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.

Reuters [5/16/2026 12:03 AM, Shubham Kalia, 38315K] reports U.S. President Donald Trump ‌said on Friday that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, was killed in an operation conducted by U.S. and Nigerian forces. It was a strike that Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu described as "a significant example of effective collaboration in the fight against terrorism." "Tonight, at my direction, brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria flawlessly executed a meticulously ⁠planned and very complex mission to eliminate the most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield. Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing," Trump said on Truth Social, without disclosing the exact location of the operation. In a statement posted on X, Tinubu said early assessments confirmed the elimination of al-Minuki — also known as Abu-Mainok — along with several of his lieutenants, during a strike on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin. Tinubu said Nigerian ‌forces ⁠worked closely with their U.S. counterparts in what he called a daring joint operation that dealt a heavy blow to the ranks of the Islamic State. Al-Minuki, a Nigerian national, was designated a "specially designated global terrorist" by the Biden administration in 2023, according to the U.S. Federal Register. Trump, who has previously accused Nigeria of ⁠failing to protect Christians from Islamist militants in the northwest, thanked the Nigerian government for its partnership in the operation. Nigeria denies discriminating against any religion, saying its security forces target armed groups that attack both Christians ⁠and Muslims. The U.S. carried out strikes targeting Islamic State-linked militants in Nigeria in December. Since then, Washington has deployed drones and 200 troops to provide training and intelligence support to the ⁠Nigerian military against Islamic State and al Qaeda-linked insurgencies that are spreading across West Africa. The U.S. forces were operating in a strictly non-combat role, Nigerian military officials said earlier this year. The New York Times [5/16/2026 4:44 AM, Francesca Regalado, 148038K] reports President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria said in a statement on social media that the mission had struck Mr. al-Minuki’s compound near Lake Chad, which is at the intersection of four countries, and killed several of his lieutenants. He did not specify the location of the compound. Both Mr. Trump and the Nigerian military identified Mr. al-Minuki as the second-most-senior leader in ISIS, a position the military said he might have received “as recently as February 2026.” He had earlier overseen “ISIS-linked operations across the Sahel and West Africa,” the military said. Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Mr. al-Minuki had been responsible for recent attacks against the military in the country’s northeast. CBS News [5/16/2026 12:43 AM, Staff, 51110K] reports that a native of Nigeria, al-Minuki was described by the U.S. State Department in 2023 as a leader of the Islamic State, or ISIS, in Africa’s Sahel region. At the time, he served as a senior official in one of the Islamic State’s General Directorate of Provinces offices, which "provide operational guidance and funding around the world," according to the State Department. He was placed on the Treasury Department’s specially designated global terrorist list in 2023, hitting him with steep sanctions. The Islamic State has diminished significantly since the U.S., its regional allies, Iran and other forces wrested large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria from the group’s control starting in 2017. But the U.S.-designated terrorist group and its affiliates have remained present in parts of the Middle East and Africa since then, carrying out insurgent attacks. The group’s West Africa branches have a presence in Nigeria and in the Sahel, particularly in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Suspected attacks by the Islamic State have been reported in all four countries in recent months, including an offensive on a military base in Nigeria and clashes with other Islamist groups, according to the International Crisis Group. Mr. Trump ordered an earlier round of strikes on Islamic State targets in Nigeria in Christmas Day last year. The U.S. military’s Africa Command said "multiple ISIS terrorists" were killed in camps. The president pressed Nigeria last fall to take more action against terrorism, accusing the country of failing to deal with rampant violence against Christians. The Nigerian government has denied that the country allows religious persecution, and analysts say large numbers of Muslims and Christians have been harmed by insurgency in northern Nigeria.

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [5/16/2026 6:06 AM, Victoria Craw, 24826K]
Bloomberg [5/16/2026 4:33 AM, Audrey Wan, 18082K]
AP [5/16/2026 5:52 AM, Michelle L. Price and Ope Adetayo, 16072K]
NBC News [5/16/2026 1:09 AM, Phil Helsel, 42967K]
CNN [5/16/2026 4:52 AM, Laura Sharman, 19874K]
FOX News [5/16/2026 12:33 AM, Michael Sinkewicz, 37576K]

Washington Times [5/15/2026 5:20 PM, Stephen Dinan, 1323K] reports the Border Patrol just announced its 12th straight month without a single catch and release at the U.S.-Mexico border, capping off a year of unprecedented calm. Agents have gone from arresting roughly 250,000 illegal immigrants in the worst month under President Biden to fewer than 10,000 arrests a month under President Trump. And where the Biden administration caught and released most of those migrants, under Mr. Trump, they are either pushed back across the border immediately, turned over to other authorities or held for formal deportation proceedings. "The days of catch and release are over. We are enforcing the nation’s laws and sending illegal aliens back to their home countries," Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said. In April 2024, Border Patrol agents nabbed nearly 129,000 illegal immigrants at the Southwest border. They released more than 68,000 of them. This past month, agents recorded 8,943 arrests and released none. Adding in encounters at official ports of entry, such as border crossings or airports, Customs and Border Protection reported about 31,000 total unauthorized migrants. Many of those are travelers who arrive at airports without full proper documentation. In April 2024, under Mr. Biden, that total was nearly 248,000. "What a difference, America!" said CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott.

FOX News [5/15/2026 5:43 PM, Alec Schemmel, 37576K] reports the Trump administration marked a full year of "zero releases" at the southern border on Friday, a milestone officials touted as evidence that the president has effectively ended the catch-and-release policies that defined the Biden-era border crisis. In a news release announcing the decline in releases at the southern border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) pointed to broader enforcement statistics showing illegal crossings and apprehensions at levels officials said have not been seen in more than three decades. CBP said Border Patrol recorded 8,943 southwestern border apprehensions in April, 94% lower than the Biden administration’s monthly average, 96% below the December 2023 peak during Biden’s tenure and fewer than the number apprehended in just three days in April 2024. "The days of catch and release are over," said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. "We are enforcing the nation’s laws and sending illegal aliens back to their home countries." Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, told Fox News Digital that the administration’s claim of "zero releases" from Border Patrol custody "does appear true," but noted that the figure does not capture migrants transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody and later released on bond, parole, medical or humanitarian grounds, or after winning their cases.

Bloomberg [5/15/2026 4:12 PM, Alicia A. Caldwell, 18082K] reports migrant arrests at the US-Mexico border edged up to the most in President Donald Trump’s second term after plunging when he returned to office in January 2025. US Border Patrol agents made 8,943 arrests along the southwest border in April, the third straight monthly increase, according to US Customs and Border Protection data compiled by Bloomberg. Even as recent monthly tallies remain near historic lows, arrests have climbed almost 50% since January. In a statement Friday, Mullin highlighted that border officials haven’t released anyone caught crossing the border illegally in the last year. “Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, we are delivering the most secure border in American history,” Mullin said. “The days of catch and release are over. We are enforcing the nation’s laws and sending illegal aliens back to their home countries.” Mullin has sought to shift the department’s immigration crackdown toward a more conventional approach. He has emphasized targeted arrests over sweeping raids, discouraging operations designed to generate headlines and tapping the brakes on plans to purchase and renovate warehouses that could be converted into large-scale detention centers.

Breitbart [5/15/2026 1:42 PM, Olivia Rondeau, 2238K] reports that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin joined Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in northern Virginia for a Friday morning operation that led to the arrest of a previously deported criminal illegal alien. Mullin, who traded his role as the junior Republican senator from Oklahoma to lead DHS in March, announced that his officers "arrested a criminal illegal, removed multiple times from our country, whose rap sheet includes drug possession and driving under the influence." In his social media announcement of the early-morning arrest, the secretary blamed Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) for making Virginia a "magnet for criminal illegal aliens" with her "sanctuary policies." "Roughly 50 percent of the murderers in Fairfax, Virginia — the perps are illegals. Shouldn’t even be in the country to begin with," Mullin said in a video shot at the scene of the arrest: "You have, you know, politicians that want to protect the criminals," he added. "President Trump is still protecting all of our neighborhoods." Later in the day, Mullin touted the fact that zero illegal aliens have been released at the U.S.-Mexico border, a stark contrast from the Biden administration. Former President Joe Biden and then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas released more than 68,000 illegal aliens who were apprehended at the border into the U.S. interior, Breitbart News reported. "Under [President Trump’s] leadership, the days of catch and release are over," the DHS secretary wrote on X: "We are enforcing our nation’s laws and sending illegal aliens BACK to their home countries."

FOX News [5/15/2026 2:04 PM, Preston Mizell and Robert McGreevy, 37576K] Video: HERE reports that following a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation that led to the arrest of a three-time felon in Virginia, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin took aim at Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger. Mullin spoke exclusively with Fox News Digital after a 4 a.m. trek to Manassas, Virginia, and a moonlit raid resulted in the arrest of Marvin Len Morales, a multiple-time felon who had been deported twice before. Morales had felony drug charges and a misdemeanor DWI charge on his record. The DHS secretary said the arrest underscored what he views as the consequences of Spanberger and Virginia Democrats limiting cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, arguing the policies make it harder for ICE agents to remove repeat offenders from communities. "Well, unfortunately, we’re not working with [Spanberger] at all. She’s criminalized us to some degree. She went out there, she’s warned all law enforcement not to work with us," Mullin told Fox News Digital standing just feet away from the handcuffed migrant. "This individual right here that we just arrested, this is his third time to be deported. He self-deported once, he was deported again. He’s snuck back across, he’s been living back here in this country again with a history of criminal activity. This shouldn’t be happening in our streets, in our neighborhood," Mullin told Fox News Digital. Mullin lamented the lack of local cooperation with federal law enforcement and Virginia’s sanctuary state status, arguing the policies lead to an influx of criminal activity.

Washington Post [5/15/2026 1:12 PM, Steve Thompson and Juan Benn Jr., 24826K] reports that Congressional Republicans hammered the prosecutor of Virginia’s largest county Thursday during a House subcommittee hearing on criminal justice and immigration, the latest action targeting liberal local officials to attack broader Democratic policies.

Get concise answers to your questions. Try Ask The Post AI. What emerged during the more than two-hour-long hearing were two contrasting views of Fairfax County, with Republicans depicting the community of 1.1 million residents as a place whose leaders are willing to allow people in the country illegally get away with crimes while Democrats argued that local policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration officials keep residents safe. “You’re a coward,” Rep. Brad Knott (R-North Carolina), a former prosecutor, told Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano (D) during the hearing, criticizing his office for dropping a case against a native of Honduras who had been accused of attempting to abduct a 4-year-old girl in 2023. Descano tried to explain the lack of evidence that led to the decision, including the child’s mother not wanting her to have to testify, but Knott admonished him to “quit talking” and, moments later, to “be quiet.”

NewsMax [5/15/2026 11:26 AM, Charlie McCarthy, 3760K] reports that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is reportedly conducting a full review of his predecessor’s decisions and spending. Mullin has moved quickly to overhaul DHS after taking over from former Secretary Kristi Noem, whose tenure drew criticism over aggressive immigration enforcement tactics, controversial spending decisions, and highly publicized media campaigns, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Mullin, a close ally of President Donald Trump and a former Oklahoma senator, is reportedly focused on restoring discipline and lowering the political temperature surrounding DHS while continuing to carry out Trump’s immigration agenda. The Journal reported that Mullin has already fired several officials closely aligned with Noem and top adviser Corey Lewandowski, including senior personnel at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He also has encouraged internal reviews of contracts and spending decisions made under the previous leadership, while cooperating more closely with the department’s inspector general office, which had reportedly clashed with Noem’s team over oversight issues. Mullin also is said to be scaling back some high-profile immigration raid tactics that generated backlash during the previous leadership team’s push for mass deportations. The Journal reported that Mullin instructed ICE to avoid large, heavily publicized operations like raids previously carried out in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Minneapolis. White House officials reportedly believe those operations hurt public support for Trump’s broader immigration goals and increased risks for federal agents. Still, administration officials insist enforcement remains a top priority. The Washington Examiner [5/15/2026 12:40 PM, Anna Giaritelli, 1147K] reports Mullin has spent nearly two months in his new role plotting a course that will make the jailing of illegal immigrants through court proceedings more efficient and cost-effective, without the pomp and circumstance seen over the past year. To do this, Mullin and DHS advisers have chosen to walk away from several warehouses that Noem had tried to buy with the intention of converting the facilities into immigrant jails. DHS has also looked at doing away with the alliteratively named state detention sites, such as "Alligator Alcatraz" and the "Deportation Depot" in Florida. "I would say that the approach is more sensible and not flashy. No gimmicks," a senior administration official wrote in a text message. "Not hooking up their friends." The move comes amid pushback from communities where new immigration detention sites were planned and as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a DHS agency, continues to carry out President Donald Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown

CNN [5/16/2026 6:05 AM, René Marsh and Audrey Ash, 19874K] reports a long-abandoned proposal at the Department of Homeland Security – one so ambitious the agency had never gone through with it before – was revived under the leadership of then-Secretary Kristi Noem. Officials spent tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to buy the department its own fleet of aircraft and started laying the groundwork for shifting away from relying on charter airline companies for deportation flights, as it had for decades. Ultimately, they planned to start their own mini airline to help execute President Donald Trump’s aim to deport 1 million undocumented immigrants a year. Now DHS tells CNN exclusively it plans to start using the planes for deportation flights soon – using contractors to operate the planes – after new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin reevaluated the plan. Mullin, who replaced Noem in March, had undertaken an agency-wide review of contracts signed during her tenure. "We anticipate we will be able to integrate these planes into our deportation efforts in the coming weeks," a DHS spokesperson said in a statement.

Politico [5/15/2026 7:57 AM, Eric Bazail-Eimil, 21784K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has taken some steps to improve his department’s relationship with Capitol Hill. Lawmakers in both parties, however, say there’s much more to be done before the damage from his predecessor’s tenure is repaired. Senate Republicans, largely adulatory of Mullin’s early efforts to change course at the Department of Homeland Security, acknowledge that the poor relationship between DHS and its Senate committee of jurisdiction is limiting productive engagement. Tensions still exist between Mullin and the chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has lashed the Homeland Security secretary for not having what he considers the proper temperament for the role. The enmity between the two men burst out in public view during Mullin’s March confirmation hearing, when Paul upbraided Mullin for disparaging comments Mullin had made about a violent 2017 attack against the Kentucky Republican. “There needs to be a good relationship between the secretary of Homeland Security and the chairman of the committee,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said. Declining to say if any members are working to smooth over the relationship between the two, Scott emphasized: “I think it’s important they figure out how to have a positive human relationship.” Paul declined to comment on his relationship with Mullin. While Paul was also a critic of former Secretary Kristi Noem’s heavy-handed approach to deportations, his frustrations with Noem did not appear as personal. The White House has also been slow to embrace Mullin as its go-to representative on the Hill for DHS matters. As funding legislation snaked its way through Congress in March and April, the White House mainly dispatched border czar Tom Homan to talk to lawmakers, casting Mullin into a less direct role in the push to end the monthslong shutdown of his department. That omission is all the more striking given that Mullin, who represented Oklahoma in both the House and Senate, was hailed as a Capitol Hill dealmaker when he was nominated. Mullin had also vowed to be accessible and very communicative with Congress during his confirmation hearing. Early reports had also suggested he was trying to play a role during his confirmation process as a broker for a funding deal. Many of those dynamics will be on sharp display this month when Mullin returns to testify before the House Appropriations Committee, his first public appearance before his former colleagues since he entered the Cabinet. His testimony at an oversight hearing, which has been postponed after it was initially scheduled for Monday, will give lawmakers their first chance to publicly press Mullin on his efforts at the department. DHS said in a statement that “while serving in his new role as DHS Secretary, he’s continuing this leadership style and is in constant communication with leaders on Capitol Hill, his 22 agency heads, and the White House to deliver on President Trump’s promise to protect the homeland.”

The New York Times [5/15/2026 5:11 PM, Campbell Robertson, 148038K] reports federal officials announced on Friday that a “summer surge” of law enforcement agents was beginning in Washington, D.C., adding to the hundreds who have been deployed in the city since August. Declaring a need to secure the city in advance of the nation’s 250th birthday celebration, Gadyaces Serralta, the director of the United States Marshals Service, said in a news conference that additional officers would be deployed from a variety of federal agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The number of agents from Homeland Security Investigations, a division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, would double, he said, possibly reigniting concerns among residents that local police are cooperating with immigration enforcement. Mr. Serralta said that H.S.I. agents would be focused on fraud investigations. He also said that officials have requested an additional 1,500 members of the National Guard, which would bring the total in the city to around 5,000. At the news conference, Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in Washington, said that almost 13,000 arrests had been made since last summer’s surge began, and that “almost 1,500 illegal firearms” had been seized. According to local police statistics, homicides are down around 36 percent year-to-date, and crime overall is down 26 percent. FOX News [5/15/2026 5:08 PM, Alexandra Koch, 37576K] reports that due to the aggressive enforcement efforts, overall crime in D.C. has plummeted 26%, with homicides dropping nearly 50% and carjackings down 60%. The U.S. Attorney’s Office added it has secured more than 7,000 convictions over the past year. Officials said a focal point of the summer surge will be crushing the "teen takeovers" that have terrorized D.C. neighborhoods and shut down local businesses. Starting immediately, federal prosecutors will charge parents under a D.C. statute for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. A formal request has been made for an additional 1,500 National Guardsmen to deploy to D.C., bringing the total troop presence to 5,000. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) will double its special agents on the streets to target identity theft and those who fraudulently obtain housing without paying rent.

Washington Post [5/15/2026 2:29 PM, Perry Stein and Meagan Flynn, 24826K] reports that the Justice Department will prosecute the parents of teenagers who break curfew as part of a crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital ahead of celebrations this summer for America’s 250th birthday, the top federal prosecutor in D.C. announced Friday. At a news conference at Justice Department headquarters, Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in D.C., decried “teen takeovers” — a trend in which large crowds of dozens or hundreds of young people meet in buzzy nightlife areas and sometimes cause mayhem. She said these takeovers have terrorized local businesses in neighborhoods such as Navy Yard and NoMa and cost taxpayers money. Pirro’s office does not have the authority to prosecute juveniles, unless for certain violent crimes in which the teenagers are tried as adults. Most juvenile crime is prosecuted by the local D.C. attorney general. But Pirro said she could prosecute parents under a D.C. law that makes it illegal to enable a minor to skip school, commit a crime or use drugs. A parent could face fines, mandated parental classes or jail time, according to Pirro. “Parents, do your jobs, or we will do ours,” Pirro said. “Parents, if you don’t control your kids, the District will.” The announcement comes as District lawmakers have stalled over whether to enact an emergency youth curfew to cover the summer months while a longer-term version that passed will need congressional review.

Washington Examiner [5/15/2026 2:29 PM, Naomi Lim, 1147K] reports that Vice President JD Vance said on Friday that public safety was the “birthright” of every American citizen, while contrasting the administration’s record in supporting law enforcement with that of Democrats. Vance made the remarks at a National Police Week address to the Fraternal Order of Police and other law enforcement organizations at the Capitol. “You’re always going to have terrible people who want to do the worst things, but allowing so many of those people free rein, allowing so many of them to strike at our law enforcement officers, ladies and gentlemen, that was a policy choice,” Vance said, pointing to Congress behind him. The vice president promised that the Trump administration “will never again let policymakers in the building behind us allow violent criminals to tee off on our police officers.” Vance also underscored the White House’s record of supporting law enforcement officers, telling the audience, “We stopped handcuffing the police and started handcuffing more violent criminals.” “We’ve restored a culture that supports — not second-guesses — our officers when they go out and do their important work,” the vice president said. “We’ve ended the shameful practice of micro-management of state and local police started by the last administration.” Vance closed his remarks by arguing that security should not be treated as a privilege reserved for wealthy Americans or public officials with government protection.

The Hill [5/15/2026 9:44 AM, Alexander Bolton, 18170K] reports the Senate parliamentarian on Thursday ruled that several elements of the Republicans’ budget reconciliation package to provide $70 billion in immigration enforcement funding failed to comply with the Byrd Rule and could subject the entire package to a 60-vote threshold if left in the bill. The ruling is a setback for Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), who wants to bring the legislation to the floor next week, that will require Republicans to redraft or drop some provisions of the package. Democrats hailed the parliamentarian’s ruling as a big win, though a spokesperson for Thune downplayed it as simply requiring “technical fixes that were not unexpected.” “As Senate Democrats warned time and time again, we were prepared to look at every line of this bill to ensure it was compliant with the Byrd Rule and the rules of the reconciliation process. While we expect Republicans to continue to do anything Trump asks, this is a win for the rule of law and to ensure children in immigration detention are protected by existing laws” Senate Budget Committee ranking member Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said in a statement. Merkley said Democrats “are prepared to continue fighting this bill.” The parliamentarian ruled against a section of the bill that would allow funds to be used for the initial screenings of unaccompanied migrant children. The parliamentarian ruled that the legislation, as drafted, inappropriately funded some activities outside the Senate Homeland Security Committee’s jurisdiction. The parliamentarian also ruled that the provision undermined decades-old protections for noncitizen children in the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), according to a summary of the ruling issued by Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee.

FOX Business [5/15/2026 7:25 PM, Staff, 7946K] Video: HERE reports El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells discusses his lawsuit against California sanctuary laws citing border safety and human trafficking concerns on ‘The Bottom Line.’

Wall Street Journal [5/15/2026 2:41 PM, José de Córdoba, 646K] reports a former Sinaloa state security chief accused in the U.S. of taking bribes from drug-cartel kingpins was arrested in Arizona this week in a case that has rocked diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Mexico. Gerardo Mérida, a retired Mexican army general who served as public-security secretary in northwestern Sinaloa state, was detained on Monday in Tucson, Ariz., court records show. Mérida is one of 10 current and former Sinaloa officials, including Gov. Rubén Rocha, indicted last month in the U.S. for allegedly taking bribes from Sinaloa cartel leaders to protect their billion-dollar drug empire. U.S. prosecutors say that the Sinaloa cartel is one of the world’s top producers and smugglers of fentanyl into the U.S. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said the evidence presented by U.S. authorities requesting their arrest and extradition was insufficient. Mexican authorities opened their own investigations into the accused. The U.S. indictment further strained Mexico’s ties with the Trump administration. Drug Enforcement Administration head Terry Cole recently said that the Rocha indictment, the first against a sitting Mexican governor, would be followed by other moves against officials in league with drug traffickers. Mérida is charged with various drug and weapons offenses and could face up to life in prison. He waived any rights to a detention hearing in Tucson ahead of his transfer to New York, where he was indicted. He turned himself in after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border at Nogales and was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service, Mexico’s government said Friday.

FOX News [5/15/2026 2:43 PM, Robert McGreevy, 37576K] reports that Jose Enrique Martinez Flores, an alleged senior leader of the Venezuelan Tren de Argua (TdA) gang, appeared before a judge in Houston Friday following extradition from Colombia in a historic first for cartel prosecutions. Martinez Flores, also known as Chuqui, was allegedly part of TdA’s "inner circle," according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). He is the first alleged TdA member extradited to the U.S. on terrorism-related charges since the gang was designated a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) in 2025. "This is a first of its kind, which is important. I think, as everyone knows, in 2025 with the new administration these cartels are now designated as foreign terrorist organizations. Not only does that give us more focus and attention on these groups but it gives us more resources, more ability to reach these individuals in their home countries, that’s why this is so significant," Jason Hudson, FBI Special Agent in Charge in Houston, said during a Friday news conference. "Mr. Martines Flores was the first TdA member to be charged with material support of terrorism. Mr. Martines Flores is also the first TdA member that has been extradited to the United States to face those charges in our country," Hudson continued. "Today’s extradition sends a clear message: under President Trump’s leadership, foreign terrorist organizations like Tren de Aragua will be hunted down and brought to justice," FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

AP [5/15/2026 7:32 PM, Michael R. Sisak, 3833K] reports the former secretary of public security for Mexico’s Sinaloa state appeared in a U.S. court on Friday, days after his arrest in Arizona on charges he and other officials took bribes to help the Sinaloa Cartel smuggle vast quantities of drugs into the U.S. Gerardo Mérida Sánchez, 66, was not required to enter a plea during his initial appearance in federal court in Manhattan. He was ordered jailed but could request bail at a later date. He is due back in court on June 1. A message seeking comment was left for his lawyer. Mérida Sánchez is one of 10 current or former Sinaloa government or law enforcement officials charged by the U.S. last month and the first to appear in court. He is charged with narcotics importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices and faces 40 years to life in prison if convicted. Other defendants include Gov. Rubén Rocha Moya and Mayor Juan de Dios Gámez Mendívil of the Sinaloa state capital of Culiacán, both of whom said they were taking temporary leaves of absence to deal with the charges. They have yet to be apprehended. Mexico’s Security Cabinet stated on social media that Mérida Sánchez entered the U.S. from Hermosillo, Sonora, on Monday, and was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service at the Nogales border crossing into Arizona. He appeared in court in Arizona before being moved to New York, court records show. Mérida Sánchez was Secretary of Public Security, an appointed cabinet-level position in Moya’s Sinaloa government, from September 2023 until his resignation in December 2024. He was responsible for overseeing the Sinaloa State Police and appointing its director. Mérida Sánchez is accused of taking at least $100,000 in monthly cash bribes from “Los Chapitos,” a Sinaloa Cartel faction run by the sons of incarcerated ex-cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, in exchange for arresting rivals and providing information about ongoing investigations and planned drug raids.

Univision [5/15/2026 6:42 PM, Staff, 4937K] reports Gerardo Mérida Sánchez surrendered on Friday, May 15 in Arizona. The former Sinaloa is among the ten officials whose extradition requested the United States. What route did the former Sinaloan secretary follow? On Friday, May 15, Gerardo Mérida, an official whose extradition requested by the US government, was handed over. The former security secretary is among the ten people reported by the United States, including former Gov. Ruben Rocha Moya and Senator Enrique Inzunza. Through X, the Mexican Security Cabinet reported that Gerardo Mérida traveled from Hermosillo, Sonora, to Nogales, on May 11. Through the border city gate, he crossed into Arizona, where he was placed in the custody of U.S. Marshals Service agents. This federal police agency is under the command of the Department of Justice and is in charge of the protection of judges. In addition, it is responsible for the actions of capture and delivery of fugitives. The Marshals also manage the U.S. federal witness protection program and the transfer of prisoners. The Security Cabinet said it maintains contact with the United States about the delivery of the former Sinaloan official. Official documents confirm that Gerardo Mérida was arrested on May 11. Currently, the retired general is being held at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center in New York. In this prison are also Nicolás Maduro, former president of Venezuela, and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. The capture of the drug trafficker unleashed a wave of clashes between factions of the Sinaloa Cartel in 2024 and resulted in the resignation of Mérida Sánchez in December of that same year.

Washington Examiner [5/15/2026 4:13 PM, Kaelan Deese, 1147K] reports that a suspected top leader of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua was extradited from Colombia to the United States on Thursday, marking the first known transfer of a TdA member from Colombia to face terrorism-related charges in federal court. Jose Enrique Martinez Flores, a 24-year-old Venezuelan national known as “Chuqui,” was set to appear Friday morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christina Bryan in Houston federal court after arriving in Texas following a Homeland Security Task Force investigation, the Justice Department said in a press release. FBI Director Kash Patel on Friday called Flores the “highest-ranking” TdA leader ever to be extradited to the U.S. for prosecution, lauding President Donald Trump for his executive order that designated the Venezuelan-linked criminal gang as a foreign terrorist organization. Federal prosecutors allege Flores was part of the inner circle of TdA leadership operating in Bogota, Colombia, overseeing a network involved in cocaine trafficking, extortion, and prostitution. The Trump administration designated TdA a foreign terrorist organization in February last year, dramatically expanding the legal tools available to pursue the gang. According to a second superseding indictment returned by a Houston grand jury in December, Flores is charged with conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, providing material support to TdA, and participating in an international cocaine trafficking conspiracy involving at least five kilograms of the drug intended for distribution in the U.S.

CBS News [5/15/2026 6:30 AM, Staff, 51110K] reports a U.S. federal grand jury on Thursday expanded the charges against the second-in-command of Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel, accusing him of methamphetamine trafficking and conspiracy to launder money. Mexican drug kingpin Audias Flores Silva was arrested on April 27 in the western state of Nayarit in an operation by Mexican Navy special forces based on information provided by U.S. agencies. He was originally charged with trafficking cocaine and heroin in an August 2020 indictment. The capture of Flores Silva, alias "El Jardinero" or "The Gardener," was considered a major blow to the leadership of the cartel, known by its Spanish initials CJNG. The CJNG regional commander was captured while he was hiding in a roadside ditch. Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch posted video on social media appearing to show a man emerging from a hole in the ground as he is being taken into custody. He was identified by Mexican authorities as a possible successor to leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias "El Mencho," who was killed in February in the western state of Jalisco in an army operation. "Jardinero believed he would assume control of the violent foreign terrorist organization CJNG following the death of El Mencho. He was wrong." DEA Administrator Terrance Cole said in a statement Thursday. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [5/15/2026 1:32 PM, Stepheny Price, 37576K] reports that a sweeping multi-agency crackdown in northeast Georgia forest lands ended with the arrest of 25 illegal immigrants, including felons and an alleged cartel member, after authorities launched a dayslong operation that uncovered drugs, fugitives and suspects hiding in remote wooded areas. The operation, dubbed "Southern Forest Trident," was carried out between May 1 and May 6 across parts of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina by the U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations division alongside federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. In Stephens County, Georgia, authorities conducted checkpoints and aggressive patrols on remote roads surrounding forest service lands in an effort to intercept fugitives, drug traffickers and individuals living in the country illegally. The operation brought together officers and investigators from the U.S. Forest Service, Stephens County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Department of Homeland Security and the FBI North Georgia Major Offenders Task Force. DHS arrested 25 illegal immigrants in Stephens County, including 14 with prior felony convictions, officials said. Authorities also identified one suspect as a confirmed cartel member. Fox News Digital reached out to the U.S. Forest Service and DHS for comment.

New York Times [5/15/2026 2:43 PM, Ernesto Londoño, Alan Feuer, and Jack Nicas, 148038K] reports that the Trump administration this week instructed federal prosecutors to use terrorism statutes to target Mexican officials complicit in the narcotics trade, a significant escalation in its campaign against drug trafficking from Mexico, according to a U.S. official familiar with the remarks. That new directive was announced Wednesday by Aakash Singh, an associate deputy attorney general, during an internal conference call with prosecutors in regional offices and represents an aggressive new tactic in the administration’s counternarcotics strategy that is almost certain to further strain its relationship with Mexico. The initiative is the latest expansion of a hard-line policy that has defined President Trump’s agenda since his return to the White House last year, when he signed an executive order designating Latin American drug cartels as terrorist organizations. Within months, the U.S. military began blowing up boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, killing nearly 200 people the administration says are drug smugglers. The Justice Department directive, which has not been previously reported, comes two weeks after federal prosecutors in New York indicted the governor of Mexico’s Sinaloa state, who is also a member of the country’s governing party, and nine other current and former Mexican officials. Days earlier, the death of two Central Intelligence Agency officers in a car crash in Mexico revealed a covert element of the White House’s clampdown on cartels. The developments have sharply intensified cross-border tensions.

Texas Tribune [5/15/2026 4:11 PM, Alex Nguyen] reports a sweeping 2023 Texas immigration law was mostly halted Thursday, a day before it was supposed to take effect. But the provision that allows state and local police to arrest people suspected of having crossed the southern border illegally did activate Friday. Civil rights groups brought a lawsuit earlier this month to stop four key sections of Senate Bill 4: the creation of a crime for re-entering the country without authorization, even if a person has since gained legal status; the establishment of magistrates’ authority to order a person’s deportation; the creation of a crime for not complying with a magistrate’s order; and the requirement that magistrates continue a prosecution even if a person has an asylum claim or other pending immigration cases. The groups argued that the sections involving the state’s judicial system are unconstitutional because they encroach on the federal government’s sole authority over immigration laws. It also challenged the re-entry provision, saying that the law provides no defense for people who had federal permission to enter the country or those who might have pending immigration status. U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra granted the preliminary injunction against these sections of the law on Thursday. The Reagan appointee had signaled during a Wednesday hearing that he considered them unconstitutional.

Federal News Network [5/15/2026 1:39 PM, Michele Sandiford, 1297K] reports that Senators have unanimously agreed to a resolution that would withhold their paychecks during future government shutdowns. The bipartisan resolution comes amid increasingly longer and more frequent shutdowns. Historically, lawmakers continue getting paid during a funding lapse, while many federal employees have to endure the financial strain of missed paychecks. The Senate resolution will take effect after the general election on Nov. 3. It does not apply to the House. Lawmakers are concerned about readiness gaps at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee are urging FEMA to shore up staffing and leadership ahead of the start of Atlantic hurricane season on June 1. In a letter to leadership at the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA, they warned roughly half of FEMA’s 38 top leadership positions are vacant, while staffing cuts could leave the agency shorthanded. They also urged DHS and FEMA to release delayed disaster relief funding and restore emergency planning contracts. Agencies reported nine different Anti-Deficiency Act violations in fiscal 2025. A new report from the Government Accountability Office shows these instances of agencies spending more money than appropriated happened over the course of many years, with one going back as far as 2017. GAO said the Agricultural Department submitted two reports last year for violating the law. Other reported violations came from the Labor Department, the Board of Veterans Appeals, the National Science Foundation and the Army National Guard. Each agency told GAO what steps it took to avoid future Anti-Deficiency Act violations.

Wall Street Journal [5/15/2026 2:45 PM, Jen Rickling, 646K] reports it’s been a month, and I am still processing what happened to my son, Matthew, and my daughter-in-law, Annie. You may remember reading about their story. In early April, our family was filled with joy from Matthew and Annie’s late-March wedding. Matthew, 23, joined the U.S. Army in 2021, and is a staff sergeant. My husband and I accompanied the newlyweds to Matthew’s post in Louisiana. We planned to help them start their life together and help my son prepare for training and deployment. Instead, when we arrived at Matthew’s base, Annie, 22, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and taken away in handcuffs. After nearly a week in detention—and a public outcry—she was freed. Yet even now, Annie and Matthew’s future together is uncertain. Annie is everything you would hope for in a daughter-in-law. She’s a Sunday-school teacher and a biochemistry major nearly finished with her college degree. She’s also a Dreamer who was brought to this country from Honduras when she was 20 months old. In Southern Arizona, where I live, immigration and border security are always in the news. Yet it wasn’t until Annie and Matthew’s marriage that those issues directly affected our lives. I saw how complicated and contradictory they could be. No, I don’t believe every person who crosses the border illegally or overstays a visa should be allowed to remain in this country. But I do believe there has to be a better way for Annie and other Dreamers. Annie had a deportation order issued when she was a toddler. That was in 2005, when her parents didn’t show up for an immigration court hearing in Houston. Since that time, she has studied hard, demonstrated her character and fallen in love with a man serving his country. As a teenager, she applied to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, paid her fee and was fingerprinted for a background check. Her application, made in 2020, is still pending, stalled by sporadic freezes on new DACA requests. Annie has had no path to obtain a green card or otherwise become legal. Even now, despite her marriage to Matthew, the prospects aren’t certain. A deportation order from when she was a baby shouldn’t override the life she has built. I am a proud conservative who supports President Trump’s efforts to secure the border. I also agree with his pledge to find a way for Dreamers to stay in this nation and his comments following his re-election: “We have to do something about the Dreamers, because these are people that have been brought here at a very young age. . . . Some of them are no longer young people, and in many cases they’ve become successful. They have great jobs . . . and we’re going to have to do something with them.” I ask Mr. Trump to ensure that his administration is following through on his wishes for Dreamers like Annie.

The Hill [5/15/2026 10:00 AM, Keith Naughton, 18170K] reports last week, I received an email asking me to update my voter information. Too bad it was from a county I had moved away from nearly three years ago. I doubt that is unusual; efficiently and safely managing the voter rolls is not exactly a priority in local government. As a result, America’s voter rolls are a mess. Past elections have shown long tabulation times, broken voting machines, voter registration errors, deceased voters on the rolls and millions of double-registered voters — that is, voters who move and end up being registered in more than one jurisdiction (apparently you can add me to that list). And there is little indication that anything is changing. The public is clearly concerned with vote security. Polls by Politico and YouGov show majorities in favor of voter ID and plurality support for cleaning up the voter rolls. Even a sizable minority of Democratic voters are in favor, a rarity in our highly polarized political environment. Politico reports that 52 percent of those polled are in favor of “requiring proof of citizenship” to register to vote, but that underestimates the strength of the issue. Only 18 percent are opposed, including only 32 percent of Democrats. The problem is the high number of undecided voters, with 13 percent unsure and 17 percent saying they “neither support nor oppose” it. What Trump and the Republicans should have done before pushing the SAVE Act was a comprehensive national audit of voter rolls, showing the extent of the problem. As for the bill itself, it doesn’t go far enough. It is one thing to make non-citizen voting illegal, but quite another to actually enforce the prohibition. The same goes for voter ID, double-registration and failure to remove the dead from voting rolls. The SAVE Act should address those problems by withholding federal funds if states ignore these issues. Moreover, it is necessary to provide funds to upgrade voter registration and increase security is necessary.

Federal Newswire [5/15/2026 2:20 PM, T. J. Graves] reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested several criminal illegal aliens convicted of serious offenses, including sexual exploitation of a child, aggravated sexual battery, forcible sodomy, and burglary, according to a May 15 announcement from the Department of Homeland Security. The arrests took place during Police Week, which is recognized for honoring law enforcement personnel who protect communities across the United States. The department said these actions highlight ongoing efforts to remove individuals convicted of violent crimes from American neighborhoods. Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said, “Yesterday, the men and women of ICE risked their lives to arrest child pornographers, sexual predators, and burglars.” Bis also said that Secretary Mullin joined ICE officers in Virginia as they conducted operations. “Every single day, our officers put their lives on the line to remove criminal illegal aliens from American neighborhoods. This Police Week and every day, our pride in and support for these brave men and women keeping America safe will remain unwavering.”

San Diego Union Tribune [5/15/2026 6:23 PM, Staff, 1257K] reports an increasing number of conservative states are mandating that state and local social service providers verify and report the immigration status of the people they serve — in some cases threatening stiff penalties for public employees who fail to comply. Under federal law, immigrants who are in the United States illegally are generally barred from receiving public benefits such as nonemergency health care, food aid and housing help, though a handful of left-leaning states use their own money to provide such benefits. Supporters of the new verification and reporting laws say they will help curb illegal immigration by making it more difficult for people who aren’t eligible for public aid to receive it. Government-funded health care, housing aid and the right to have a driver’s license are a "pull factor that encourages illegal immigration," said Cooper Smith, director of homeland security and immigration at the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank that has worked on policy development with the current Trump administration. Government benefits, Smith said, are "an incentive for (immigrants) to come here and cross the border and make this their home, and we don’t want to see that.” In Tennessee, legislators this week sent a bill to Republican Gov. Bill Lee that would require all state and local agencies to verify the immigration status of people who apply for federal, state or local government benefits, and to report those who are here illegally to the legislature and the state’s new immigration enforcement agency. The measure, which the governor is expected to sign, authorizes the state attorney general to investigate possible violations, and threatens jail time or a loss of state funding for workers or agencies that fail to comply. The potential penalties in Tennessee’s law are especially strict, but this year Indiana, Utah, and Wyoming also enacted laws requiring state and local agencies to verify the immigration status of people applying for certain benefits. In Indiana and Wyoming, agencies also must report immigrants who are here illegally to federal authorities. Louisiana enacted a similar verification and reporting law last year. The Indiana and Wyoming laws go beyond the specific individuals applying for aid.

Univision [5/15/2026 3:20 PM, Staff, 4937K] reports the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has decided to close the Office of the Ombudsman for Immigrant Detention (OIDO), which was responsible for monitoring potential abuses in immigration detention centers. According to an internal email obtained by HuffPost, the agency began removing its public signage and deactivating its information channels. Furthermore, its website became unavailable, eliminating key resources for family members and lawyers seeking to file complaints or request guidance. The measure has generated concern among civil rights organizations, as it reduces formal avenues for reporting mistreatment or excessive use of force in immigration facilities.

New York Times [5/15/2026 10:17 PM, Pooja Salhotra, 148038K] reports Catholic clergy members have secured the right to visit a Chicago-area immigration processing center to provide daily ministry and pastoral support to detainees, according to an agreement reached this week between a religious nonprofit group and the Trump administration. The deal comes about six months after several Roman Catholic clergy members in an Illinois-based Catholic advocacy group, the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership, filed a lawsuit accusing federal immigration authorities of unlawfully barring them from ministering to detainees at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Ill. The group said that Catholic nuns and clergy members had been visiting the facility every Friday morning for more than 10 years to offer prayer services. Blocking that access, they argued, violated their First Amendment rights and two federal laws, including one that prohibits the government from imposing a burden on the ability of a person in custody to exercise their religion. “Spiritual care, pastoral care and accompaniment is critical, especially in the first few hours a person is detained,” Michael Nicolas Okinczyc-Cruz, the coalition’s executive director, said in a phone interview. “Those can be the most painful and frightening.” The new agreement, filed on Thursday in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, states that members of the clergy can visit the facility to provide pastoral services every day between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., or 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Mr. Okinczyc-Cruz said he was hopeful that the agreement would be permanent.

NBC News [5/15/2026 4:56 PM, Laura Strickler, 42967K] reports a suburban community outside Atlanta has sued the Department of Homeland Security and ICE over their plans to open a detention warehouse for 10,000 immigrants in the town of less than 5,500 residents. The lawsuit filed by the town of Social Circle, Georgia, alleges Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s new facility will overburden the small town’s infrastructure, resulting in "dry taps and raw human waste spills." Town officials also alleged that ICE’s actions have broken state and federal laws in its effort to convert a massive local warehouse into a mega-detention center that cost $128 million in taxpayer money to purchase. The lawsuit says that ICE representatives told the town the facility would open by June 2026 but that no construction to convert the facility has begun. It adds that the price ICE paid for the Georgia facility was more than five times the property’s previously assessed value. The Georgia warehouse is part of a larger nationwide plan by ICE to develop eight large-scale detention centers, 16 new processing facilities and acquire 10 "turnkey" facilities to house 92,600 more immigrants. It is costing ICE $38.3 billion, according to an ICE overview of the plan included in court documents in the case. The plan has drawn pushback from towns, residents and lawmakers in numerous states, including New Jersey, Maryland, Mississippi and Arizona. ICE says the newly converted warehouses are part of a "long-term detention solution" and detainees will spend an average of 60 days at the locations, according to an ICE proposal included with Social Circle’s court filing. The DHS inspector general is now looking into ICE’s purchase of mega-warehouses around the country as part of a newly announced audit examining whether DHS met the need for new detention space in a "cost-effective manner."

Reported similarly:
Telemundo [5/15/2026 11:58 PM, Laura Strickler, 2524K]

Breitbart [5/15/2026 9:28 PM, Elizabeth Weibel, 2238K] reports a Mexican national, who is in the United States illegally, was sentenced to one year in prison after allegedly assaulting and biting law enforcement officials, Breitbart News has learned. In a press release provided to Breitbart News from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), it was revealed that on May 7, Francisco Javier Acevedo-Caldera, an illegal alien, was sentenced to serve 12 months in prison. Acevedo-Caldera’s sentencing came after he had pled guilty at the beginning of the year to having assaulted local law enforcement officials and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in Illinois. "This criminal illegal alien, with a lengthy rap sheet, was sentenced to one year in prison for his vicious assault on law enforcement officers," Acting Assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. "This assault would not have happened if local authorities in Illinois had cooperated with us and notified ICE upon his arrest.” In a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois on May 13, it was revealed that on July 17, 2025, while "in the lobby of the Kane County Sheriff’s Department" located in St. Charles, Illinois, two officers from ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations told Acevedo-Caldera that "they had a warrant for his arrest.” After the revelation, Acevedo-Caldera reportedly "resisted the arrest" and proceeded to kick one of the ICE officers, while head-butting the other ICE officer. Acevedo-Caldera also "bit a Kane County Sheriff’s Deputy," and punctured his skin, according to the press release. Acevedo-Caldera is also reported as having a criminal history that "includes a conviction for fraud and arrests for criminal sexual abuse and drug possession.”

Chicago Tribune [5/15/2026 3:35 PM, Steve Sadin, 5209K] reports federal agents detained four men in Waukegan in a single day this week in the largest immigration enforcement action since the end of Midway Blitz in November, increasing fears in the community which never went away. Dulce Ortiz, the executive director of the Mano a Mano Family Resource Center and a Waukegan Township trustee, said every few weeks there have been arrests of an individual, but the activity on Wednesday and Thursday was the most in the county since 76 people were detained over 70 days last fall. An ICE spokesperson confirmed in an email Friday that the agency was conducting “targeted enforcement operations” in Waukegan on Wednesday.

Blaze [5/15/2026 2:25 PM, Candace Hathaway, 1556K] reports that the Department of Homeland Security highlighted several criminal illegal aliens who were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday during National Police Week, according to a press release obtained exclusively by Blaze News. Federal agents arrested sexual predators, child abusers, and those previously convicted of other violent crimes. “Yesterday, the men and women of ICE risked their lives to arrest child pornographers, sexual predators, and burglars,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis stated. “Every single day, our officers put their lives on the line to remove criminal illegal aliens from American neighborhoods,” Bis continued. “On Police Week and every day, our pride in and support for these brave men and women keeping America safe will remain unwavering.” DHS highlighted that ICE arrested Henry Paul Noriega-Perez, an illegal alien from Guatemala whose rap sheet includes a conviction for aggravated criminal sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of a minor in Cook County, Illinois.

AP [5/15/2026 3:12 PM, Jack Brook, 35287K] reports that the wife of a U.S. Army sergeant has been released from federal immigration custody after spending a month in detention. Sgt. Jose Serrano, an active duty soldier stationed in Texas who served three tours in Afghanistan, previously told The Associated Press that immigration agents arrested his wife, Deisy Rivera Ortega, during an April 14 appointment with immigration services to advance her application for permanent residency. U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat and combat veteran, told the AP that she personally contacted Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Wednesday to advocate for Rivera Ortega’s release after learning of her situation from advocacy groups. Rivera Ortega returned home Thursday evening. "Rivera-Ortega has been released from ICE custody with a GPS tracking device, mandatory home visits, and ICE office check-ins. She will receive full due process," said the DHS, which oversees U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The family of Rivera Ortega did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Serrano, who is stationed in the Fort Bliss area, and Rivera Ortega have been married since 2022. According to the DHS, Rivera Ortega entered the U.S. illegally in 2016 and a judge issued a final order of removal for her in December 2019. According to DHS, more than 100 immediate family members of military veterans have been placed into removal proceedings under the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda. The administration said it has also placed 34 military veterans in removal proceedings as of Jan. 26.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [5/15/2026 4:10 PM, Sophie Brams, 18170K]
ABC News [5/15/2026 1:21 PM, Laura Romero, 34146K]

Univision [5/15/2026 1:44 PM, Staff, 4937K] reports that María Isabel Loja can no longer work in peace. Every alert from the electronic monitor she wears on her wrist has become a source of anguish. During her workday, the sound of the GPS device made her fear the worst: a possible detention by immigration authorities. "Just a little while ago, I was working when the GPS went off... it signaled ‘arrest’—or something like that—and I immediately panicked, thinking, ‘I think ICE is coming to arrest me,’" she recounted with deep distress. When she was facing deportation on May 2, 2026, her lawyer managed to halt the process using a legal remedy that protects victims of human trafficking. Now, she is required to wear the GPS monitor at all times. Every day, whenever the monitor beeps, the woman—who hails from an indigenous community in Ecuador—must take a photograph of herself holding the device and provide a fingerprint scan; if she fails to do so, immigration agents would come to apprehend her wherever she happens to be. The migrant described the emotional toll she endures daily, living in constant fear of being separated from her daughters—ages 4 and 10—amidst the tightening of immigration policies and increased detention operations across the United States. "It is very hard, and beyond that... it’s seeing my daughters—that’s the hardest part. It is incredibly difficult to bear as a mother," expressed María Isabel, who is also pregnant with her third child. This fear, she asserts, haunts not only her but also her daughters, who live in a state of constant uncertainty regarding what might happen to her at any moment.

NBC News [5/15/2026 7:33 PM, Suzanne Gamboa, 42967K] reports tooth infection and dental disease have been cited as the cause of death for a Haitian man who died in ICE custody this spring, according to the Maricopa County medical examiner’s office. Emmanuel Damas, 56, died March 2 in a hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona. ICE said he was transported to the hospital on Feb. 19 after complaining of shortness of breath while at the Florence Detention Center in Florence, Ariz. Damas was taken into custody in September and remained detained until his death. The Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s website now lists Damas’ primary cause of death as "Complications of Necrotizing Mediastinitis with Neck and Retropharyngeal Abcess in the setting of Severe Dental Caries and Peridontal Disease. The report also lists the "manner of death" as "natural.” An operator at the medical examiner’s office said Friday that a preliminary report had not yet been issued and that reports are not released for 90 days. The medical examiner did not immediately return a message seeking comment Friday afternoon. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately return a request for comment about the medical examiner’s findings Friday evening. In a statement March 6, ICE described in detail Damas’ medical treatment, stating that he was tested at the hospital and had been in the hospital’s intensive care unit throughout his stay. It did not include discussion of and concerns Damas may have raised about his teeth or whether he made requests for dental treatment. Days after his death, Damas’ brother told The Associated Press that Damas died from an untreated tooth infection.

AP [5/15/2026 3:42 PM, Nora Mabie, 35287K] reports a federal judge in Great Falls ruled to release Froid diesel mechanic Roberto Orozco-Ramirez from jail on Wednesday evening, siding with his lawyers on their argument that his continued detention was unlawful. In a court filing Wednesday, U.S. District Court for the District of Montana Chief Judge Brian Morris wrote that Orozco-Ramirez, an undocumented immigrant, who has been detained since January, should be released from Cascade County Detention Center in Great Falls within 24 hours. Morris called the Trump administration’s interpretation of the longstanding immigration law “erroneous” and said people accused of entering the country illegally have a right to due process. Though judges in New York, Georgia and Ohio have made similar rulings on similar cases involving undocumented immigrants in recent months, this seems to be the first ruling of its kind in Montana.

USA Today [5/15/2026 11:45 AM, Trevor Hughes, 70643K] reports hundreds of new Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and staff are being sent across the country to bolster immigration enforcement in big cities like New York and Houston, including eight in California, federal purchasing records show. The records are for coworking-style offices and desks, but not detention facilities. However, they offer a rare but narrow behind-the-scenes glimpse at how White House and Department of Homeland Security officials are preparing to ramp up immigration enforcement nationwide as billions of dollars flow into DHS and its agencies under last summer’s federal spending plan. ICE plans to deploy about 330 people to cities in more than 40 states, along with Puerto Rico, according to records reviewed by USA TODAY. Texas will receive the most, with 49 people deployed. Other cities targeted for increased ICE presence include Miami, Atlanta, Baltimore, Nashville and Seattle. Smaller locations include Concho, Arizona; Manhattan, Kansas; and Hot Springs, South Dakota. It was not immediately clear how many of the locations on the list already have ICE or Customs and Border Patrol presence, or if the officers are new hires or relocations. Eight of the potential ICE Office of Asset and Facilities Management offices are coming to eight locations in California. The largest was allocation sought was in San Diego, along the southern border, where federal officials requested quotes for office space to accommodate nine employees, records show. White House officials appear to be ramping up detention and deportation efforts under new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who told Newsmax on May 9 that "we haven’t missed a beat. We are still on track, pushing as hard as we can. We’re just doing it in a different way.” White House border czar Tom Homan said the administration is preparing a new surge of enforcement to remove people who entered during the Biden administration, particularly in cities where local police don’t cooperate with federal agents. He shrugged off suggestions that the administration was backing down under political pressure.

Los Angeles Times [5/15/2026 1:15 PM, Andrea Castillo, 12718K] reports that a new report by the California Department of Justice found that conditions at immigrant detention facilities in the state have worsened as surging arrests under the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign led to overcrowding and insufficient medical care. For the report, which was released Friday, California Justice Department staff, along with correctional and healthcare experts, toured all seven facilities that existed in 2025 (an eighth facility, the Central Valley Annex in McFarland, began receiving detainees in April). The team analyzed internal documents and detainee records, and interviewed detention staff and 194 detainees. "The Trump Administration’s mass deportation campaign has led to a shocking increase in detainee populations — and facilities have been alarmingly unprepared to meet this new demand," said Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta in a statement. "During their inspections, my team found evidence of inadequate medical care and heard countless reports of disturbing, unsafe, and unsanitary conditions and a lack of basic necessities.” Bonta was scheduled to discuss the report’s findings at a news conference Friday morning. The inspections were possible because California enacted a law during the first Trump administration requiring state oversight and public reports detailing the conditions of immigrant detention facilities. This is the fifth report released by the California Department of Justice since 2019. Such reports have taken on outsized significance as the Trump administration has whittled down the Department of Homeland Security’s own oversight mechanisms; for example, it has gutted staff at the offices of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and the Immigrant Detention Ombudsman.

Bloomberg Law [5/15/2026 3:52 PM, Megan Crepeau, 763K] reports immigration detention centers in California have become alarmingly overcrowded, unsanitary, and inhumane, state Attorney General Rob Bonta said Friday at a news conference regarding a new report on the facilities. Detainees reported a lack of access to clean drinking water, inadequate toilets, and delays in medical care even for urgent matters, Bonta said. The state’s reviews in previous years found that the facilities were substandard, Bonta said, but as a result of the aggressive deportation push by the Trump administration, conditions are getting worse. The state found violations of ICE’s own detention standards at all seven active facilities, according to the report. The newly opened California City facility, located about 100 miles north of Los Angeles, was "particularly egregious," Bonta said. Multiple women his team interviewed there broke down crying when describing their living conditions there, he said. The population at the facilities has surged, the report found, in line with the Trump administration’s aggressive push to apprehend, detain, and deport noncitizens. Multiple lawsuits have been filed over conditions at immigration detention facilities, including those in California. Those suits have alleged unsanitary conditions, lack of medical care, and inadequate access to attorneys.

USA Today [5/15/2026 5:29 PM, Paris Barraza, 70643K] reports conditions are getting worse at immigration detention facilities in California, with detainees facing “poor access to clean drinking water” or having issues with receiving timely medical treatment, Attorney General Rob Bonta said on Friday, May 15. Bonta released the California Department of Justice’s fifth report on conditions at the detention facilities holding people detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The worsening conditions, according to Bonta, are driven by President Donald Trump’s deportation “campaign” and by a policy change: not releasing people on bonds. Bonta said that since the state’s 2023 inspections, the number of detainees has surged from 2,303 to 6,028 as of their site visits last year. Adelanto ICE Processing Center, he said, had the biggest population surge. Another reported area of issue was over medical care and treatment.

San Diego Union Tribune [5/15/2026 10:31 PM, Staff, 1257K] reports a report released Friday on conditions at immigration detention facilities across the state — including the Otay Mesa Detention Center — found that overcrowding is a major issue at the San Diego County facility caused by a marked increase in immigration arrests within the past year. The findings are contained in the California Department of Justice’s report on Otay Mesa and six other California immigration detention facilities, all of which displayed “serious concerns about these facilities’ ability to safely detain a growing detainee population and underscore the need for greater accountability and oversight,” according to a statement from the California Attorney General’s Office. Six detainees died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody between September 2025 and March 2026 — the highest number since the state DOJ started conducting reviews in 2017, the 175-page report found. In a statement, state Attorney General Rob Bonta took aim at the Trump administration’s focus on deportations as a catalyst for increasingly poor conditions within the state’s immigration detention facilities. “The Trump Administration’s mass deportation campaign has led to a shocking increase in detainee populations — and facilities have been alarmingly unprepared to meet this new demand,” Bonta said. “During their inspections, my team found evidence of inadequate medical care and heard countless reports of disturbing, unsafe, and unsanitary conditions and a lack of basic necessities. This is cruel, inhumane and unacceptable — and it is past time for the Trump Administration to do something about it.” A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — of which ICE is a division — said in a statement, “No lawbreakers in the history of human civilization have been treated better than illegal aliens in the United States. It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody. This includes medical, dental and mental health intake screening within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility, a full health assessment within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arrival at a facility and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care.” “This is the best health care many aliens have received in their entire lives,” the DHS spokesperson said. “Meals are certified by dieticians. Ensuring the safety, security and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority at ICE.” A spokesperson for the ACLU of Southern California said the civil rights organization was reviewing the report. Regarding the Otay Mesa Detention Center, the DOJ’s report said the facility experienced “surges in population” that have impacted intake process time, cleanliness of the housing units and the availability of numerous other resources.

Univision [5/15/2026 12:49 PM, Staff, 4937K] reports that Santa Clara County officials reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may be planning to build a detention center on agricultural land in Gilroy, Northern California. This information came to light after officials discovered records suggesting that a parcel of agricultural land, located at 7340 Holsclaw Road, could be converted into a detention facility. "It appears, based on the documents we have, that ICE or the federal government is attempting to construct a detention facility," Tony LoPresti, an attorney and counsel for Santa Clara County, told N+Univision 14. Earlier this week, an investigation by the local news outlet *San Jose Spotlight* reported that, according to public records, a Beverly Hills-based real estate firm—linked to the construction of another detention center in Texas—was awarded a contract to build a detention facility and office complex on the Gilroy site. However, LoPresti noted that county regulations do not permit the construction of a detention center—or any buildings used to detain individuals—in that specific zone. "So, right now we don’t have an exact understanding of what they intend to do, but... at this point, it appears to be in violation of the law," the attorney said. N+Univision 14 visited the site located at 7340 Holsclaw Road; despite the fencing surrounding the property, reporters observed activity inside, with people actively working on the premises. Landeros explained that he declined the offer because he is Hispanic, and he feels that what is currently happening to the immigrant community "is not right."

Washington Times [5/15/2026 12:20 PM, Stephen Dinan, 1323K] reports that the Department of Homeland Security has quietly lowered the accuracy rate of its SAVE system, the collection of databases the government is using to pressure states to clean up their voter rolls. DHS has cut SAVE’s target accuracy rate from 99% to 97%, and the actual accuracy rate — how often employees got the right answer during manual checks — fell from 99% in 2024 to 98% last year, according to data U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services provided to Congress this spring. While a small shift, given the large number of queries run, that works out to thousands of U.S. citizens who are getting flagged as noncitizens and forced to reaffirm their citizenship. SAVE — officially the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements — is at the heart of a number of Trump administration plans, from trying to cut down on fraud in welfare to the attempt to force states to remove ineligible names from their registration lists. It combines data from Social Security, the State Department and Homeland Security and from several dozen states that have shared their own information, allowing the government to cross-check names to try to spot duplicates and other ineligible voters. As of March, the system had helped DHS flag more than 25,000 names as potential noncitizens on states’ voter rolls, in addition to spotting more than 330,000 names of dead people, according to data reviewed by The Washington Times. More than 20,000 names were also referred to Homeland Security Investigations, DHS’s detective branch, for further action.

CNN [5/16/2026 5:14 AM, Daniela Pierre-Bravo, 19874K] reports Marco, 26, graduated from one of the country’s top medical schools last week. He found his calling after witnessing his grandmother battle cancer, and he sometimes worked up to 40 to 60 hours a week to afford his education. That dream is now in jeopardy. Marco is one of the over 500,000 active recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) - an Obama-era program temporarily shielding some immigrants brought to the US as children from deportation – who are granted a work permit they can renew every two years. He applied for his renewal in December 2025, his lawyer says, and still has not received it. He joins a growing number of recipients who risk losing their work permits and falling out of status due to processing delays. (CNN agreed to use the pseudonym "Marco," as he feared speaking to the media could jeopardize his renewal.). "This is a dramatic increase in people dealing with incredibly long, and disruptive delays… we are seeing somewhere between a 400% and 1000% increase in processing times, based on our conversations with small businesses, large employers at roundtables and DACA recipients around the country," said Todd Schulte, president of FWD.us, a bipartisan advocacy organization that works with more than 100 US employers on DACA policy. "And this did not happen in the first Trump term. This is quite different." Without his renewal, Marco can’t start his residency in anesthesiology this summer. He says that would delay him from paying off over $100,000 in student loans.

New York Times [5/15/2026 2:23 PM, Miriam Jordan, 148038K] reports there had to have been a mistake, Martin Padilla recalled telling the immigration agents. An inspector in the oil and gas industry, he was about to fly to Sacramento for work when the agents pulled him aside at Corpus Christi International Airport in Texas last August. Stopped at the security X-ray scanner, he told them he had DACA status, referring to the Obama-era program designed to protect undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as young children. His DACA card, he said, was in his wallet. It didn’t matter. Within hours of the Aug. 5 encounter, Mr. Padilla had been detained. Days later, he was deported to his native Mexico, leaving behind his American wife, their three children and the family’s new home. Mr. Padilla, 35, is among about 500,000 people enrolled in DACA — the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program — which is supposed to shield them from deportation and allow them to work legally. And he is one of the dozens of DACA recipients who have been expelled from the country by the Trump administration. The swift effort to deport Mr. Padilla underscores the tenuous state of many immigration protections under President Trump as he seeks to deliver on his pledge to deport millions of people and remake the country’s immigration system. The federal government has all but ended the resettlement of refugees. The system for weighing asylum claims has been brought to a near standstill. And the Supreme Court will soon decide whether the Trump administration can end Temporary Protected Status for more than a million people from some of the world’s most troubled nations. Mr. Padilla’s lawyers challenged his deportation, arguing in a federal court filing that his due process rights had been violated. After seven months, Mr. Padilla was allowed to return to the United States.

New York Times [5/15/2026 8:00 AM, Miriam Jordan, 148038K] reports an Obama-era program known as DACA has shielded from deportation hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the United States as children since its creation 15 years ago. It has also allowed those immigrants to legally work. But recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals have navigated years of anxiety as court rulings and Trump administration policies have cast doubt on the program’s survival. That disquietude has intensified since President Trump began a deportation program with a goal of expelling millions of immigrants. Mr. Trump tried to end DACA during his first administration in 2017, prompting several court challenges. In 2021, a federal judge in Texas ruled the program unlawful, saying that former President Barack Obama had exceeded his authority in its creation. The judge allowed current beneficiaries to stay in the program, but blocked access to new applicants. In recent months, Trump administration officials have said that DACA does not confer legal status or automatically prevent deportation, and federal agents have detained hundreds of recipients and deported dozens since January 2025. In a decision published in late April, the Board of Immigration Appeals, part of the Justice Department, ruled that having DACA status did not inherently protect recipients from being deported. The administration followed up on May 8 with a “policy alert’” stating that DACA would no longer be applied in a blanket manner. Instead , “detailed case-by-case scrutiny or review” would be required. Lawyers have said this restrictive approach has led to renewal delays, causing many recipients to lose their jobs, at least temporarily.

New York Times [5/16/2026 3:18 AM, Ernesto Londoño, 330K] reports the Justice Department is seeking to denaturalize a former Marine born in Ghana because of a sex crime he committed after he became a U.S. citizen. The former Marine, Nicholas Eshun, who pleaded guilty in 2015 to attempted sexual assault of a child, was naturalized through a program that expedites citizenship for members of the military. He stands to lose his citizenship based on a statute that applies to immigrants who fail to complete at least five years in the armed forces and depart without an honorable discharge. Legal experts say that statute, amended to its current form in 2003, does not appear to have been enforced in decades, and revoking citizenship for acts committed after naturalization is exceedingly rare. The case is emerging just as the Trump administration has begun a new push to revoke the citizenship of hundreds of foreign-born U.S. citizens. But it is uncertain whether Mr. Eshun’s case reflects a widening category of denaturalization targets or a single, unusual case. “In the modern era it is unprecedented to denaturalize individuals for conduct after becoming a naturalized citizen,” said Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia who wrote a book about the history of American citizenship. For nearly 60 years, the government’s general practice has been to seek to revoke citizenship from people accused of fraud or of omitting information from their citizenship applications, not from those who committed crimes after they became citizens. A 1967 Supreme Court ruling effectively barred the government from stripping Americans of their citizenship unless they obtained it fraudulently. Experts in citizenship law said the effort to end Mr. Eshun’s citizenship, by enforcing the 2003 statute for military members, raised a complex legal issue. It calls into question whether that statute conflicts with the Supreme Court precedent and, more broadly, whether the Constitution allows Congress to set parameters to revoke American citizenship after it was lawfully obtained. Ming H. Chen, a law professor at the University of California San Francisco who specializes in citizenship jurisprudence, said that the details of Mr. Eshun’s case and sex crime conviction made him a “highly unsympathetic” defendant, and that they could “make it easier for a judge to allow a denaturalization case to move forward.” Such a decision in a single case, she said, might raise the prospect of other such cases involving acts committed after a person had attained citizenship. “What really matters is it opens the door to this idea of conditional citizenship,” said Ms. Chen.

Detroit Free Press [5/16/2026 6:01 AM, Niraj Warikoo] reports on highways across Michigan, federal immigration agencies have placed surveillance cameras in undisclosed locations that can capture images of vehicles and their license plates, raising concerns from civil rights advocates who fear they could be used to target immigrants and others. The Michigan Department of Transportation has approved requests from Department of Homeland Security agencies for construction permits for several locations on highways over the past two years, according to state documents reviewed by the Free Press. The placement of the license plate readers started under the administration of President Joe Biden and has increased since Donald Trump became president, records show.

Telemundo [5/15/2026 7:27 PM, Alex Nguyen Staff, 2524K] reports a Texas law seeking to allow state and local police to detain people suspected of illegally crossing the border with Mexico was suspended once again, a day before it took effect. Senate Bill No. 4 (SB 4), passed in 2023, criminalizes the illegal crossing of the border between Mexico and Texas. It also requires state trial judges to order people detained for illegal entry to leave the country and return to Mexico if convicted, rather than prosecuted. Civil rights groups filed a lawsuit earlier this month, arguing that sections related to the state’s judicial system are unconstitutional because they invade the federal government’s exclusive authority over immigration laws. They also challenged the provision on the state crime, claiming that the law does not offer any defense for people who had federal permission to enter the country or those who might have pending immigration status, such as a green card. U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra on Thursday granted the injunction against these sections of the law. The judge, appointed by Reagan, had already hinted during a hearing on Wednesday that he considered them unconstitutional. “In fact, it is implausible to imagine that each of the 50 U.S. states has its own state immigration policy that prevails over the powers inherent in the United States as a nation,” Ezra said in his written ruling. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Texas and the Texas Civil Rights Project said their decision reaffirmed that immigration laws are not the responsibility of the states, while adding that SB 4 would provoke widespread racial profiling. “Texas cannot override the U.S. Constitution and should stop wasting time trying to do so,” the groups said in a joint statement to The Texas Tribune.

Yahoo! News [5/15/2026 10:43 PM, Mack Shaw, 46783K] reports that, despite "no wall" being planned for Big Bend National Park at Texas’ southern border, a $1.7 billion contract has been awarded for ongoing U.S. Customs and Border immigration-deterring construction. At the time of publishing, the CBP Smart Wall Map showed only patrol roads and surveillance technology were planned for the region. The money was awarded to Southwest Valley Constructors, with a listed start date of May 11, 2026, and a potential end date of Dec. 7, 2028. The contractor is listed online as an Albuquerque-based company specializing in large-scale construction for the federal government. According to USASpending.org, the contractor has been awarded 12 projects by the government, totaling $2 billion since 2019. The interactive map shows a large section of the park, displayed below in yellow, which is labeled "Big Bend 4 Technology & Patrol Road (No Wall). The contract was awarded for the "segment identified as BBT-4" in the USASpending listing. At the moment, at least, the national park appears to be safe from an actual wall on its border, along which runs the Rio Grande. According to the Texas Tribune, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott was recently quoted as promising there would be no wall within the park’s boundaries due to local pushback. Residents did indeed push back once the wall was teased in recent months — along with hundreds of environmentalists, activists and lawmakers. Their concerns appeared to be only partially regarding the potential eyesore of a 30-foot wall, and much more focused on the impact of construction on plant and animal life in the park. FOX 4 has reached out to CPB to ask why $1.7 billion is necessary to build a road and add surveillance tech, but had not heard back by the time of publishing. An "awarded" portion of wall plans extending into the state park matches the GPS coordinates indicated in a determination by Kristi Noem on Feb. 17, which she said was found to have "an acute and immediate need to construct additional physical barriers and roads.” In that same document, Noem waived 28 environmental and cultural resource protection laws to fast-track construction in the Big Bend region, including that section of Texas state park. Some of these statutes are named things like "The National Environmental Policy Act," "the Endangered Species Act," and "the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.” "Congress needs to step in and stop this massively destructive, universally despised trainwreck before it scars the Big Bend region forever," said Laiken Jordahl, national public lands advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity. "We won’t let Washington bureaucrats wall off the Rio Grande, block animals from their drinking water and pave over our beloved campsites, swimming holes and trailheads. Big Bend is worth fighting for and we’re just getting started.” Information in this article comes from the CBP, public spending records and previous FOX Local reporting.

NewsMax [5/15/2026 2:10 PM, Solange Reyner, 3760K] reports that the U.S. government has filed a condemnation lawsuit seeking to acquire more than 14 acres of land in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, as part of a federal border security effort, according to court documents filed May 7 in U.S. District Court in New Mexico. The complaint, brought by the United States at the request of the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, seeks to take ownership of 14.259 acres through eminent domain proceedings. The land is identified in the filing as belonging to the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces, with the Doña Ana County Treasurer also named as a defendant. The land, overlooking southern New Mexico and El Paso, Texas, is a pilgrimage site called Mount Cristo Rey that features a 29-foot-tall statue of Jesus Christ and attracts thousands of visitors every year. Federal officials said the action is tied to a public purpose authorized under federal law, though the publicly available filing does not detail the specific project. The complaint states the acquisition is being pursued through a Declaration of Taking, a legal process that allows the government to take immediate possession of property while compensation issues are resolved in court. The lawsuit was filed by attorneys in the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division on behalf of the federal government. The filing states the government made "best efforts" to negotiate the acquisition before initiating court action. Telemundo [5/15/2026 9:30 PM, Uriel J. García, 162K] reports that the land the federal government wants to take is located at the base of Mount Cristo Rey , a 219-meter (720-foot) tall mountain with a nearly 9-meter (29-foot) statue of Jesus Christ on top, overlooking Ciudad Juárez, El Paso and Sunland Park, New Mexico. Lawyers for the Trump administration filed a lawsuit last week in a New Mexico federal court against the Diocese of Las Cruces , which is resisting the government’s attempt to seize the land. The lawsuit argues that the federal government needs the land to install barriers and technology "designed to help secure the U.S.-Mexico border." The government stated in court documents that it has offered the church $183,000 for the land. The church stated in court documents that the Trump administration’s efforts violate its First Amendment right to religious expression. “The construction of a border wall through or along this sacred site could irreparably damage its religious and cultural sanctity, obstruct pilgrimage routes, and turn a sacred space into a symbol of division. Any federal action to expropriate this land, build physical barriers, or impede access to Monte Cristo Rey would constitute a significant violation of religious freedom and the right to worship,” the diocese stated. Each autumn, up to 40,000 people make a pilgrimage to the mountain’s summit, where the dioceses of Las Cruces and El Paso celebrate Mass. Traditionally, the event takes place on the last Sunday of October, but in recent years the pilgrimage has been moved to the Feast of Christ the King in November. Some make the five-mile trek barefoot; others crawl to the top on their knees. Congresswoman Veronica Escobar , a Democrat from El Paso, said in a statement: “The cultural and religious significance of Monte Cristo Rey is central to our region. Expropriating this community property to build a border wall is consistent with the Trump administration’s blatant disregard for what communities like ours hold dear. There are several other ways to provide border security. Instead, the Trump administration chooses to destroy this sacred site.” The government has said the area is a high-traffic route for human trafficking and that it wants to close the gap to stop illegal immigration. The area has also seen a record number of migrant deaths since the state and federal governments increased military presence in this part of Texas, even as the number of migrants crossing has plummeted. Ruben Escandon Jr., spokesman for the Monte Cristo Rey Restoration Committee , a non-church-affiliated volunteer group that maintains the site, indicated that he supports adding additional barriers in the area because he wants to ensure the public’s safety from any illegal activity. He stated that constructing barriers will not prevent visitors from accessing the mountain’s summit. He commented that “finishing that wall will help us maintain the religious, cultural and artistic aspect.”

San Diego Union Tribune [5/15/2026 6:30 PM, Kevin Hardy, 1257K] reports the fiscal leaders of several states are demanding transparency and consumer fairness as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to refund billions in international tariffs following a recent Supreme Court loss. In a February decision, the high court dealt a blow to the president’s trade agenda, ruling by a 6-3 margin that the tariffs he issued under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act were illegal. Last month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection began accepting applications from importers and brokers who are owed an estimated $166 billion in import tax refunds. While companies are receiving those refunds, it appears that many don’t intend to share those funds with consumers, who paid for much of the tariffs through higher prices. "We’re the ones who paid it. We’re the ones that need to get it back, and so any system that doesn’t get it to the little guy doesn’t get it to the right place," Minnesota State Auditor Julie Blaha said on a press call Wednesday. She was among eight Democratic state fiscal leaders who urged the White House to publicly disclose which firms are receiving tariff refunds and to ensure consumers are not left out. Blaha said government agencies are well equipped for that task, noting the public websites set up during the coronavirus pandemic that disclosed which companies received pandemic grants and loans. There is currently no public database of tariff refund requests or agency determinations.

Federal News Network [5/15/2026 4:52 PM, Justin Doubleday, 1297K] reports the top position at the FEMA region overseeing the southeastern United States is among those that are vacant, weeks before Atlantic hurricane season begins. Nearly half of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s top leadership positions are vacant, with just weeks before Atlantic hurricane season begins. FEMA’s website shows that of the 38 senior leadership positions at the agency, 18 of them are completely vacant. Several others being filled in an acting capacity. The agency is now being led by Robert Fenton, Jr., the senior official performing the duties of the FEMA administrator. Fenton is the administrator for FEMA Region 9. House Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Rep. Tim Kennedy (D-N.Y.) highlighted FEMA’s leadership vacancies, among several issues, in a May 14 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Fenton. The letter points to "deteriorating readiness" at FEMA. Thompson and Kennedy’s letter also highlights staffing cuts at FEMA under the Trump administration. The letter says more than 5,000 employees have departed FEMA since January 2025, citing an email on file with the Homeland Security Committee.

CBS News [5/15/2026 10:02 AM, Kerry Breen, 51110K] Video: HERE reports the crew of a U.S. Coast Guard ship simultaneously intercepted three boats carrying illicit drugs in the Caribbean Sea, seizing over three tons of cocaine and stopping what the agency called a "triple threat," officials said Thursday. The crew of the Tahoma, a 270-foot cutter, made the interdictions about 90 miles off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia, the Coast Guard said in a news release. To catch all three alleged drug boats at once, the crew of the Tahoma launched two small boats and deployed a helicopter. The alleged smugglers aboard the boat pursued by the helicopter were "non-compliant," the Coast Guard said. The Coast Guard aircrew used "aerial use of force tactics, including precision sniper fire directed at the engines" to stop the boat. The alleged smugglers jumped overboard and were rescued by the Coast Guard with no reported injuries. Video shared by the Coast Guard showed a member of the aircrew strafing the area in front of the vessel with gunfire, then throwing rescue floats to the alleged smugglers after they jumped overboard. The alleged smugglers in the other two boats stopped when ordered to do so by the Coast Guard crew members in small boats. The Coast Guard did not say how many people were taken into custody during the operation or if the alleged smugglers aboard the three boats were working together. The Tahoma’s crew seized 6,085 pounds of cocaine from the three vessels, officials said. The drugs are worth about $45 million, the agency said, and will be offloaded by the ship’s crew at Port Everglades in Florida.

FOX News [5/15/2026 10:55 AM, Adam Sabes and Preston Mizell, 37576K] reports that the Coast Guard released new pictures of the agency’s seizure of Brian Hooker’s sailboat as a criminal investigation remains ongoing into the disappearance of his wife. Agents with the Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) seized the sailboat Soulmate, which belongs to Brian and Lynette Hooker, 40 nautical miles off the coast of Melbourne, Florida, according to a news release. A source previously told Fox News Digital the sailboat was seized between May 8-10. Lynette Hooker fell off a dinghy after leaving shore at Hope Town in the Bahamas at around 7:30 p.m. on April 4, her husband, Brian Hooker, told authorities. Brian Hooker claimed that rough waters caused Lynette to fall off the small boat. Brian Hooker paddled to shore and arrived at Marsh Harbour around 4 a.m. on April 5, according to authorities. The couple was headed back to their sailboat, their full-time home in retirement, when Lynette fell overboard. They frequently sail around the U.S. and Caribbean, according to their social media pages.Brian Hooker hasn’t been charged with a crime. The Coast Guard said the seizure was part of a "complex surveillance and interdiction operation." Soulmate was taken to Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce, where investigators are processing the boat for potential evidence. "The vessel Soulmate is currently in the custody of CGIS as part of an active criminal investigation," the Coast Guard said. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Daily Caller [5/15/2026 2:07 PM, Mark Tanos, 803K] reports that a U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) helicopter crew shot up the engines of a suspected drug boat off Colombia last week, sending the smugglers diving into the Caribbean. The aircrew, flying from the Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma, helped stop all three vessels in a simultaneous bust on May 8, roughly 90 miles from Cartagena, hauling in about 6,085 pounds of cocaine valued at nearly $45.8 million, according to a USCG press release. Officials said the seizure took 2.3 million potentially deadly doses out of circulation before they reached American communities. Two of the alleged smuggling crews surrendered when ordered to stop by Coast Guard small boat teams, the release said. The third tried to run. A deployed Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron aircrew responded with aerial use of force, firing precision sniper rounds at the boat’s engines until it stopped. The suspects leapt into the water and were pulled out alive after the aircrew dropped flotation devices. “Interdicting three vessels simultaneously is a testament to the unwavering professionalism, precision, and dedication of our crews,” Cmdr. Nolan Cuevas, the Tahoma’s commanding officer, said in the release. “This interdiction prevented a significant number of illegal narcotics from reaching America’s shores, and their teamwork underscores the Coast Guard’s mission to protect our nation and saving lives.”

NewsMax [5/15/2026 6:48 PM, Staff, 3760K] reports hackers believed to be linked to Iran may have breached computerized fuel monitoring systems used at gas stations across the United States, according to a CNN report published Friday and cited by Newsweek. CNN reported the suspected attacks involved "automatic tank gauge" systems, known as ATGs, which monitor fuel levels and leak detection in underground gas station tanks. U.S. officials told CNN some of the systems were exposed online without password protection, allowing intruders in some cases to manipulate digital readings and system displays. Officials told CNN investigators found no evidence the hackers altered actual fuel supplies, but warned manipulated readings could hide leaks or create broader infrastructure safety risks. CNN reported federal investigators suspect Iranian-linked actors were behind the intrusions, though officials had not publicly attributed the activity to a specific Iranian government entity. The reported breaches add to years of U.S. warnings that Iran has built one of the world’s most aggressive state-backed cyber programs, frequently targeting energy infrastructure, industrial control systems, financial institutions, and transportation networks. The U.S. Justice Department announced in 2016 that seven Iranian hackers tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were charged over cyberattacks targeting dozens of American banks between 2011 and 2013. Cybersecurity firm Dragos warned in 2019 that Iranian hacking groups had increasingly focused on operational technology systems used in utilities, oil facilities, pipelines, and manufacturing plants. The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI issued joint advisories in multiple years warning that Iranian hackers routinely scan for poorly secured industrial control devices connected directly to the internet.

Reported similarly:
CNN [5/15/2026 2:40 PM, Sean Lyngaas, 19874K]

CyberScoop [5/15/2026 10:20 AM, Matt Kapko, 122K] reports attackers returned once again to a common target with a massive user base by exploiting a max-severity zero-day vulnerability affecting Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller and Manager. The threat group behind the “limited” number of attacks Cisco is aware of thus far are also linked to a series of previously disclosed vulnerabilities in the vendor’s firewalls and SD-WAN systems, the company said in a threat advisory Thursday. The authentication bypass vulnerability — CVE-2026-20182 — has a CVSS rating of 10 and “behaves like a master key,” Douglas McKee, director of vulnerability intelligence at Rapid7, wrote in a blog post. “An attacker can present themselves to the controller as a trusted network router and, if the system accepts that claim without properly validating it, they can obtain the highest level of administrative access,” he added. “That is the cybersecurity version of a Jedi mind trick.” Rapid7 discovered and reported the vulnerability to Cisco on March 9, and Cisco said it became aware of limited exploitation of the vulnerability earlier this month. The vendor disclosed and released a patch for the vulnerability Thursday, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency quickly added the defect to its known exploited vulnerabilities catalog. Cisco did not explain what occurred during that two-month window. Yet, the disclosure and warning from researchers marks another challenge for Cisco customers that have confronted a flood of actively exploited vulnerabilities affecting the vendor’s network edge software since late February.

CBS News [5/15/2026 7:27 PM, Tom Hanson, 51110K] reports a terror plot targeting Jewish institutions in New York, California and Arizona has been foiled, and a man linked to the alleged scheme is under arrest on Friday. Prosecutors say the Iraqi suspect is tied to other global attacks and claim he wanted payback for the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran.

Daily Wire [5/15/2026 11:27 AM, Kassy Akiva, 2314K] reports a commander of the Iran-backed militia group Kataib Hezbollah has been brought to the United States to face terrorism charges over a plot targeting Americans and Jewish sites, according to the Department of Justice. Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, 32, appeared in federal court in Manhattan after being captured overseas and transferred into U.S. custody, the DOJ said. Authorities describe Al-Saadi as a senior operative tied to the Iraq-based Shia terror group. Federal prosecutors charged Al-Saadi with six terrorism-related offenses for his activities, including conspiring to provide material support to Kataib Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, plotting attacks targeting Americans, conspiring to bomb places of public use, and attempted destruction of property using fire or explosives. Some of the charges carry potential prison sentences ranging from 15 years to life. Federal authorities said Al-Saadi and his associates were involved in coordinating terrorist attacks across Europe and Canada and were planning future attacks in the United States. FBI Director Kash Patel said Al-Saadi and his associates were targeting Jewish institutions in multiple states. "Al-Saadi and his associates allegedly planned, coordinated, and claimed responsibility for at least 20 terrorist attacks across Europe and in Canada — and were believed to be targeting the United States for upcoming attacks including Jewish institutions in New York, California, and Arizona," Patel wrote in a statement posted to X. The DOJ listed examples of alleged attacks tied to Al-Saadi and his associates, including a March 2026 explosives attack targeting the Bank of New York Mellon in Amsterdam. Prosecutors say Al-Saadi later posted a propaganda video referencing the attack.

New York Times [5/15/2026 5:56 PM, Matthew Cullen, 148038K] reports a commander of an Iranian-backed militia was arrested and charged with plotting to attack Jewish sites in the U.S., including a synagogue in New York. Federal prosecutors also accused the man of planning at least 20 attacks in Europe and Canada as part of a broader campaign of retaliation by Iran since the war began less than three months ago. The commander, Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, was recently detained in Turkey and handed over to American authorities, according to his lawyer. U.S. officials said he is a leader of Kataib Hezbollah, a powerful Iranian proxy militia. Read the criminal complaint here. Kataib Hezbollah was formed after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, and has helped Tehran project power across the region, including through attacks on American forces and diplomatic targets. But its reach beyond the Middle East is less clear, and it does not have a well-documented record of global operations.

Breitbart [5/15/2026 8:44 PM, Joshua Klein, 2238K] reports federal authorities charged an Iran-backed Iraqi militia commander accused of orchestrating a sweeping retaliation campaign targeting Americans and Jews, alleging he coordinated nearly 20 attacks abroad before authorities disrupted a plot targeting a prominent Manhattan synagogue and Jewish institutions in California and Arizona. Federal authorities alleged in a criminal complaint unsealed Friday that Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi — described as a senior commander within Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iraqi terrorist organization backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) — spent months coordinating attacks against American, Israeli, and Jewish targets as part of a broader retaliation campaign launched following the military conflict with Iran that erupted in late February. Prosecutors allege Al-Saadi and his associates planned, coordinated, or claimed responsibility for at least 18 attacks across Europe and two additional operations in Canada while simultaneously attempting to expand that campaign onto American soil. Authorities said Al-Saadi was transferred into U.S. custody overseas and brought to New York following what FBI Director Kash Patel described Friday as a successful Foreign Transfer of Custody, or FTOC, operation — an international process through which foreign governments transfer suspects into U.S. custody. "The FBI’s successful FTOC of Mohammad Al-Saadi, another high-value target responsible for mass global terrorism, is just the latest success in this administration’s historic work to bring terrorists to justice," Patel declared. Patel later described the mission as "righteous," crediting FBI agents, investigators, tactical teams, and interagency partners for carrying out the operation. "We are greatly appreciative of the work of our allies around the world," Patel added, specifically thanking Ambassador Tom Barrack, whom he said helped lead the effort that ultimately brought Al-Saadi into American custody. According to prosecutors, the alleged terror campaign intensified following the launch of Operation Epic Fury in late February. Court filings allege Al-Saadi repeatedly urged violence online and through encrypted communications, including calls for attacks against Americans and Israelis. On the day the operation began, prosecutors allege Al-Saadi posted messages urging followers to "kill everyone who supports America and Israel.” "Do not leave any of them remaining," he allegedly continued. "Civil and military targets — kill them everywhere.”

The AP [5/15/2026 5:42 PM, Michael R. Sisak, 35287K] reports that an Iraqi national accused of plotting at least 18 terror attacks in Europe in retaliation for the U.S. war in Iran, including firebombing a bank in Amsterdam and stabbing Jewish men in London, has been arrested and charged with supporting Iran-backed terrorist organizations. According to a complaint unsealed Friday in federal court in Manhattan, Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi sought to attack a New York City synagogue last month and provided an undercover law enforcement officer with photos and maps of Jewish centers in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Arizona, that he planned to target. He is also accused of involvement in two recent attacks in Canada: an attack on a synagogue and a shooting at the U.S. consulate in Toronto in March. Al-Saadi is charged with conspiracy to provide material support to Kata’ib Hizballah, an Iran-backed Iraqi Shia militant group, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, both of which have been designated by the U.S. government as foreign terrorist organizations. He is also charged with conspiring and providing material support for acts of terrorism and conspiring to bomb a place of public use. Al-Saadi did not speak at his initial court appearance, but through his lawyer claimed that he is a political prisoner and a prisoner of war and that he is being persecuted by U.S. authorities for his relationship with Qasem Soleimani, the Revolutionary Guard leader who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad in 2020. Al-Saadi was not required to enter a plea. He will remain jailed but could ask for bail in the future. The New York Post [5/15/2026 5:11 PM, Ben Kochman and David Propper, 40934K] reports Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, an accused commander in a terrorist organization linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, allegedly orchestrated the firebombing of the Bank of New York Mellon in Amsterdam, the stabbing of two Jewish victims in London and other foiled counter-attacks in the US in response to the conflict in the Middle East. “Al-Saadi attempted to disrupt American society through intimidation and violence. In a righteous and just contrast, his prosecution will highlight the best of our country,” Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement. Al-Saadi, a 32-year-old accused high-ranking official of the terror group Kata’ib Hizballah, and bloodthirsty accomplices, allegedly “planned, coordinated and taken responsibility for” attacks that also included a March 9 bombing of a synagogue in Liège, Belgium and a March 13 arson of a Rotterdam temple, the feds said. The Iraq national accused of preparing to bomb a “prominent” Manhattan temple on April 5, but the plot was foiled after he unwittingly sent $3,000 to an undercover law enforcement officer to carry out the disaster. He allegedly offered to fork over $10,000 in total. ABC News [5/15/2026 11:09 AM, Aaron Katersky, 34146K] reports that an Iraqi national carried out 20 reported terrorist attacks in Europe and Canada against U.S. and Israeli interests, including the stabbing of a Jewish-American citizen, in retaliation for the war in Iran and in an effort to halt the conflict, a federal criminal complaint alleges. Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi allegedly firebombed a Bank of New York Mellon building in Amsterdam, tried to detonate improvised explosives at the Bank of America building in Paris, coordinated an attack against Jewish institutions in the United States and stabbed two people in London, the complaint alleges. The defendant made an initial appearance Friday in Manhattan federal court on charges he conspired to provide material support to terrorist groups, conspiracy to bomb a place of public use and other offenses. Al-Saadi was apprehended in Turkey and passed to American authorities. His lawyer, Andrew Dalack, a federal defender, said he was unaware of any extradition proceedings. "This is a bit of an unusual case," Dalack said. During his appearance, Al-Saadi spoke quietly, but animatedly, to his lawyer to make sure the lawyer understood his connection to the late Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. strike in Iraq, and referred to himself as a prisoner of war and political prisoner. Al-Saadi was ordered detained. He is next in court May 29. Federal prosecutors said in addition to the terror attacks in Europe and Canada, al-Saadi also allegedly spoke to an FBI undercover -- and paid $3,000 -- to plan attacks in California, Arizona and a synagogue in Manhattan. FOX News [5/15/2026 1:58 PM, Louis Casiano and Jasmine Baehr, 37576K] reports that the FBI’s successful FTOC (foreign transfer of custody) of Mohammad Al-Saadi, another high-value target responsible for mass global terrorism, is just the latest success in this administration’s historic work to bring terrorists to justice," FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement. "This was a righteous mission executed brilliantly by our agents, investigators, CIRG tactical units, and interagency partners who delivered yet again." "We are greatly appreciative of the work of our allies around the world — especially Ambassador Tom Barrack, who led this joint sequenced operation and has been instrumental in bringing this successful mission home to the United States," he added. Al-Saadi has also allegedly publicly threatened President Donald Trump and his family, authorities said. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NewsMax [5/15/2026 3:34 PM, Theodore Bunker, 3760K] reports a senior commander in an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia has been charged in the U.S. with plotting attacks against Jewish and American targets, including a New York City synagogue, the Department of Justice announced Friday. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, the terrorist in Kataib Hezbollah, with coordinating attacks in Europe, Canada, and America as U.S. authorities warn that Iran-linked proxy groups are expanding retaliation efforts tied to the war that erupted in February. According to the complaint, al-Saadi planned at least 20 attacks in Europe and Canada since late February and had a synagogue in New York in his sights. The complaint alleges al-Saadi "planned to kill Americans and Jews in Los Angeles" and directed others in efforts to coordinate attacks in the U.S. Al-Saadi was recently detained in Turkey and transferred to U.S. custody, according to statements made by his attorney in a federal court appearance Friday. CNN [5/15/2026 2:43 PM, Mark Morales, 612K] reports that federal authorities arrested and charged an Iraqi national with coordinating and planning at least 18 terrorist attacks in Europe that targeted Americans and Jews, all in the name of ending the war in Iran, according to a federal criminal complaint. Prosecutors allege Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi "directed and urged others to attack US and Israeli interests," in retaliation for the war and to "further the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and his associated," according to the complaint. Al-Saadi also coordinated two additional attacks in Canada and directed others and attempted to coordinate terrorist attacks in the US, including in New York City, prosecutors allege. He’s hit with a slew of charges including conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to provide material support for acts of terrorism, and conspiracy to bomb a place of public use. Officials have not said how or when al-Saadi was arrested. However, flight records show a Justice Department aircraft often used for global extraditions flew to Turkey this week, returning via Morocco and landing in the New York City-area late Thursday. "My understanding at this point is that he was arrested in Turkey by Turkish authorities, likely at the behest of US authorities, and was handed over to US authorities without an opportunity to contest the legality of his detention or transport to the United States," said al-Saadi’s attorney Andrew J. Dalack. Al-Saadi was ordered held without bail.

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New York Times [5/16/2026 3:18 AM, Benjamin Weiser, Olivia Bensimon and Maia Coleman, 330K] reports a commander of an Iranian-backed militia has been charged with plotting to attack Jewish sites in the United States, including a synagogue in New York City, and carrying out terror attacks in Europe as part of a broader campaign of retaliation by Iran since the war began in February. A criminal complaint unsealed on Friday accused the commander, Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, of planning at least 20 attacks against U.S. and Israeli interests in Europe and Canada since late February. Mr. al-Saadi was detained in Turkey recently and handed over to U.S. authorities, Mr. al-Saadi’s lawyer said in federal court in Manhattan on Friday. Mr. al-Saadi appeared in court on Friday, but did not enter a plea. Mr. al-Saadi, according to the complaint, is a commander of Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi militia that is a proxy for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and has helped Tehran project power across the region, including through attacks on American forces and diplomatic targets. While Kataib Hezbollah has long been one of the most important groups serving as an armed proxy for Iran in the Middle East, it does not have a history of organizing attacks outside the region. Since the U.S. and Israeli militaries attacked Iran in February, the authorities in Europe and the United States have heightened security, especially at Jewish sites, warning of retaliation. The Iranian government’s forces have carried out attacks on U.S. military sites in the Middle East and targeted infrastructure in Arab nations closely aligned to the United States. The complaint directly tied Mr. al-Saadi, 32, to an obscure group called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya that emerged in March. The group took credit for attacks in London, Belgium and the Netherlands without disclosing its links to the Iraqi militia. At the time, counterterrorism officials said they were investigating whether the group had ties to Iran and whether the attacks were part of a wave of low-cost, unsophisticated methods to sow fear in Jewish communities across Europe. The people accused of carrying out the European attacks do not appear to be linked to extremist groups and were most likely recruited with promises of money, according to authorities and lawyers. But U.S. authorities, according to the complaint, say Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya was a front for Kataib Hezbollah, a U.S. designated terrorist group, and investigators noted the similarities between their logos. “Essentially overnight, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya was able to activate terrorist cells across Europe” in response to the war in Iran, according to the complaint, which was signed by a special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The violence stoked a new wave of anxiety for European Jews who were fearful that their communities would be targeted. The arrest came as President Trump weighed renewing strikes to force Iran to meet his demands. Since late February, the strikes have focused on killing Iran’s top leaders, including the ayatollah, and disrupting the government’s abilities to operate terrorist networks across the region.

New York Times [5/15/2026 9:45 PM, Maria Cramer and Maia Coleman, 148038K] reports the commander of an Iranian-backed militia who was charged with planning an attack on a New York synagogue was “targeting the heart of our Jewish community,” Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said on Friday, hours after federal prosecutors said that they had thwarted the plot. The commander, Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, who had organized at least 20 attacks in Europe and Canada, had also planned to kill Americans and Jews in Los Angeles and had set his sites on a synagogue in Manhattan, Ms. Tisch said. She did not name the synagogue but said Mr. al-Saadi had chosen a place that supported Israel and Zionism. Mr. al-Saadi, who was detained in Turkey and handed over to U.S. authorities, appeared in federal court in Manhattan on Friday. He did not enter a plea and a hearing was set for May 29. According to the indictment, the commander wanted to send a message to a congregation that stood for “the right for Israel to exist.” “Right now, we are policing through a period of extraordinary tension and division,” Ms. Tisch said during a speech at Temple Emanu-El, where she had already been scheduled to speak at the Friday night prayer services. “No city experiences that more directly than New York.” Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the plot on social media, and thanked law enforcement for their work. “Let me be clear: antisemitism, violent extremism and terrorism have no place in our city,” he said. “This kind of hate is despicable. I’m thankful this alleged attack was stopped before any New Yorkers were hurt.” Ms. Tisch said that she had intended to talk about falling crime rates in New York City and the growing number of anti-Semitic incidents in the city and around the world since the attacks against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the wars that followed in Gaza and in Iran. But she said that she wanted to address “the alarming news” of the allegations that had been revealed earlier on Friday. “In my 18 years in government, I have not seen a threat environment quite like this one,” Ms. Tisch said, as she stood at a lectern in front of the temple’s vast mosaic back wall. “Today’s case is a stark example of how these tensions that originate overseas translate into violence.”

Washington Examiner [5/15/2026 2:37 PM, David Zimmermann, 1147K] reports that the Justice Department has expressed its intent to seek the death penalty for the man accused of shooting and killing two Israeli Embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington around this time last year. The DOJ explained its reasoning in a Friday court filing, which U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced at an unrelated press conference. "My message to anyone who seeks to commit political violence in this district: D.C. is not the place," Pirro said. "You will be held accountable, and you will face the full wrath of the law." Elias Rodriguez faces related to the fatal shootings of Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli diplomat, and Sarah Milgrim, a U.S. citizen, in May 2025. The charges relate to acts of terrorism, hate crimes, murder, assault, and firearm offenses. The DOJ’s latest court filing in the case shows the death penalty will be applied to three charges: one count for murder of a foreign official and two counts for discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence and causing death through the use of a firearm. All the charges carry a possible death sentence, according to the DOJ. Federal prosecutors found that Rodriguez was motivated by the Israel-Hamas war, which is why he targeted the two young Jewish professionals in a violent act of antisemitism. Lischinsky and Milgrim were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum when they were shot. The two victims were a couple. If convicted on the federal counts, the defendant could face life in prison or the death penalty.

CBS Baltimore [5/15/2026 8:30 PM, Staff, 51110K] reports a D.C. man has been convicted for his role in the 2023 mass shooting at Morgan State University. Marquis Brown, one of the two men who were involved, is facing a 259-year prison sentence for shooting five people at the school. "We look forward to presenting our case at sentencing and advocating for the maximum penalty, so this defendant is held fully accountable for the harm and trauma he caused through his violent actions," said Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates. The incident took place on Tuesday, October 4, 2023, at the beginning of Morgan State’s homecoming week, forcing the university to cancel the remainder of its celebrations. Police responded at 1700 Argonne Drive near the school’s Marshall Apartment Complex, just before 9:30 p.m. There, they found five people, including four students, had been shot. Each of them survived.

AP [5/15/2026 6:16 PM, Travis Loller, 1323K] reports a Tennessee man who goes by the moniker Chud the Builder and is known for posting racist videos to social media was given a $1.25 million preliminary bond on attempted murder and other charges on Friday. Dalton Eatherly, 28, is accused of shooting another person in the middle of the day on Wednesday outside the Montgomery County Courthouse during an altercation. An affidavit filed with the arrest warrant says that Eatherly and the other man "engaged in a verbal altercation" at about 1:19 p.m. "During this verbal altercation, Mr. Eatherly turned his body in a bladed stance … and reached for his firearm located in his right jacket pocket. Thereafter, a physical altercation ensued.” Eatherly fired, striking the other man multiple times. The man was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Nashville, where he underwent emergency surgery, according to the affidavit. Police have said the man was in stable condition after surgery. The hospital has declined to give out information about his condition, citing medical privacy laws. The affidavit notes that there were "several innocent bystanders" outside the courthouse when Eatherly shot his gun. "Surveillance video of the incident shows a ricocheting projectile hitting nearby walls." Audio recording and witness accounts of the shooting also indicate that Eatherly shot himself in the arm. At an arraignment on Friday, prosecutors asked that he be held without bond until there can be a full hearing next week. Judge H. Reid Poland III declined that recommendation but set a high bond nonetheless, "based upon the fact of how many people were here in the courtyard or at the courthouse and the seriousness of these felonies.” In addition to the attempted murder charge, Eatherly faces charges of employing a firearm during a dangerous felony, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon.

Yahoo! News [5/15/2026 12:01 PM, Austin Pylant, 46783K] reports that a Tennessee man is in custody in Alabama after authorities say he was tracked down on warrants connected to a bomb threat sent to the Nissan Stadium construction site in Nashville. Marque Henderson, 47, of Robertson County, Tennessee, was arrested by the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office after Metro Nashville Police Department detectives determined his location and requested assistance from Alabama authorities. Officials say Henderson is facing charges of threatening to commit an act of mass violence and making a false report of an emergency. The investigation began Tuesday night when a manager with Turner Construction Company, the lead contractor on the stadium project, received a text message from someone claiming to be from Saudi Arabia. The message warned of a bomb at the construction site between 6 a.m. and noon and threatened it would detonate on workers. Turner Construction notified the Metro Nashville Police Department and shut down work at the site Wednesday "out of an abundance of caution," according to officials. Detectives with the MNPD Specialized Investigations Division traced the message to a burner phone. Through emergency disclosure requests to service providers, investigators identified Henderson as a suspect and determined he had left the Nashville area and traveled to Alabama after the threat was sent. Authorities say Henderson will be returned to Nashville to face charges in the case.

FOX News [5/15/2026 12:36 PM, Robert McGreevy, 37576K] reports that a grenade-type improvised explosive device was discovered and detonated in an Alabama reservoir that serves as the sole drinking water source for roughly 350,000 people, officials said Thursday. Divers surveying the Converse Reservoir Dam for routine maintenance discovered the bomb, which the Mobile Area Water and Sewer System (MAWSS) described as a "grenade-type IED," and immediately alerted the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), according to authorities. The device was secured and detonated by a multi-agency team of operators including personnel from the FBI Bomb Squad, Mobile Police Department Explosive Ordnance Detail, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s Bomb Squad, MCSO and the Daphne Search and Rescue Team, according to MAWSS. MAWSS Director Bud McCrory called the IED discovery "an unprecedented threat" to the area’s drinking water, adding "we are fortunate that this device was discovered before it could cause serious damage to our water supply or harm to individuals." The Converse Reservoir is the sole source of drinking water for the Mobile area’s 350,000 residents, according to MAWSS. "We are grateful for the professionalism and competency of our law enforcement partners – as well as the quick thinking of our contractors and divers – in identifying this device and safely destroying it," McCrory said. The high hazard designation means a structural failure would "probably cause loss of human life," according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

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HS Today [5/15/2026 11:25 AM, Staff, 38K] reports on May 12, 2026, the “ALMIHWAR NEWS” Telegram channel, which is aligned with the Iran-backed Islamic resistance axis, shared a two-minute propaganda video warning that regional stability is conditional upon “respecting borders and critical infrastructure,” and that any attack on Iranian infrastructure would be answered by a similar attack on enemy infrastructure. This, stressed the video, is within Iran’s right to self-defense, adding that Iran had made it clear that it is not interested in conflict, but retains the right to defend itself. The video contains excerpts from a March 31 statement by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in which he warned that the security of Iranian energy is a red line and that any country in the region that assists in attacks against Iran’s “oil and steel arteries” will “bear direct responsibility for the consequences of Iran’s defensive response.” Mentioning cyberwarfare, the video called “cyberterrorism” against Iran’s banking system “a direct attack against the daily life of the public” and that paralyzing financial systems in technological and financial centers in the region by Iran would therefore constitute “a defensive measure” meant to “reveal the high price of modern terrorism.” Iran’s attacks on infrastructure targets are therefore part of “a coordinated and joint-network defensive array,” it said, adding that bombing cities and bridges in Iran would give the Iran-backed “resistance front” grounds to exercise their legitimate right to self-defense. Furthermore, it said that Iran only attacks ports and airfields after repeated warnings aimed at clarifying to the aggressors that “security in the region cannot be divided – there will either be security for everyone, or for no-one.”

Daily Caller [5/15/2026 12:11 PM, Emily Kopp, 803K] reports that the CIA illegally surveilled its own intelligence community colleagues who were overseeing the agency’s clandestine work and investigating allegations of wrongdoing, according to a congressional letter and an attorney representing whistleblowers. The CIA listened in on the interviews and watched the computer activity of a task force working under Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard, the letter alleges. Gabbard’s team, the Director’s Initiatives Group or DIG, sought to review and declassify documents related to spy world abuses, including suppressed scientific evidence that COVID-19 was lab-made and fabricated intelligence painting President Donald Trump as a tool of Russia. CIA officer Jim Erdman, a member of the DIG, made the explosive allegation in written testimony to Sen. Rand Paul’s Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, which Paul published as an attachment to a congressional letter to Langley on Thursday. The CIA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Erdman declined to comment, directing questions to his attorney. As spy chief, Gabbard oversees the CIA. But America’s most secretive spy agency bristled at the scrutiny, the letter indicates. CIA spies "constantly" monitored the team’s fledgling attempts to apply oversight and often impeded them, Erdman wrote. Erdman, who led the team’s efforts on the origins of COVID, testified in a Senate hearing Wednesday about a pattern of obstruction that elevated the work of scientists close to Fauci who promoted the theory that COVID emerged from an animal over the work of some of the intelligence community’s own biological weapons experts, who often favored the theory the pandemic emerged from a lab. But his written testimony provides greater detail about his allegations of CIA obstruction.

Breitbart [5/15/2026 1:34 PM, Christian K. Caruzo, 2238K] reports that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe met with officials of the ailing communist Castro regime in Havana on Thursday. Details of the visit have not been publicly disclosed at press time. An unnamed CIA source claimed to the Associated Press that Director Ratcliffe visited Cuba "to personally deliver President Donald Trump’s message that the United States is prepared to seriously engage on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba makes fundamental changes." CBS News reports that Ratcliffe met with Interior Minister Lázaro Álvarez Casas, the head of Cuban intelligence services, and Raúl Guillermo "The Crab" Rodríguez Castro, the grandson of Cuba’s nonagenarian communist dictator Raúl Castro. CBS News, citing an unnamed CIA source, reported that Ratcliffe and the Cuban officials "‘discussed intelligence cooperation, economic stability, and security issues,’ all against the backdrop that Cuba can no longer be a safe haven for adversaries in the Western Hemisphere." Ratcliffe reportedly told the communist regime representatives that the Trump administration was offering "a genuine opportunity for collaboration and a chance to stabilize Cuba’s struggling economy," CBS said. Such an offer from the United States, the source pointed out, would "not remain open indefinitely" and, if necessary, the U.S. would enforce "red lines."

New York Post [5/15/2026 1:14 PM, Josh Christenson, 40934K] reports that CIA Director John Ratcliffe has warned Cuban officials that the Communist island "can no longer be a safe haven for adversaries" of the US while extending an offer of cooperation on economic and national security matters — if Havana makes "fundamental changes." "Director Ratcliffe and Cuban officials discussed intelligence cooperation, economic stability, and security issues, all against the backdrop that Cuba can no longer be a safe haven for adversaries in the Western Hemisphere," one CIA official said of the former Texas congressman’s Thursday visit to the Caribbean capital. Examples of Cuba being a "safe haven" include an operational Chinese spy base and potential military training facility, as well as coordination with Russia on energy needs and possibly spreading the mysterious illness afflicting US diplomats known as "Havana Syndrome." Ratcliffe met with Raulito Rodriguez Castro, the grandson of ex-Cuban leader Raul Castro, as well as Interior Minister Lazaro Alvarez Casas and the head of the nation’s intelligence services to offer a lifeline to the left-wing regime as its oil supply from Venezuela runs out. The CIA boss stressed during discussions that President Trump would prefer to improve relations with Cuba rather than enforce red lines. The meeting "took place… against a backdrop of complex bilateral relations," the Cuban government announced in a statement following the sitdown. Ratcliffe’s suggestions came four months after the capture and extradition to the US of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, whose regime had provided Cuba with most of its crude oil imports. The curbing of Cuba’s energy supply has caused blackouts and an economic downturn with downstream effects on other critical services such as medical care, President Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged in March.

AP [5/15/2026 5:50 PM, Joshua Goodman, Alanna Durkin Richer and Eric Tucker, 35287K] reports the Justice Department is preparing to seek an indictment against former Cuban President Raúl Castro, three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Friday, as President Donald Trump threatens possible military action against the communist-run island. One of the people told the AP that the potential indictment is connected to Castro’s alleged role in the 1996 shootdown of four planes operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue. Castro was defense minister at the time. All three people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation. The Cuban government did not respond to a request for comment on the potential indictment, which was reported earlier by CBS. Any criminal charge against Castro, which would need to be approved by a grand jury, would dramatically escalate tensions with Havana and ramp up expectations of U.S. military action in Cuba like the one carried out in January in Venezuela to bring President Nicolàs Maduro to New York on drug trafficking charges. Following Maduro’s ouster, the Trump administration quickly turned its attention to his ally Cuba and ordered an economic blockade that choked off fuel shipments to Cuba, leading to severe blackouts, food shortages and a collapse in economic activity across the island. The U.S. war in Iran appeared to have given Cuban leaders something of a reprieve from U.S. talk of regime change. As Trump seeks to wind down that conflict, speculation has been growing that he may soon turn his attention back to Cuba after pledging earlier this year a "friendly takeover" of the country if its leadership didn’t open up its economy to American investment and kick out U.S. adversaries.

Washington Examiner [5/15/2026 1:37 PM, Rena Rowe, 1147K] reports that the FBI is offering a $200,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of former Air Force intelligence officer Monica Witt, who was charged with spying for Iran after defecting in 2013. Witt served as an intelligence specialist and special agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations from 1997 to 2008 and later worked as a government contractor. According to the FBI, she provided Iran with sensitive and classified U.S. national defense information, allegedly endangering American personnel and their families overseas. "Monica Witt allegedly betrayed her oath to the Constitution more than a decade ago by defecting to Iran and providing the Iranian regime with National Defense Information and likely continues to support their nefarious activities," said Daniel Wierzbicki, special agent in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Counterintelligence and Cyber Division. "The FBI has not forgotten and believes that during this critical moment in Iran’s history, there is someone who knows something about her whereabouts." The allegations against Witt were first detailed in a 2019 federal indictment, which accused her of conspiring with Iranian intelligence officials after attending a 2012 conference in Tehran hosted by the Iranian New Horizon Organization. U.S. officials described the conference as an event sponsored by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that was intended to "condemn American moral standards" and spread anti-American propaganda. The FBI said Witt remains wanted and urged anyone with information about her whereabouts to contact investigators.

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NewsMax [5/15/2026 1:32 PM, Nicole Weatherholtz, 3760K]
Daily Caller [5/15/2026 2:41 PM, Christine Sellers, 803K]

Washington Examiner [5/15/2026 10:43 AM, Mike Brest, 1147K] reports that President Donald Trump revealed on Friday that a 20-year moratorium on Iran’s nuclear program would be sufficient for him on that portion of a possible agreement to end the war. The president’s acknowledgement on Air Force One following his trip to China appears to suggest a shift in his thinking, given he has repeatedly said they must agree to completely and permanently dismantle its nuclear program. "Twenty years is enough, but the level of guarantee from them is not enough," Trump said about Tehran’s latest offer. "In other words, it’s got to be a real 20 years." Simultaneously, he also said that he throws away any Iranian proposal that has "any nuclear of any form," though his comments suggest that he’s open to Iran restarting its nuclear program eventually. "Well, I looked at it," Trump said of a recent proposal. "If I don’t like the first sentence, I just throw it away," adding it was an "unacceptable sentence because they have fully agreed [to] no nuclear. And if they have any nuclear of any form, I don’t read the rest of it." The U.S. military carried out strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities last June in Operation Midnight Hammer, and carried out a roughly five-week war primarily going after their ballistic missile arsenal, navy, and defense industrial base. Iran is believed to have roughly 970 pounds of highly enriched uranium buried somewhere beneath those collapsed nuclear facilities. It’s unclear where exactly it is and what state it’s in following the strikes.

Reuters [5/16/2026 3:13 AM, Trevor Hunnicutt and Jana Choukeir, 16072K] reports U.S. President Donald Trump ​said Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed Tehran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though China gave no indication ‌it would weigh in. Flying back from Beijing on Friday after two days of talks with Xi, Trump said he was considering whether to lift U.S. sanctions on Chinese oil companies buying Iranian oil. China is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil. "I’m not asking for any favors because when you ask for favors, you have to do favors in return," Trump said when asked by a reporter on Air Force One whether Xi had made a firm commitment to put pressure on the Iranians to reopen the vital strait. Xi did not comment on his discussions with ⁠Trump about Iran, although China’s foreign ministry expressed frustration with the Iran war, calling it a conflict "which should never have happened, has no reason to continue." Iran effectively shut the strait, which carried one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supply before the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on February 28. The disruption to shipping has caused the biggest oil supply crisis in history, sending oil prices skyrocketing. Thousands of Iranians were killed during the U.S. and Israeli air strikes, and thousands have been killed in Lebanon in renewed fighting there between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah. The U.S. paused its attacks last month but began a port blockade. Tehran said it would not unblock the strait until the U.S. ended its blockade. Trump has threatened to resume attacks if Iran does not agree to a deal. "We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon, we want the straits ‌open," Trump ⁠said in Beijing, alongside Xi. Iran, which has long denied that it intends to build a nuclear weapon, has refused to end nuclear research or relinquish its hidden stockpile of enriched uranium, to Trump’s frustration. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran had received messages from the U.S. indicating Washington was willing to continue talks. "We hope that, with the advancement of negotiations, we will reach a good conclusion so that the Strait of Hormuz can be completely secured and we can expedite the normalisation of ⁠traffic through the strait," he told reporters in New Delhi. Trump, who told Fox News’ "Hannity" program in an interview aired on Thursday that he was losing patience with Iran, said Tehran "should make a deal." Oil prices rose around 3% to around $109 a barrel on Friday on concerns over a lack of progress in resolving the conflict, while U.S. ⁠Treasury yields hit their highest in around a year on expectations the Federal Reserve might need to raise interest rates. Talks on ending the war, which has become a liability for Trump ahead of U.S. congressional elections in November, have been on hold since last week when Iran and the U.S. ⁠each rejected the other’s most recent proposals. Iran would welcome Chinese input, Araqchi said on Friday, adding that Tehran was trying to give diplomacy a chance but did not trust the U.S., which has curtailed previous rounds of talks by launching air strikes.

Bloomberg [5/15/2026 7:45 AM, Josh Wingrove, 18082K] reports President Donald Trump said China’s Xi Jinping largely agrees with him on the risks of Iran becoming a nuclear power but said he did not push his Chinese counterpart to pressure Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. “He said that very strongly, they cannot have a nuclear weapon and he wants them to open up the strait,” Trump said Friday, speaking to reporters on Air Force One as he returned from a summit with Xi in China. Trump said he stopped short of asking Xi to lean on Iran to ease traffic through the passage, but predicted the Chinese leader would do so. “I think he will. I think automatically he’d like to see it opened up,” Trump said. “I’m not asking for any favors, because when you ask for favors you have to do favors in return. We don’t need favors.” Trump’s comments offered no sign of a breakthrough in the standoff over one of the world’s most critical shipping arteries, where the threat of Iranian strikes and a US blockade of Iran’s ports has largely shut down commercial shipping, including vessels carrying crude to China.

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The Hill [5/15/2026 8:46 AM, Sophie Brams, 18170K]

The Hill [5/15/2026 12:09 PM, Miranda Nazzaro, 18170K] reports that President Trump said Friday he discussed “working together” on artificial intelligence guardrails with Chinese President Xi Jinping as policymakers in Washington debate how to manage the risks of the emerging technology. “We talked about possibly working together for guardrails” on AI, Trump told reporters on Air Force One following his talks with Xi in China. When asked what kind of guardrails, the president provided little specifics, stating the “guardrails that we talk about all the time.” The topic of AI was largely expected to come up in this week’s summit to Beijing, which is racing to stay competitive with the U.S. when it comes to the development of the technology. While the Trump administration and Chinese leaders have largely pushed forward with a pro-innovation, light-touch regulation landscape, new models like Anthropic’s Mythos are forcing Washington to rethink its strategy. “AI is fantastic,” Trump said Friday, “So many things can happen in terms of health, medicine and operations, everything … military.” “So many things can happen, but it’s also got some drawbacks and we’re talking about… we probably will, we’re going to work together,” he added. The president did not explain which types of risks, but when asked by a reporter if this will mean biological, nuclear or cyber, Trump nodded yes and said, “Could be, yeah.”

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