver airport’s 8-foot security fence topped with barbed wire and walked onto a runway, airport officials said. The collision sparked an engine fire and created a 4,000-foot debris field, Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington said during Tuesday’s news conference. “I cannot think of a time when this has occurred,” said Jeffrey Price, an aviation and aerospace science professor at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, who has worked in the industry for decades. Price said he can’t remember another incident that rises to this level, calling it “extraordinarily rare.” The pedestrian strike has the potential to raise high-level questions about whether safety requirements should be updated at airports across the board, he said.

CBS News [5/12/2026 1:00 PM, Staff, 51110K] reports Denver International Airport is the biggest airport by land mass in the country, and there are miles of fencing to patrol. Sources tell CBS Colorado trespassers hopped over a fence to runway 17-L, which is about 8 feet tall with barbed wire. The trespasser hopped the fence and was on the active runway within two minutes before they were hit and killed by a plane taking off. The incident caused a fire in the engine. Kevin Cartas was on board, sharing, "We were being affected by the smoke, and we were being affected by that loud noise. It was jarring and shocking." Once Cartas returned to the airport terminal, he said he was getting booked on another flight, but said Frontier’s options were limited and took hours. "You should give those individuals on the ground the right to make the right decision. Put these people in accommodations, get them to a hotel, keep them together," Cartas said. Frontier responded to these concerns, clarifying that they scheduled two additional flights for affected passengers on Saturday, offered hotel and meal vouchers later on, then offered refunds and a $500 future flight credit as well as mental health counseling. Frontier says they are working with individual passengers with unique circumstances as well. The incident also brought up questions about security around the airport. The airport says it uses continuous patrols, fencing, and cameras among other security tools. But with 36 miles of fencing, experts like Former TSA administrator John Pistole see challenges.

Bloomberg [5/12/2026 1:57 PM, Daniel Seiden Senior, 763K] reports that VMD Systems Integrators LLC can proceed with an $803 million task order for security screening services at San Francisco International Airport, the US Government Accountability Office said. Covenant Aviation Security LLC’s protest failed to show the US Transportation Security Administration conducted a flawed past performance evaluation before choosing VMD, the GAO said in a decision released Monday. TSA performed an in-depth comparison of both companies’ bids, and reasonably determined Covenant’s higher price wasn’t worth "its slightly better offerings," the GAO said. The agency issued its solicitation in December 2024 to holders of TSA’s screening partnership program. [Editorial note: consult extended commentary at source link]

The Hill [5/12/2026 6:05 PM, Max Rego, 18170K] reports Karen Evans, the acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has departed the disaster relief agency in yet another leadership upheaval. A memo to FEMA staff on Tuesday disclosed that Evans was departing, according to Politico’s E&E News. Evans had been in charge of FEMA since December, after David Richardson, her predecessor as acting chief, resigned in November. The agency’s website lists Robert Fenton Jr. as the new acting administrator. Since 2015, Fenton has led FEMA’s Region 9 office — which puts him in charge of response efforts in nine states and territories on the West Coast and in the Pacific Ocean. Fenton will serve in the role until Cameron Hamilton is confirmed as the permanent FEMA chief. President Trump nominated Hamilton, a former U.S. Navy SEAL with experience in emergency services at the departments of State and Homeland Security, to the full-time post on Monday.

Bloomberg [5/12/2026 1:33 PM, Zahra Hirji, Lauren Rosenthal, and Joe Wertz, 18082K] reports that President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency wrote a memo last spring laying out how to kill the disaster agency. At the time, Cameron Hamilton was FEMA’s interim chief — a role that didn’t last long. When called before Congress, he endorsed keeping the agency, not ending it as outlined in his own memo, titled “Abolishing FEMA.” That publicly put him at odds with his two bosses, Trump and Kristi Noem, then Homeland Security secretary. Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL, was pushed out of the administration within a day. Now, Hamilton is on the verge of a surprising comeback: The White House nominated him Monday to serve as FEMA administrator. All it took was an opportunity created by Trump’s ouster of Noem in March as well as a months-long campaign by Hamilton to convince the president that he’s best suited for the job, according to people familiar with the matter who weren’t authorized to speak publicly. Given that Hamilton has recently been on both sides of the question over whether FEMA should exist, his nomination comes with extraordinary ambiguity. Will he seek to continue the deep cuts to federal disaster programs initiated by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency? Or will he rebuild and stabilize an agency he has since urged Republicans to preserve, warning they would “absolutely” lose elections otherwise?

Politico [5/12/2026 4:14 PM, Thomas Frank, 21784K] reports the Trump administration has removed the acting leader of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and replaced her with a 30-year agency veteran who has held senior positions under several administrations. The departure of Karen Evans, a political appointee who led FEMA since December, was disclosed Tuesday in a memo to FEMA staff that was obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News. It marked the third time that FEMA’s acting administrator had been replaced since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. That tempestuous period had been marked by agency firings, canceled grant programs and Trump’s threats to disband an agency that provides billions of dollars in disaster aid to states every year. “I know this year has been challenging for many across the agency,” Robert Fenton, Evans’ temporary replacement, wrote in the staff memo Tuesday. Evans couldn’t be reached for comment, but a FEMA spokesperson said she has been asked to lead special projects at the Department of Homeland Security as director of the so-called Waste, Fraud and Abuse Task Force. “We are grateful for Ms. Evans’ service and look forward to her continued contributions in this important new role at DHS,” the spokesperson said. The agency removed her name from its Offices & Leadership webpage, which now lists Fenton as acting administrator. The change comes as Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin asserts control over an agency that saw leaders come and go under his predecessor, Kristi Noem, who was fired in March. On Monday, President Donald Trump nominated Cameron Hamilton to lead FEMA, making him the first permanent administrator in Trump’s second term, if he’s confirmed by the Senate. Hamilton was acting FEMA chief from January 2025 to May 2025, when he was fired. He returned to FEMA recently, the agency told E&E News, when he was appointed senior counselor to Mullin. The reshuffling at FEMA’s highest levels comes weeks before hurricane season begins, marking one of its busiest periods. Fenton, who runs the FEMA regional office in California, has previously served as acting administrator during transition periods between administrations. Now he will play the role of placeholder until Hamilton’s nomination is voted on by the Senate. Fenton is highly regarded by FEMA staff and among emergency managers nationwide. He has led the agency’s response to some of the most damaging disasters in U.S. history, including wildfires in Los Angeles in January 2025 and in Hawaii in 2023. “I’ve supported and led disaster operations across the country,” Fenton wrote in his staff memo. “I will lead FEMA and support Cameron Hamilton as he proceeds through the Senate confirmation process.” Trump had named Fenton last year to the FEMA Review Council, an expert panel that released a report last week with recommendations for overhauling the agency. Fenton, the only nonpolitical member of the 12-person council, echoed Trump’s criticisms of FEMA as being too slow and bureaucratic. He told the panel in May 2025, “Things that used to take me a month or two to do now take 18 months.”

Bloomberg [5/12/2026 10:22 AM, Staff, 111K] reports President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency wrote a memo last spring laying out how to kill the disaster agency. At the time, Cameron Hamilton was FEMA’s interim chief — a role that didn’t last long. When called before Congress, he endorsed keeping the agency, not ending it as outlined in his own memo, titled “Abolishing FEMA.” That publicly put him at odds with his two bosses, Trump and Kristi Noem, then Homeland Security secretary. Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL, was pushed out of the administration within a day. Now, Hamilton is on the verge of a surprising comeback: The White House nominated him Monday to serve as FEMA administrator. All it took was an opportunity created by Trump’s ouster of Noem in March as well as a months-long campaign by Hamilton to convince the president that he’s best suited for the job, according to people familiar with the matter who weren’t authorized to speak publicly. Given that Hamilton has recently been on both sides of the question over whether FEMA should exist, his nomination comes with extraordinary ambiguity. Will he seek to continue the deep cuts to federal disaster programs initiated by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency? Or will he rebuild and stabilize an agency he has since urged Republicans to preserve, warning they would "absolutely" lose elections otherwise? FEMA skeptics and supporters alike will now seek to interpret Hamilton’s position. While he declined to comment for this story, Hamilton told Bloomberg News in an interview last fall that he saw FEMA as necessary to protect American lives. But he also envisioned an overhaul that would shrink its scope and functions. “I had a vision to downsize the agency pretty radically,” he said at the time, with up to half of FEMA’s headcount leaving in a months-long transition. “My focus, though, was to do it intentionally, and to be very, very methodical about what responsibilities we push across to other agencies. This wasn’t just cut for the sake of cutting.” The stakes are high: The Atlantic hurricane season that officially starts June 1 and runs through November is typically the agency’s busiest time of year, colliding with peak wildfire season in the western US. As increasingly volatile weather wreaks havoc on communities nationwide, the demand for FEMA’s help has skyrocketed. The agency provided more than $181 billion in disaster aid over the last five years — more than five times what it spent over the same period a decade ago.

Bloomberg Law [5/12/2026 11:51 AM, Angélica Franganillo Diaz, 50K] reports months of upheaval have damaged the Federal Emergency Management Agency beyond swift repair, former officials warn, even as Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin takes steps to stabilize the agency. Mullin, who took the helm of DHS in March, has streamlined internal processes that slowed operations, tapped experienced leaders, and brought back staff from administrative leave after former Secretary Kristi Noem targeted FEMA with staff cuts and bureaucratic logjams, current and former employees said. President Donald Trump on Monday nominated Cameron Hamilton as FEMA administrator, a year after he was ousted amid disagreements with Noem. FEMA also tapped longtime official Bob Fenton to lead operations ahead of Hamilton’s confirmation, according to an internal email reviewed by Bloomberg Law. The moves reinforce FEMA’s leadership and signal Mullin is serious about the mission, current and former officials said. Still, the turmoil of the past year, along with continued uncertainty about FEMA’s future, have had lasting effects on staffing, preparedness, and expertise, former officials said. The stakes are high. Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1. "This isn’t a full reset. The agency has lost a significant amount of experienced personnel, especially at the senior and operational levels, and that expertise takes years to rebuild," said Craig Fugate, who was FEMA’s administrator under Barack Obama. The shift follows an aggressive push early in Trump’s second term to eliminate FEMA and move disaster response responsibilities to states. The effort drove out a significant share of the workforce and shuttered parts of the agency, according to current and former officials. Now the agency is "taking targeted steps to stabilize our workforce and strengthen readiness," including rehiring staff and preparing for hurricane season and the FIFA World Cup, according to FEMA spokesperson Victoria L. Barton. One of Mullin’s early moves as secretary was eliminating a Noem policy that required all Department of Homeland Security spending above $100,000 to be reviewed by the secretary’s office. The process was especially disruptive for FEMA spending. "Our readiness is stronger than ever, and we are prepared to meet any challenge that comes our way," Mullin said last week at a FEMA Review Council meeting. Hamilton and Fenton will be put to the test in how they navigate the push to overhaul the agency. FEMA Review Council members finalized recommendations at their meeting last week calling for an overhaul of the nation’s disaster response system. That includes reassessing FEMA staffing, placing more responsibility on state and local governments, and reviewing how federal disaster aid is distributed.

Federal News Network [5/12/2026 5:56 PM, Justin Doubleday, 1297K] reports a new law requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency to publicize a dashboard that tracks the status of requests for billions of dollars in disaster relief, amid calls for greater transparency into FEMA processes. The fiscal 2026 Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill, signed into law April 30, requires FEMA to post an "interactive dashboard" on its website that tracks all requests for reimbursement under the agency’s public assistance (PA) program. The provision mirrors a bill introduced by Sens. Ashley Moody (R-Fl.) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) in December. Under the PA program, FEMA provides grants to state and local governments to reimburse the costs of responding to federally declared disasters. The grants can cover costs for things like debris removal, search and rescue, medical supplies, road rebuilding, utility repairs and more. The PA program is separate from the assistance FEMA provides to individuals in disaster-stricken areas. State and local officials have complained about delays and opacity surround the status of public assistance reimbursements. Over the last year, lawmakers have also grown increasingly frustrated with delays to COVID-19 reimbursement claims. They have written letters to FEMA and Department of Homeland Security leadership inquiring about the status of those requests, as recently as last week. Brett Mattson, senior legislative director at the National Association of Counties, said the public dashboard would address one of NACO’s "biggest pain points" when it comes to FEMA in recent years. "The process is, a county submits public assistance claims to the state, the state submits it to the FEMA region, and then we as the county are sort of left in the dark about where those claims stand," Mattson said in an interview.

New York Times [5/12/2026 1:10 PM, Sachi Kitajima Mulkey, 148038K] reports that Florida and Georgia are seeing an unusually severe and early start to a wildfire season that is shaping up to be one of the worst in decades. The fires are driven by a widespread drought gripping the Southeast. Virtually all of Georgia and 94 percent of Florida is in a state of drought ranked by the U.S. Drought Monitor as “severe” or worse. Georgia and other Southeast states are home to much of the nation’s wood production, in the form of sprawling timber plantations used for paper and lumber. Worldwide, research has found that timber plantations can be more flammable than native forests, depending upon how they are managed. That trend hasn’t shown up yet in the American Southeast, but fires in the region are becoming more frequent, research has shown. Scientists suspect that’s a result of climate change. In Georgia, two large wildfires have scorched more than 50,000 acres combined, destroying at least 120 homes. In Florida, smaller fires have torn through more than 120,000 acres, and one has claimed the life of a firefighter. In recent days, a brush fire in the Everglades has also spread rapidly, threatening nearby neighborhoods and consuming more than 11,000 acres. The intensity of the drought made this year’s fires extremely dangerous and tricky to contain, said Troy Clymer, chief of forest management at the Georgia Forestry Commission, which oversees the state’s forests and wildfire response. “We were seeing flames dozens of feet high,” Mr. Clymer said. “Working in those conditions, we’ve had to pick and choose our battles.”

Axios [5/12/2026 4:44 PM, Martin Vassolo, 17364K] reports two South Florida blazes that ignited over the weekend are the latest in what has already been an active wildfire season. There’s been over 2,000 wildfires across the state so far this year amid a severe drought that has led to water restrictions and burn bans in some parts of Florida. Max Road Fire west of Pembroke Pines has burned over 11,300 acres in the Everglades and was 70% contained as of Tuesday morning, per the Florida Forest Service. The 172 Avenue Fire near Florida City has burned about 300 acres and was 50% contained as of Tuesday. No serious injuries or property damage have been reported, the Associated Press reports. A volunteer firefighter died while battling a wildfire in North Florida in April. This year’s wildfire tally has already set a 10-year high in Florida, per the outlet.

Detroit Free Press [5/12/2026 1:26 PM, Natalie Davies, 4749K] reports that state and federal officials plan to knock on doors and begin preliminary damage assessment on primary residences in 30 counties and one city affected by flooding and severe weather last month. The assessments are the first step in the process of requesting federal aid for residents affected by storms and severe weather from April 10, 14, 15, and the following days, said MSP Public Information Officer Lauren Phillips at a news conference Tuesday morning, May 12. Six crews consisting of representatives from the Michigan State Police, Federal Emergency Management Agency and Small Business Administration plan to speak with residents about damaged living spaces, including living rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, and heating and cooling systems, Phillips said. The crews will not be entering homes, just asking residents questions, like what type of damage they face, if they were displaced from their homes, if they have insurance and more, FEMA Public Information Officer Nicole Wilson said during the news conference. Residents do not need to be home for teams to assess the damage, and teams will potentially leave stickers on doors. Local officials have already assessed a lot of the damage, Phillips said. The state must inspect the damage to decide if Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will request a major disaster declaration from President Donald Trump. FEMA and SBA are joining the assessment teams to expedite the process so FEMA doesn’t have to come back again if a major disaster declaration is requested.

USA Today [5/12/2026 3:32 PM, Melina Khan, Brandon Loomis, 70643K] reports a wildfire burning north of Phoenix has forced some area Arizona residents to evacuate as crews work to contain it. The blaze, which has been dubbed the Jones Fire, erupted along the Hassayampa River in Wickenburg, Arizona, on the afternoon of May 11, the Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported. It is burning 84 acres and there is no containment of the fire as of 8 a.m. local time on May 12, the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management said. Crews stopped forward progression of the brush fire at 6:35 p.m. local time on May 11, according to Inciweb, a federal wildfire tracking service. On May 11, officials in Maricopa County initially issued an alert for nearby residents to be ready for evacuation. Soon after, Wickenburg Fire Department advised residents to leave.

New York Times [5/12/2026 6:10 PM, Carl Hulse, 148038K] reports top Senate Republicans and the White House tried on Tuesday to ease reservations about providing $1 billion in taxpayer dollars for security related to President Trump’s ballroom project, emphasizing that only a portion of the money — $220 million — was tied to the new facility. The disclosure was part of a intensifying lobbying campaign to push through a bill in the coming weeks to provide nearly $72 billion for immigration enforcement. It was included in a spreadsheet on how the security money would be parceled out that was distributed to Republican senators by Sean Curran, the chief of the Secret Service, who joined them at their weekly party luncheon at the Capitol. “The question I think he was addressing was, how is this money going to be used, the $1 billion,” said Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader, noting that about 20 percent was for what he called the East Wing modernization project. “Most of it is going to be used for other purposes: training facilities, technology, lots of other things that law enforcement — particularly, in this case, Secret Service — needs to ensure that they keep our president and other top officials safe.” Mr. Curran said he had a “great meeting” with senators. “The past two weeks I’ve been fielding questions from both sides of the aisle,” he said, adding that members of both parties had been “super professional and just really great partners and great supporters.” Still, some Republican senators said they would need more specifics about the funding before they would commit to backing it in votes expected next week. “He gave us a list that breaks down the spending in a little more detail, but there are still a lot of questions,” Senator John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana, said.

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Washington Post [5/12/2026 5:34 PM, Riley Beggin, 24826K]
The Hill [5/12/2026 4:05 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 18170K]
NBC News [5/12/2026 5:28 PM, Sahil Kapur, Brennan Leach and Frank Thorp V, 42967K]
Daily Signal [5/12/2026 11:53 AM, George Caldwell, 474K]

Bloomberg [5/12/2026 8:14 PM, Lillianna Byington and Zach C. Cohen, 111K] reports that the Secret Service plans to spend $220 million on White House East Wing security measures related to President Donald Trump’s ballroom project as part of a broader $1 billion in security spending Republicans are proposing, according to specific details shared with GOP senators Tuesday. Secret Service Director Sean Curran met Tuesday with Senate Republicans to discuss the funding, which is part of the GOP’s budget reconciliation legislation that seeks billions of dollars for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol after a stalemate with Democrats. Senate Republicans aim to vote next week on the legislation. But some Republican senators have expressed concerns about the security funding portions of the legislation, and several said after Curran’s briefing at the party lunch they need more specifics before agreeing to support the spending. Ahead of that meeting, Majority Leader John Thune estimated that about 20% will go to East Wing security. “The balance of it is just going to other Secret Service priorities and technology and things they need to do to protect the president,” Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters. The majority of the $1 billion would support the Secret Service’s core missions, while hardening the East wing will protect the First Family and visitors, according to a spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security.

AP [5/12/2026 6:00 PM, Mary Clare Jalonick] reports Republican senators left a meeting with the director of the U.S. Secret Service on Tuesday saying they need more details on a $1 billion security plan for the White House, including a proposed $220 million to secure President Donald Trump’s new East Wing ballroom. Secret Service Director Sean Callan discussed the proposal at a closed-door party lunch. According to a breakdown of the plan obtained by The Associated Press, the $220 million would go to harden the ballroom addition, including "bulletproof glass, drone detection technologies, chemical and other threat filtration and detection systems, and a host of other national security functions." The Secret Service request comes after a man was charged with trying to assassinate Trump at the White House Correspondents Association dinner last month. The rest of the money would go for other security improvements, according to the document, including $180 million for a new White House visitors screening facility and $175 million for "investments to train USSS agents in the modern threat environment." Several GOP senators leaving the luncheon said the breakdown was too vague. They want to know more about how the money would be spent — and why it is needed now. Trump has said repeatedly that the ballroom construction would be paid for with $400 million in private funds, but the White House hadn’t previously proposed the security costs. Republicans have added the security money to a partisan spending bill that would restore funding for immigration enforcement agencies. The questions from within the party about the White House funding proposal could jeopardize the legislation, which GOP leaders are trying to pass without any Democratic votes. Beyond the White House improvements, the Secret Service said it is requesting $175 million for "enhancements for protectee security," $150 million for "evolving threats and technology," including countering drones and airspace incursions, and $100 million for security at high profile "events of national significance." Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats will push the Senate parliamentarian to strike the security money from the bill. They also plan to offer amendments that force Republicans to vote on the funding if it remains in the legislation.

CNN [5/11/2026 8:22 PM, Lauren Fox, Manu Raju, Sarah Ferris, and Ellis Kim, 612K] reports that key Senate Republicans are signaling a willingness to support up to $1 billion in security upgrades for President Donald Trump’s ballroom renovation project, despite Democratic attacks, as the White House ramps up its lobbying push. But the vote could put some of the Senate’s moderates in a politically difficult position, especially after the president said his ballroom would be funded through private donations. "Obviously, there have been three or four attempts on the president’s life, and that’s extremely serious, and we’re in a heightened era of political violence, but the ballroom itself should be paid for by private donations, as the president had indicated," Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins said, adding she wanted clarity on what precisely the money would be going toward. But Senate Majority Leader John Thune projected confidence Monday that congressional Republicans will back the $1 billion in funding, arguing that the money will be focused on other Secret Service projects beyond the ballroom itself. "It’s to secure the building — and not just the ballroom. I think the entire East Wing, which is something the Secret Service is tasked with protecting when the president is using it," Thune told reporters. "It’s pretty clear it’s a tool to keep the president safe." The White House will ratchet up its push for the funding Tuesday with the US Secret Service director expected to join lawmakers at the Senate GOP lunch.

Politico [5/12/2026 2:59 PM, Jordain Carney and Katherine Tully-McManus, 21784K] reports the White House is ramping up its sales pitch for security funding related to President Donald Trump’s ballroom project, but the administration is struggling for now to squash skepticism among Senate Republicans. Secret Service Director Sean Curran met with GOP senators at a closed-door lunch Tuesday and walked through a $1 billion funding request for his agency, providing a handout to GOP senators breaking down the funding. Several lawmakers said afterward they needed more details. “There are still a lot of questions,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said after the lunch, summing up the feelings of many of his GOP colleagues. The document given to Senate Republicans and obtained by POLITICO specifies that $220 million of the funding would go toward the ballroom project. That money, according to the document, would be used for “investments in the above and below ground hardening requirements of the East Wing Modernization Project,” including bulletproof glass and other security upgrades. “Importantly, as the legislative text makes explicit, none of these funds will be used to support non-security improvements at the White House,” the document adds. The rest of the $1 billion in funding would go toward several other priorities, including a new White House visitor screening facility, better protection for federal officials and Secret Service officer training. The money is part of a larger immigration enforcement funding package that would provide more than $70 billion to immigration enforcement agencies. But it’s the Secret Service funding — and the portion that can go toward parts of the White House renovation project — that is creating a headache for GOP leaders as they try to quickly get the bill to President Donald Trump’s desk. Senate Majority Leader John Thune noted that most of the $1 billion is “going to be used for other purposes — training facilities or technology, lots of other things that law enforcement ... needs to ensure that they keep our president and other top officials safe.” He can lose three up GOP senators on the expected party-line vote, with Vice President JD Vance breaking a possible tie. But so far Thune has several more than that who are saying they still have questions. “I think they’ll probably have to come out with more detail,” said Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), a Trump ally. “Bottom line is, people want to be supportive. They want security for the president. But they want more detail.”

Politico [5/12/2026 5:40 PM, Meredith Lee Hill, 21784K] reports House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington said in an interview Tuesday he would “reserve judgment” on the White House’s request for Republicans to include $1 billion in security funding in their party-line package until he saw legislative text, but cautioned he wanted to see an “itemized” list of what the money would be used for. “I hope it’s narrowly tailored to getting ICE and CBP funded and restoring the safety and security of the American people — that was our intent from the beginning,” Arrington, a Texas Republican, said of the bill GOP lawmakers want to pass through the filibuster-skirting reconciliation process to fund the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement activities. His comments come as GOP lawmakers are growing increasingly concerned about the administration’s desire to wedge $1 billion into the reconciliation bill, which can be used to fund the security features of a new White House ballroom and other “frequented venues” by the president. Secret Service Director Sean Curran met with Senate Republicans at a closed-door lunch Tuesday to walk through the funding request, providing a handout breaking down the funding, but he failed to convince everyone present that approving the full amount was a wise idea.

Politico [5/12/2026 1:16 PM, By Riley Rogerson, 21784K] reports a key moderate Republican lawmaker said Tuesday he would not support a White House security funding request that could pour as much as $220 million into President Donald Trump’s controversial ballroom project. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) dismissed the prospect that the House would approve $1 billion in new Secret Service spending as part of a pending party-line bill that otherwise funds immigration enforcement agencies. “Not happening here,” he said in an interview. Pressed on whether he supports the idea, he responded directly, “No.” Fitzpatrick’s vote and those of like-minded centrists will be crucial to getting the overall $70 billion package through the House, given the slim GOP majority. Secret Service Director Sean Curran lobbied Senate Republicans for the funding Tuesday, explaining that only a subset of the funding would potentially be used on the ballroom, but met a skeptical reception nonetheless. Curran and other White House officials are expected to continue making the case in the coming days, saying the money is needed to secure the ballroom project and other venues frequented by the president.

The Hill [5/12/2026 8:00 AM, Sophie Brams, 24K] reports that the ongoing renovations to the reflecting pool on the National Mall have emerged as the latest flashpoint in President Trump’s effort to overhaul some of the most recognizable landmarks in the nation’s capital. Trump announced plans to repair and renovate the 2,028-foot reflecting pool at the base of the Lincoln Memorial during an unrelated event in the Oval Office last month, describing its current condition as “terrible” and “filthy.” He claimed the project, which includes waterproofing the pool’s bottom, mending leaking joints and repainting it “American flag blue,” could be completed for less than $2 million and in time for the nation’s 250th anniversary on July 4. “It never had the color people wanted, but now it’s going to have the great color,” Trump said after making an unannounced trip to the construction site last week with some of his Cabinet members, including Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. The New York Times reported on Monday, however, that the actual cost is more than seven times Trump’s estimate, citing federal records that showed the Interior Department nearly doubled the size of its contract late last week. The department added $6.2 million to its contract with Atlantic Industrial Coatings — a Virginia firm that Trump said worked on swimming pools at his National Golf Club in Sterling, Va. — raising the cost to $13.1 million, according to the newspaper.

Washington Examiner [5/12/2026 11:56 AM, Claire Carter, 1147K] reports President Donald Trump on Tuesday criticized a federal judge who apologized to White House Correspondents’ Association dinner shooting suspect Cole Allen, saying that those charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot never got an apology. Trump is referring to a situation that took place during one of Allen’s court appearances for his alleged assassination attempt on the president, where Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui apologized for Allen’s strict confinement, claiming that Jan. 6 defendants were jailed under looser measures. The president discussed the situation on "Sid & Friends in the Morning" with Sid Rosenberg, noting that the same grace was not extended to those charged for the Capitol riots. "It’s all over the place where the judge is apologizing to him for, I guess maybe something was a little bit wrong, but they never apologized to J6," Trump said. "The J6 folks that I, as you know, pardoned very proudly, and nobody apologized to them.” Faruqui oversaw Jan. 6 cases as a benchmark and condemned Allen’s placement on suicide-watch protocols at the jail, despite defense attorneys saying repeated mental health screenings found no indication he posed a risk to himself. Those detained after the events on Jan. 6 were placed in restrictive housing inside the district jail, including for extended periods of isolation, prompting criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Trump later added that reports of Faruqui apologizing made him "very sad." He went on to praise the Secret Service agents who protected him and emphasized the need for his planned ballroom, which will have better security measures. "The world is different than it used to be," he said. "Things like this happened in the past, too, you know. This isn’t the first time you’ve heard the ‘a’ word," he said, referring to the assassination attempt.

CNN [5/12/2026 10:30 AM, Holmes Lybrand, 612K] reports two years after a container ship rammed into and collapsed Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, the Justice Department has announced criminal charges against two companies and the ship’s technical superintendent. The crash killed six highway workers and cut off traffic to one of the US’ largest shipping ports, officials said, adding it will cost billions to rebuild the bridge. Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, based in Singapore, and Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd, based in Chennai, India, along with Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, 47, who worked for both companies as the technical superintendent for the "Dali," are charged with conspiracy, willfully failing to immediately inform the Coast Guard of a known hazardous condition, obstruction of an agency proceeding, and false statements. "The government’s investigation also found that Synergy employees, including its shore side technical managers, fabricated and directed the fabrication of safety inspections and certifications related to vessel systems," US Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland said at a press conference in Baltimore Tuesday. She said investigators believe Nair, who is an Indian national, is in India. "We are going to enforce and use all our available law enforcement tools" to try and get him, Hayes said. Following the crash, the FBI and US Coast Guard opened a criminal investigation. Several members of the crew, who were not US citizens, were told to remain in the country as the investigation continued. The San Diego Union Tribune [5/12/2026 2:46 PM, Maggie Trovato and Todd Karpovich, 1257K] that prosecutors allege the companies operated the Dali with an unauthorized fuel system that bypassed critical safety safeguards meant to prevent a total loss of power. The two corporations also face misdemeanor charges under the Clean Water Act, Oil Pollution Act and Refuse Act for pollution released into the Patapsco River after the crash, including oil, shipping containers and debris. “The indictment reveals a pattern of deception and egregious violations that led to the unsafe operation of the Dali, which recklessly endangered the public and resulted in the ship striking the bridge,” said Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul of the FBI Baltimore Field Office, speaking at a Tuesday news conference. “This indictment should send a message to all ship operators that circumventing safety requirements and breaking U.S. laws will not be tolerated.” According to the indictment, the Dali suffered two blackouts in four minutes as it departed the Port of Baltimore before slamming into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024. Investigators allege a loose wire in a high-voltage switchboard likely triggered the first outage. Although the vessel briefly regained power, prosecutors say operators had altered the ship’s fuel system and relied on a flushing pump never designed for continuous operation.

Reported similarly:
Bloomberg Law [5/12/2026 1:57 PM, Holly Barker, 763K]
Washington Examiner [5/12/2026 11:19 AM, Rena Rowe, 1147K]
Daily Caller [5/12/2026 11:10 AM, Rebeka Zeljko, 803K]

AP [5/12/2026 3:58 PM, Michael Kunzelman and Ed White, 12718K] reports prosecutors announced criminal charges Tuesday in the deadly 2024 collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, accusing a Singapore-based ship operator of intentionally relying on an improper fuel pump that contributed to the ruinous crash and then lying about it to investigators. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche called it a “preventable tragedy of enormous consequence.” The indictment names Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., based in Singapore, and Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd., based in Chennai, India. Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, 47, an Indian national who was technical superintendent for the Dali container ship, was also charged. Synergy Marine expressed disappointment and accused the U.S. Justice Department of turning an accident into a crime. “This was a maritime casualty that should be assessed through the full factual, technical and regulatory record, rather than through selective mischaracterizations in a criminal indictment. ... Synergy will vigorously defend itself against these inaccurate allegations,” the company said. Nair’s lawyer, David Gerger, had a similar response, saying his client “thinks about this accident every day, but he certainly did not cause it.” The Dali, bound for Sri Lanka, lost power twice in a four-minute span as it moved to sea from the Port of Baltimore, causing it to crash into the Key Bridge in the early hours of March 26, 2024. Investigators say a loose wire in a switchboard likely caused the first power loss that led to its steering failure. After regaining power, the ship found itself in trouble again. The Dali turned to a certain pump to supply fuel to two generators but the pump was not designed to automatically restart after the first blackout, so a second blackout occurred, the indictment says. If the Dali had used the proper fuel pumps, according to the indictment, the vessel would have regained power in time to safely get under the bridge. Instead, it crashed into a supporting column of the bridge, killing six construction workers who had been filling potholes. “As alleged, the bridge was struck and collapsed because those who were responsible for the ship’s operation deliberately cut corners at the expense of safety,” said Jimmy Paul, head of the FBI’s Baltimore office. The government alleges that the same problem occurred with same type of pump on two of the Dali’s sister ships.

FOX Weather [5/12/2026 10:37 PM, Raymond Sanchez, 40934K] reports first responders were sent scrambling after a plane carrying 11 people crashed into the ocean off the coast of Florida on Tuesday afternoon. The U.S. Coast Guard’s Southeast Division said they’re actively searching for an airplane that crashed about 80 miles off Melbourne. It’s unknown why the plane crashed, but storms were reported in the area at the time, according to the FOX Forecast Center. Weather conditions in Melbourne, Florida, consisted of 17 mph wind speeds, with a high chance for showers and thunderstorms, and an 80% chance of precipitation, according to the National Weather Service. The Coast Guard said all 11 people are reportedly accounted for and are being brought to emergency medical services for further evaluation. The AP [5/12/2026 6:01 PM, Staff] reports that the pilot had declared an emergency and then communication with the aircraft was lost, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority in the Bahamas said in a media post. The U.S. Coast Guard and multiple Bahamian agencies were involved in the ensuring search and rescue. The U.S. Coast Guard launched a C-27 aircraft to look for the downed Beechcraft 300 King Air turboprop plane. The rescued passengers were brought in for medical evaluations, the Coast Guard said. The cause of the crash remains unknown.

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CBS Miami [5/12/2026 6:49 PM, Staff, 51110K] Video: HERE
CBS Miami [5/12/2026 6:33 PM, Sergio Candido, Ana Maria Soler, 51110K]

FOX News [5/12/2026 8:00 AM, Adam Sabes, 37576K] reports a forensic expert revealed what Coast Guard investigators might be looking for after the federal agency seized Brian Hooker’s sailboat in their investigation into the disappearance of his wife in the Bahamas. Brian Hooker initially told Bahamian officials that his wife fell off a dinghy after leaving shore at Hope Town at around 7:30 p.m. on April 4, saying that Lynette fell off with the ignition key. Local authorities said that he arrived at a marina at Marsh Harbour at around 4 a.m. on April 5 after paddling to shore, roughly eight hours after his wife went overboard. Despite a weeks-long search, authorities haven’t been able to locate Lynette Hooker. A source familiar with the investigation told Fox News Digital that the couple’s sailboat, named "Soulmate," was seized by the U.S. Coast Guard. According to CBS News, the Hookers’ sailboat was en route to the U.S. when it was seized by the Coast Guard on Saturday. The sailboat was taken to a U.S. Coast Guard station in Fort Pierce, Florida. The outlet also reported that the Coast Guard Investigative Service’s probe into Lynette Hooker’s disappearance has intensified. Brian Hooker hasn’t been charged with a crime. Forensic scientist Joseph Scott Morgan told Fox News Digital it’s likely Coast Guard investigators are looking for signs of "large focal areas of blood.”

ABC News [5/12/2026 2:14 PM, Staff, 34146K] reports that ABC News legal contributor Bernarda Villalona, a criminal defense attorney, discusses what happens next. Lynette Hooker has been missing since the evening of April 4. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CyberScoop [5/12/2026 3:10 PM, Greg Otto, 122K] reports a rapidly spreading malware campaign has infected hundreds of software packages across major open-source registries, embedding credential-stealing code into development tools downloaded millions of times a week. The attack, referred to as “mini Shai-Hulud,” targeted prominent software libraries, including TanStack, UiPath, and MistralAI. TanStack’s React Router package alone accounts for more than 12 million weekly downloads, placing the malicious code deep within the software supply chain of modern enterprise applications. In a blog post, Tanstack said security teams have pulled all compromised software versions from the registry. While there is no evidence that registry passwords were stolen, experts urge anyone who downloaded the affected tools Monday to immediately change all connected cloud, server, and developer credentials — including Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and GitHub. The incident highlights a systemic vulnerability in automated software publishing. The compromised updates successfully bypassed two-factor authentication and carried cryptographically valid provenance signatures. These signatures verified that the packages originated from the correct continuous integration pipelines, but failed to detect that the pipelines themselves had been manipulated to authorize malicious code.

CyberScoop [5/12/2026 3:10 PM, Matt Kapko, 122K] reports Microsoft addressed another triple-digit batch of vulnerabilities cutting across its various enterprise products, components and underlying systems. Yet despite the high number of defects, the vendor reported no actively exploited zero-days in this month’s Patch Tuesday update. Thirteen of the 137 vulnerabilities Microsoft disclosed were assigned critical CVSS ratings, including a pair of vulnerabilities affecting Azure — CVE-2026-33109 and CVE-2026-42823 — and CVE-2026-42898 in Microsoft Dynamics 365 with 9.9 CVSS scores. The company designated 13 vulnerabilities as more likely to be exploited, and 113 defects as less likely or unlikely to be exploited. The high volume of vulnerabilities reflects a growing trend researchers have been anticipating as artificial intelligence models are deployed to find previously uncovered defects in code. While not all of these bugs were found by AI, it’s likely they had an AI-related component — even if it was just AI writing the submission,” Dustin Childs, head of threat awareness at Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative, wrote in a blog post Tuesday.

New York Times [5/12/2026 12:15 PM, Cade Metz and Mikayla Whitmore, 148038K] reports on a recent Friday morning, seven cybersecurity veterans gathered in a suite on the 60th floor of the Cosmopolitan hotel in Las Vegas. Surrounded by laptops, network cables, spare Wi-Fi antennas and a wall-mounted television that doubled as a massive computer screen filled with esoteric programming code, they spent the next two days hacking into a computer network in San Antonio as part of an annual event called the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition. As this “red team” of cybersecurity professionals attacked the network, dozens of elite computer science students sat in makeshift command centers across the country, trying to stop them. “Any time we gain access to their machines and steal data, they lose points,” said Alex Levinson, one of the leaders of the red team. “And the expectation is that we attack with custom malware — something unique and special they have never seen before.” Run by the University of Texas, San Antonio, the event welcomed 10 collegiate “blue teams,” each the winner of a regional contest earlier in the year. This elaborate competition aimed to simulate the high-stakes world of cyberwarfare, which meant it included a new participant: artificial intelligence. And one of the blue teams was made up entirely of so-called A.I. agents, working mostly on their own. With A.I. poised to play an increasingly important role in cybersecurity, the elaborate hacking competition demonstrated both the power of these systems and their limitations. They can help attack computer networks. And they can help defend. But they are also prone to mistakes. And they cannot yet match the skills of seasoned cybersecurity professionals — or even those of the country’s most promising computer science students. But A.I. companies continue to improve these technologies. Anthropic said last month that it would limit the release of its latest A.I. technology, Claude Mythos, to a small number of trusted organizations because it might provide a new edge to malicious hackers. OpenAI later said it, too, would share similar technology with a limited group of partners.

The Hill [5/12/2026 8:21 PM, Miranda Nazzaro, 18170K] reports the House Committee on Homeland Security will host Anthropic for a closed-door briefing on its Mythos cybersecurity model on Wednesday, as fears grow in Washington about the safety risks of artificial intelligence. A source familiar with Wednesday’s meeting confirmed it to The Hill, stating that the briefing will focus on the “capabilities, national security implications and policy considerations” around Mythos. This marks at least the second briefing in as many weeks that Homeland Security lawmakers have been planning with Anthropic after the limited release of Mythos sent shockwaves through Washington. Mythos, which Anthropic says is its most advanced model to date, can spot decades-old security vulnerabilities, the AI firm claims. The AI model, which Anthropic did not release publicly, can help institutions spot and patch security vulnerabilities more quickly. But it may also be a double-edged sword, empowering hackers to find and potentially exploit these flaws. The Hill has reached out to Anthropic for comment. It comes about two weeks after Anthropic and OpenAI hosted closed-door briefings before the committee on their cybersecurity models. This week’s briefing comes as President Trump and a host of other technology and business leaders head to China for bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. AI, along with its risks, is expected to be discussed as the White House scrambles to rethink its AI policy in the wake of Mythos.

AP [5/12/2026 2:30 PM, Kelvin Chan, 35287K] reports the company that operates online learning system Canvas said it struck a deal with hackers to delete the data they pilfered in a cyberattack that created chaos for students, many of them in the middle of finals. Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, said in an online post that it “reached an agreement with the unauthorized actor involved in this incident.” The company didn’t provide any details on the agreement, including whether it involved a payment, and didn’t elaborate who was behind the hack. Instructure temporarily took the system offline while it investigated, locking out students and faculty. A hacking group named ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for last week’s breach, threatening to leak data involving nearly 9,000 schools worldwide and 275 million individuals if schools did not pay a ransom by May 6. The group then extended the deadline, indicating some schools had engaged with them to negotiate. ShinyHunters also was behind a smaller breach of Infrastructure last year. A lawsuit filed last week in federal court in Utah alleged Instructure did not do enough to protect the platform used by millions of students and made itself “easy prey for cybercriminals.”

Reuters [5/12/2026 9:44 AM, A.J. Vicens, 38315K] reports the hacking group that targeted the Canvas educational tool ‌and the parent company that owns the software struck a deal to secure stolen student and school data, the company said in a statement late Monday. In a statement posted to its website, the company said it "reached an agreement with the unauthorized actor involved with this incident." As part of the agreement, all data ​was returned to the company, the company received digital confirmation of data destruction, and the company was informed that "no Instructure ​customers will be extorted as a result of this incident, publicly or otherwise." The agreement covers all affected Instructure customers, ⁠the statement said, "and there is no need for individual customers to attempt to engage with the unauthorized actor." Reuters reported on Friday that ​schools and organizations whose data was included in the hack were in contact with the group trying to prevent their data from being ​released. A representative for ShinyHunters, the group that claimed responsibility for the breach, said in a message to Reuters that the "data is deleted, gone. The company and its customers will not further be targeted or contacted for payment by us." Kurtis Minder, a ​ransomware negotiator, said it’s "fair to conclude that some money was sent." The decision of whether to pay can be complex, Minder said, and depends ​on case specifics, the company’s values and the type of criminal group making the demand. ShinyHunters, a hacking group with a history of targeting global companies for extortion, said in a May 3 post on its website that it had stolen data from Instructure’s Canvas platform, which schools use for class assignments, information sharing and messaging. The hacking group claimed to have student names, email addresses and messages related to nearly 9,000 schools. On May 5, the ​hacking group said in a ​message that Instructure had not been ⁠in contact with it, and posted a list of schools and districts whose data the group claimed was stolen. In a status message the following day, Instructure said the situation was resolved and the ​platform was fully operational.

CBS News [5/12/2026 5:54 PM, Marissa Armas, 51110K] reports it’s been nearly a week after the hacking group Shinyhunters allegedly targeted and hacked the Canvas online education platform. While parent company Instructure has struck a deal with the group to bring Canvas back online, thousands of students, parents and schools across the country are still dealing with the headache. That includes students like Joey Gutierrez, who shared more with CBS News Texas about the issues he’s still facing. "It’s up now, but it is kind of laggy, buggy," Gutierrez said. CBS News Texas reached out to several school districts to check on the status of their access to the platform. Districts like Arlington ISD said Canvas is fully functional for them, but parents in Grapevine-Colleyville ISD said their students still don’t have access. "Just an error," said student Damien Newman. "It gives me a notification that it’s down.” A GCISD spokesperson confirmed the district has not yet restored access to Canvas, adding that the district is consulting with cybersecurity experts and will provide an update on whether Canvas access can be safely restored before the end of the school year, which some students said is frustrating. "The projects that we have on Canvas, we can’t turn them into Canvas, so now we have to email our teachers," said student Rachel Kaiser. Instructure said in Tuesday’s announcement that part of the deal involved was for the hackers to delete the data they got. That data, however, can’t be recovered according to Ben Singleton, a cybersecurity expert with NetGenius. "Once the data has been stolen, there’s no putting Humpty Dumpty back together again. It’s already been stolen," he said.

New York Post [5/12/2026 7:49 PM, Pierce Sharpe, 40934K] reports San Jose-based eBay was hammered by a massive cyberattack allegedly carried out by a pro-Iran hacking group that’s now threatening some of world’s biggest tech companies. The shadowy "Islamic Cyber Resistance in Iraq – 313 Team" claimed responsibility for the assault on eBay, which reportedly triggered widespread outages and left users unable to browse listings, make purchases or complete transactions for nearly two days last month. Cybersecurity analysts said the attack bore the hallmarks of a Distributed Denial of Service, or DDoS, assault — a tactic where hackers flood a company’s servers with fake traffic until systems buckle under the pressure. The group bragged online that it used "rapid fire" attacks designed to keep eBay’s infrastructure under constant strain, while also warning that more American companies were in the crosshairs. "There is a simple way out," one message directed at eBay read. "We have emailed you with our Session Contact ID. If you fail to reach out, we will continue our assault. You are losing money by the minute, stop being fools.” The attack reportedly cost the online marketplace as much as $200 million per day in disrupted transactions as services slowly came back online. But the hackers didn’t stop there. The same crew later claimed responsibility for an attack on Spotify that sparked thousands of outage complaints from furious users. "We carried out a massive cyber attack targeting Spotify’s main servers, causing a major disruption to the website and completely disabling the application," the group wrote on Telegram. The hackers escalated their threats hours later, boasting: "We are maintaining a complete shutdown of Spotify’s core internal servers and keeping the login interface disabled. Major corporations will not escape punishment. The hand of retaliation will reach you.” Spotify acknowledged widespread problems with its app and web player while saying it was investigating the disruption. The hacking group has also claimed attempted attacks on WordPress and Goodreads, while previously taking credit for disruptions targeting Microsoft, Amazon, Dropbox and X.

New York Post [5/12/2026 6:49 PM, Isabel Vincent, 40934K] reports a landmark lawsuit brought by the parents of the first US victim of Hamas could finally stop American groups accused of funneling money to the terror group. David Boim, Brooklyn-born teenager, was gunned down in Jerusalem 30 years ago this week. Parents Joyce and Stanley Boim initially filed a lawsuit at federal court in Chicago in 2000, and it has endured ever since. In 2004, the family won $156 million in damages after a judge found that two charities — the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP) and the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) — were fundraising fronts for Hamas. But they never collected the cash. The nonprofits ceased operations after the damages were announced then reconfigured as "alter ego" organizations, according to court documents. Since then, the Boims’ legal actions have targeted institutions, which include key former members of the IAP and HLF. Lawyers say the case is closely watched, as it could set an important precedent for others those killed in terror attacks. "This case could pave the way for American families, who have been the victims of terror, in particular those killed or taken hostage in the October 7 attacks [which killed 56 Americans], to seek justice in federal courts across the United States," said Daniel Schlessinger, the lead attorney in the Boim case.

Breitbart [5/12/2026 3:18 PM, John Binder, 2238K] reports hundreds of Tren de Aragua gang members and associates have been charged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) since President Donald Trump took office, top officials revealed this week. Late on Monday, Acting Attorney General (AG) Todd Blanche announced charges against more than 25 members and associates of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang, including many illegal aliens who arrived in the United States under the Biden administration, as part of a nationwide crackdown. The charges include firearms trafficking and drug trafficking, among other things. Blanche said federal agents seized more than 80 firearms, about 18 kilograms (39.6 lbs.) of drugs, including fentanyl, and more than $100,000 in U.S. cash in the operation. In total, more than 260 Tren de Aragua members and associates have been charged by federal prosecutors since Trump took office in late January of last year.

NBC News [5/12/2026 11:31 PM, Charlie Gile and Kyla Guilfoil, 42967K] reports Brad Raffensperger, a Republican candidate for governor in Georgia, said Tuesday there was an "active threat" near a planned campaign event a day after, his campaign said, authorities received a message targeting him. A campaign spokesperson said in a statement that the Clay County Sheriff’s Office in Mississippi received a multipage manifesto Monday and that the front page had a photo of Raffensperger, who is Georgia’s secretary of state, with "boom" written across his face. Police alerted the campaign of the threat and dispatched protection for Raffensperger and his family, campaign spokesperson Ryan Mahoney said by text message, adding that it also "beefed up" security for a planned six-stop campaign tour. Earlier in the day, the Bibb County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office said officials found a "suspicious object inside of a vending machine inside a secure area" of Middle Georgia Regional Airport in Macon at 8:21 a.m. ET. No hazardous devices were detected during the sweep, and the airport was reopened, police said. CBS News [5/12/2026 12:05 PM, Dan Raby, 51110K] reports a Macon campaign stop by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger received a bomb threat on Tuesday, officials have confirmed. The Secretary of State’s Office confirmed that there was a bomb threat sent before Raffensperger’s stop at Middle Georgia Regional Airport on Tuesday. According to the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, the Macon-Bibb Emergency 911 Center received the threat at 8:21 a.m. on Tuesday. Deputies evacuated the airport and performed a sweep, at which point officials say E.O.D. Bomb Unit canines "detected a suspicious object inside of a vending machine inside a secure area.” The Bomb Squad secured the object for examination and determined that there were no hazardous devices detected at the airport. Middle Georgia Regional Airport has been reopened following the sweep. Raffensperger has been on a "Standing for Georgia" tour of the state, which first stopped in Columbus. Macon was set to be the second stop on the tour. "When you stand on principle, when you do the right thing, when you put people ahead of politics…some folks won’t like it. In fact, some people will hate you and want to hurt you," Raffensperger said in a statement. "So yes, we are dealing with an active threat. And no, I refuse to back down.” In September 2025, the secretary of state announced he planned to run to become the Peach State’s next governor. Raffensberger, who became a national figure after he was asked by President Trump to "find" 11,779 in the 2020 election, is one name in a crowded field vying to replace Gov. Brian Kemp, who is leaving office due to term limits.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [5/12/2026 6:26 PM, Nick Corasaniti, Richard Fausset, and Allison Braden, 148038K]

CNN [5/12/2026 7:50 PM, Natasha Bertrand, 612K] reports earlier this spring, a mysterious explosion blew up a car carrying an alleged cartel operative in broad daylight on one of Mexico’s busiest highways just outside of its capital city. Francisco Beltran was killed instantly along with his driver, their bodies found slumped over in their seats after the concentrated blast. Video and pictures of the attack on March 28 show a quick burst of flames with the car continuing to roll forward, drifting off the highway. Known as "El Payin," Beltran was accused of being a mid-level member of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of Mexico’s most notorious drug trafficking syndicates, Mexican security analysts and sources familiar with his activities said. Mexican authorities have maintained extreme secrecy around the explosion, but multiple sources tell CNN that the attack was a targeted assassination, facilitated by CIA operations officers. An explosive device had been hidden inside the vehicle, the State of Mexico’s Attorney General told CNN. The Beltran operation was part of an expanded, and previously unreported, CIA campaign inside Mexico — spearheaded by the agency’s elite and secretive Ground Branch — to dismantle the entrenched cartel networks, those sources as well as two additional people familiar with the campaign told CNN. President Donald Trump has designated several of those groups foreign terrorist organizations and deemed them to be at war with the United States. Since last year, CIA operatives inside Mexico have directly participated in deadly attacks on several, mostly mid-level cartel members, the sources said. "The lethality of their operations has been seriously ramped up," said one of the people briefed on the operations. "It’s a significant expansion of the kind of thing the CIA has been willing to do inside Mexico.” The level of CIA involvement with operations has varied, according to the sources, from more passive intelligence sharing and providing general support to direct participation in assassination operations. The attack on Beltran was brazen even by the standards of typical Mexican cartel violence, and Mexican analysts debated in the days afterward whether it could signal a worrying, sophisticated new dimension of cartel-on-cartel warfare. A State Department spokesperson said, "Ambassador Johnson coordinates US collaboration with Mexican authorities in this joint effort.” "The United States and Mexico continue to take decisive bilateral action to disrupt and dismantle the transnational cartels that threaten communities on both sides of the border," the spokesman added.

Reuters [5/12/2026 7:39 PM, Staff, 38315K] reports Mexican authorities and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency rejected on Tuesday a CNN news story ​reporting that CIA operatives have directly participated in fatal attacks on cartel targets ‌in Mexico over the last year. The CNN story, published earlier on Tuesday and citing anonymous sources, said the CIA has ramped up its covert operations in Mexico through the agency’s elite ​Ground Branch unit. This activity includes directly participating in targeted assassinations, CNN ​reported. "The Mexican government categorically rejects any versions (of events) that seek to ⁠normalize, justify or suggest the existence of lethal, covert or unilateral operations by ​foreign agencies on Mexican soil," Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said on X. The CIA, ​through a post on X from spokesperson Liz Lyons, said of the CNN story: "This is false and salacious reporting that serves as nothing more than a PR campaign for the cartels and ​puts American lives at risk." The presence of CIA operatives in Mexico has ​strained the bilateral relationship in recent weeks. On April 19, two U.S. officials died in a ‌car ⁠accident in the northern state of Chihuahua after returning from a Mexican security operation to dismantle a drug lab. Three sources told Reuters the officials were CIA officers.

Washington Examiner [5/12/2026 11:36 AM, Emily Hallas, 1147K] reports the Justice Department issued subpoenas to the Wall Street Journal, escalating a feud between the Trump administration and the media over alleged leaks of classified information. The subpoenas were issued in early March and relate to the outlet’s reporting in February about the Pentagon’s alleged concerns about the risks of the Iran war, the Wall Street Journal said on Monday. The DOJ requested the records of reporters involved as it investigates allegations that they leaked sensitive data endangering national security. The move sparked backlash from the outlet. "The government’s subpoenas to The Wall Street Journal and our reporters represent an attack on constitutionally protected newsgathering," a Dow Jones spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. "We will vigorously oppose this effort to stifle and intimidate essential reporting." Dow Jones & Company owns the Wall Street Journal. The DOJ argued the subpoenas are not targeting reporters, but rather the sharing of allegedly classified material that jeopardizes national security and the safety of U.S. soldiers. "In all circumstances, the Department of Justice follows the facts and applies the law to identify those committing crimes against the United States," a DOJ spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. The development comes as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on media outlets and journalists it believes are illegally sharing or leaking classified information. In addition, Washington has vigorously sought to target individuals, including lawmakers, believed to be leaking information to the press.

CBS News [5/12/2026 11:42 AM, Sarah N. Lynch, 51110K] reports the Justice Department defended itself on Tuesday after the Wall Street Journal revealed it has received subpoenas in connection with a leak investigation into its reporting on the war with Iran, with the department saying it was trying to protect the lives of soldiers who could be harmed by leaks of classified information. "Prosecuting leakers who share our nation’s secrets with reporters, in turn risking our national security and the lives of our soldiers, is a priority for this administration," Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement shared with CBS News. "Any witness, whether a reporter or otherwise, who has information about these criminals should not be surprised if they receive a subpoena about the illegal leaking of classified material.” The Wall Street Journal said on Monday the subpoenas, which it received March 4, relate to a Feb. 23 article that reported the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and others at the Pentagon had warned President Trump about the risks of an extended military campaign against Iran. Other news media outlets published similar stories around the same time. The subpoenas demand records from Journal reporters, the paper said. A Justice Department official stressed that the subpoenas are not aimed at investigating the journalists themselves, but instead at tracking down government employees who are leaking classified information. Nevertheless, the subpoenas appear to be an aggressive and unusual tactic that are likely to escalate tensions between the press and the Trump administration and raise further concerns over press freedoms.

ABC News [5/12/2026 11:47 AM, Staff, 34146K] reports acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Tuesday that members of the media "should not be surprised" if they receive subpoenas for information related to their sources on stories pertaining to national security-sensitive matters, following a Wall Street Journal report that the outlet received subpoenas stemming from its coverage of the war in Iran. "Prosecuting leakers who share our nation’s secrets with reporters, in turn risking our national security and the lives of our soldiers, is a priority for this administration," Blanche said. "Any witness, whether a reporter or otherwise, who has information about these criminals should not be surprised if they receive a subpoena about the illegal leaking of classified material.” The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the outlet received subpoenas back in March related to a Feb. 23 article that reported on military officials’ warnings to President Donald Trump of the risks of carrying out military action against Iran. Trump, according to the Journal, later personally urged Blanche to more aggressively pursue leaks related to the war -- at one point sliding him a list of articles with a sticky note on it reading, "Treason.” A Justice Department spokesperson, in a statement to ABC News, said, "In all circumstances, the Department of Justice follows the facts and applies the law to identify those committing crimes against the United States.”

Reuters [5/13/2026 12:15 PM, Leila Miller, Adolfo Arranz, Farah Master and Han Huang, 38315K] reports that, on a balmy January night, an Argentine coast guard ship’s radio picked up garbled Mandarin broadcast from nearby boats. They were among some 200 Chinese fishing vessels that spend months at a time each year near the South American country’s waters, hunting primarily for catch to feed the world’s largest squid market. The size of the flotilla has increased by nearly 50% over the last decade. In that time, Buenos Aires has bulked up its surveillance to ensure the fleet doesn’t fish in the exclusive economic zone, or EEZ, where Argentina controls all maritime resources. But fears of overfishing just outside the country’s waters remain, as do suspicions of intelligence gathering that were also shared by Washington, according to interviews with four Argentine and four U.S. former and current officials. Washington’s efforts to spotlight global overfishing by Chinese-flagged vessels date back to the late 2010s, as the first Donald Trump administration began to emphasize U.S. strategic rivalry with Beijing. Trump, who last year extended a $20 billion economic lifeline to Argentine leader Javier Milei’s government, has since declared U.S. “dominance” over the Western Hemisphere to be a key objective of his administration. That has set Washington at odds with China, which has over the last 20 years invested heavily in Latin America, including Argentina. Beijing has developed Venezuela’s oil sector, built Brazilian and Peruvian port facilities and set up a military-run space-observation station in Argentina that has drawn U.S. scrutiny. China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement in response to Reuters’ questions that the suspicions of intelligence gathering around the fishing fleet were “pure speculation, lacking any factual basis.” “China is a responsible fishing nation, strictly enforcing the regulation of its distant-water fishing activities and engaging in mutually beneficial fisheries cooperation with relevant countries in accordance with international law,” the ministry said. The U.S. has helped Argentina better patrol its waters to protect against illegal fishing, including approving its purchase of U.S.-origin P-3C Orion maritime surveillance aircraft. Argentina has had suspicions that some Chinese fishing boats were equipped with antennas that are inconsistent with fishing activities, said Marcelo Rozas Garay, who served as vice minister of defense in 2025. “We think what they were looking for in reality was information or intercepting communication,” he said, without providing details about the antennas.

CNN [5/12/2026 3:38 PM, Tal Shalev, 19874K] reports Israel is concerned that US President Donald Trump may strike an agreement with Iran before addressing some of the key issues that drove the two countries to launch the war in the first place, multiple Israeli sources have told CNN. A deal that leaves Tehran’s nuclear program partially intact while bypassing issues such as ballistic missiles and support for regional proxies would lead to Israel viewing the war as incomplete, the sources said. "The primary concern is that Trump will grow tired of talks and cut a deal – any deal – with last-minute concessions," one Israeli source said. While US officials have reassured Israel that the issue of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium will be addressed, the source said the apparent exclusion of ballistic missiles and Tehran’s proxy network from the talks "is a big deal.” Iran fired over 1,000 ballistic missiles at Israel and Gulf Arab states during the war, as well as barrages of drones. A partial deal that fails to address some of Iran’s key capabilities while easing economic pressure on the country could also stabilize the regime and provide it with an influx of cash, the officials said. The concerns highlight a gap between Trump, who appears reluctant to resume the war, and Netanyahu, who fears it will end without achieving all of its initial aims. A White House spokeswoman said that Iran "knows full well their current reality is not sustainable," insisting that Trump "holds all the cards" in negotiations. "Their ballistic missiles are destroyed, their production facilities are dismantled, their navy is sunk, and their proxies are weakened," Olivia Wales said in a statement to CNN. "Now, they are being strangled economically by Operation Economic Fury and losing $500 million per day thanks to the United States Military’s successful blockade of Iranian ports.” An agreement between the US and Iran to end the war is far from certain, with significant gaps remaining in the two sides’ positions on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and the future of Tehran’s nuclear program, and Israel is preparing for the possibility that the fighting resumes. But the Trump administration has still pushed for a diplomatic path forward, seemingly unwilling to restart a conflict that has sent gas prices in the US soaring.

FOX News [5/12/2026 1:33 PM, Staff, 37576K] reports Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaks to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine about China and Pakistan’s ties to Iran during Senate hearing. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX Business [5/12/2026 6:29 PM, Staff, 7946K] Video: HERE reports former deputy national security advisor KT McFarland discusses Iran’s economic vulnerability, the U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and President Donald Trump’s trip to China on ‘The Evening Edit.’

Reuters [5/12/2026 12:11 PM, David Shepardson, 38315K] reports the U.S. Federal Communications Commission said on Tuesday it will allow Chinese drones and consumer routers sold ​in the United States to get critical software updates at least through the ‌end of 2028. The FCC in recent months banned the import of new models of Chinese drones and routers as Washington has cracked down on Chinese tech companies for reasons of national security, fearing ​cyber intrusions. But it continues to allow previously approved versions to be imported and sold. ​The FCC said it is allowing software and firmware updates that ⁠address harm to U.S. consumers. Consumer routers are boxes connecting computers, phones, and smart devices ​to the internet. The FCC said the change will ensure U.S. consumers receive "all software and ​firmware updates to ensure the continued functionality of the devices, such as those that patch vulnerabilities and facilitate compatibility with different operating systems." The FCC is separately considering whether to ban the import of ​Chinese equipment from a group of manufacturers after previously barring the import or sale ​of their new models in 2022. The ban would add telecommunications and video surveillance equipment made by ‌Huawei, ZTE (000063.SZ) ⁠Hytera (002583.SZ) Hikvision (002415.SZ) and Dahua (002236.SZ) to the FCC’s so-called “Covered List” of companies posing U.S. national security risks. Hikvision has filed suit to block the plan.

Politico [5/12/2026 11:24 PM, Katherine Long, 21784K] reports Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang boarded Air Force One as a last-minute addition to President Donald Trump’s delegation Tuesday night for a highly anticipated summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The Nvidia CEO, a Trump ally who has repeatedly lobbied Congress and the administration on loosening export controls on AI semiconductors, was notably not included on the list of CEOs invited to attend the summit that was circulated Monday. Other executives invited to the summit that takes place Thursday and Friday include Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon. Huang’s attendance raises speculation about whether chip exports could come up in negotiations. “Jensen is attending the summit at the invitation of President Trump to support America and the administration’s goals,” a Nvidia spokesperson said in a statement shared with POLITICO. The White House extended the invitation to Huang following media reports that he wasn’t invited, according to a person granted anonymity to discuss information about the trip that has not yet been made public. “CNBC incorrectly reported that the Great Jensen Huang, of Nvidia, was not invited to the incredible gathering of the World’s Greatest Businessmen/women proudly going to China,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday. “In actuality, Jensen is currently on Air Force One and, unless I ask him to leave, which is highly unlikely, CNBC’s reporting is incorrect or, as they say in politics, FAKE NEWS!” Huang successfully lobbied the administration to approve sales of Nvidia’s H200 chips — now the third most advanced in the company’s lineup — to China last December. The move was met with skepticism from China hawks on both sides of the aisle who fear giving China access to more advanced American chips could give the adversary an edge in the global AI race. Reuters [5/13/2026 2:04 AM, Laurie Chen, Karen Freifeld and Liam Mo, 38315K] reports that a White House spokesman said Huang’s schedule had changed and that it had worked out for him to attend. The last-minute development has spurred optimism on the Chinese side of potential progress in the prolonged H200 impasse. The sale of Nvidia’s H200 chips in China has emerged as a flashpoint in Sino-American relations. The China market once generated 13% of Nvidia’s total revenue. Nvidia’s chips have become the backbone of the global AI industry, powering the development of systems such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and underpinning the ambitions of technology companies worldwide. China is racing to build its own semiconductor industry and reduce dependence on foreign technology, but its homegrown chips have yet to match the performance of Nvidia’s most advanced offerings. For Chinese companies seeking to compete at the frontier of AI development, Nvidia’s hardware remains, for now, without ‌peer. A person ⁠at a major Chinese cloud company told Reuters that Huang’s presence was a signal that the long-running standoff could yield positive results. A source at a major server company said Huang’s attendance could help move the process forward. Despite the Trump administration authorizing sales of the H200 chips late last year, not a single chip has been sold to a Chinese customer. Shipments have been stymied by disagreements over the terms of the sales on both sides, sources said. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said last month that the chips had not ⁠yet been sold to China, citing the difficulties that Chinese companies faced in obtaining permission from their government to proceed with purchases. The Trump administration gave a formal green light to China-bound H200 sales in January, with conditions attached. The move ignited deep concern among China hawks in Washington, who fear Beijing could harness the technology to supercharge its military capabilities ⁠and narrow the gap with the U.S. in artificial intelligence development.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [5/12/2026 2:20 AM, Tripp Mickle and Ana Swanson, 148038K]

FOX News [5/13/2026 4:00 AM, Morgan Phillips, 37576K] reports as President Donald Trump and hundreds of aides, security personnel and officials prepare to travel to China, many will leave behind one of the most basic tools of modern government: their everyday cellphones. Instead, officials entering China often travel with stripped-down "clean" devices, temporary laptops and tightly controlled communications systems designed to minimize the risk of surveillance, hacking or data collection in what U.S. officials consider one of the world’s most aggressive cyber environments. The precautions can transform even routine tasks into logistical headaches. Messages that would normally travel instantly through encrypted apps or synced devices are instead routed through controlled channels, temporary accounts or relayed in person. Contacts disappear. Cloud access is limited. Some officials operate for days without their normal digital footprint. Current and former officials say the measures reflect a longstanding assumption inside the U.S. government: anything brought into China — phones, laptops, tablets or even hotel Wi-Fi connections — should be treated as potentially compromised. "China is a mass surveillance state," said Bill Gage, a former Secret Service special agent and now director of executive protection for Safehaven Security Group. "Briefings for U.S. officials begin well before the president arrives, and they make clear that everything is monitored."

Reuters [5/13/2026 1:54 AM, Staff, 16072K] reports South Korea is reviewing a phased ⁠contribution ⁠to efforts to ensure safe navigation through ⁠the Strait of Hormuz, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said on Wednesday, signaling support steps short ​of military participation. Ahn told a press conference with South Korean reporters in Washington that he had conveyed Seoul’s position at a meeting with ‌U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on ‌Monday. "We said at about this level that, fundamentally, we will participate as a responsible member of the international community and that ⁠we will review ⁠ways to contribute in a phased manner," Ahn said in comments confirmed by Seoul’s ​ministry. Ahn said possible forms of phased support could include expressions of political support, personnel dispatches, information-sharing and the provision of military assets, while stressing that no detailed discussions had taken place on expanding South Korean troop involvement. "There was no deep discussion on something like specifically expanding our military’s ​participation," he said, adding that any decisions would need to follow domestic legal procedures. Wi Sung-lac, South Korea’s presidential national ⁠security ⁠adviser, said at a roundtable with ⁠reporters on Wednesday that ​Seoul is reviewing whether to join the U.S.-led Maritime Freedom Construct to help safeguard the Strait of Hormuz. The meeting between South ⁠Korean and U.S. defense chiefs came a day after Seoul denounced an attack on a South Korean-flagged vessel near the Strait of Hormuz last week. South Korea’s presidential office strongly condemned the incident, but said it was still investigating responsibility for the attack. Ahn said he discussed the attack on the cargo ship with U.S. officials, adding that Seoul would decide on any response only after the probe ⁠was complete. At the meeting on Monday, Hegseth said Washington expected allies to "stand shoulder-to-shoulder" amid rising global threats, ⁠citing U.S. President Donald Trump’s authorization of what he called Operation Epic Fury as evidence of the administration’s resolve. He praised Seoul’s plans to increase defense spending and assume greater responsibility for the security of the Korean Peninsula, calling it an example of alliance burden-sharing. Ahn told reporters Hegseth expressed understanding over South Korea’s position on a conditions-based transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from the United States, and the goal of completing the transition at an early date. Washington had a "slightly different view" on the OPCON transfer process, Ahn said, adding that Seoul would continue efforts to persuade the United States. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s administration has signaled it aims to finalise the process during ⁠his term, which runs through to 2030, once the country meets a set of military capability conditions agreed with Washington. Ahn also said that the two sides exchanged views on other alliance issues including plans to build nuclear-powered submarines. He said there had been no discussion during the talks about a reduction in U.S. forces stationed in South Korea ​or about the strategic flexibility of U.S. troops stationed in the country.

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