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.

CBS News [5/8/2026 2:00 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 51110K] reports that the Trump administration on Friday announced a major expansion of its denaturalization campaign targeting foreign-born American citizens accused of fraudulently obtaining U.S. citizenship. The Justice Department unveiled denaturalization cases in federal courts across the country against roughly a dozen U.S. citizens born overseas. Officials said they had committed serious crimes or immigration fraud, or had ties to terrorism. The announcement represents a dramatic increase in the federal government’s use of denaturalization, a lengthy and complicated legal procedure that has rarely been invoked by prior administrations. Between 1990 and 2017, for example, the U.S. government filed just over 300 denaturalization cases — or an average of 11 per year. The group of naturalized U.S. citizens whose citizenship the Justice Department is now seeking to revoke includes immigrants from Bolivia, China, Colombia, Gambia, India, Iraq, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Somalia and Uzbekistan. Among those targeted by the denaturalization crackdown are a Colombian-born Catholic priest convicted of sexually assaulting a minor; a man born in Morocco with alleged ties to al Qaeda; a Somali immigrant who pleaded guilty to providing material support to al Shabaab, a U.S.-designated terrorist group; and a former Gambian police officer allegedly involved in war crimes. The group also includes individuals who allegedly used false identities to apply for immigration benefits and a man who allegedly entered into sham marriages to commit immigration fraud. The New York Times [5/8/2026 4:39 PM, Hamed Aleaziz and Madeleine Ngo, 148038K] reports that while the government has revoked citizenship in the past, it has done so sparingly because the process is difficult, and because citizenship is generally revered. The Trump administration, however, has indicated that it will use every power at its disposal to expel immigrants it considers undeserving of their presence in the United States. Late last year, Department of Homeland Security officials were told to refer upward of 200 cases for denaturalization a month, and Justice Department officials across the United States were advised recently to prepare to take on nearly 400 cases as part of a first wave of revocations. The wave of cases, including for actions conducted years ago, could unnerve communities of naturalized American citizens already on edge at President Trump’s clampdown on immigration, which has also affected those who have been in the country legally. It could send a message that naturalized citizens have less security than natural-born citizens.

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FOX News [5/8/2026 2:00 PM, Ashley Oliver, 37576K]
Daily Caller [5/8/2026 2:02 PM, Reagan Reese, 803K]

The Washington Post [5/8/2026 3:18 PM, David Nakamura, 24826K] reports that the Justice Department on Friday announced a dozen new denaturalization cases, the latest step in the Trump administration’s push to strip U.S. citizenship from individuals accused of hiding serious crimes and committing immigration fraud. The announcement marked a significant escalation in the federal government’s pursuit of such cases, which for decades prosecutors have filed only in rare instances. From 1990 to 2017, the Justice Department filed an average of 11 cases per year, according to federal data. “The Trump administration is taking action to correct these egregious violations of our immigration system,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement Friday. “Those who intentionally concealed their criminal histories or misrepresented themselves during the naturalization process will face the fullest extent of the law.” The cases, filed in federal courts in nine states and the District of Columbia, come as the Justice and Homeland Security departments have moved to increase the focus on the denaturalization efforts. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has pushed to refer up to 200 potential cases a month to federal prosecutors. A Justice Department official said hundreds of individuals have been referred to U.S. attorney’s offices. Most of them have already been investigated for or convicted of other crimes and were identified as candidates for denaturalization, the official said. Breitbart [5/8/2026 4:10 PM, John Binder, 2238K] reports on Friday, officials with the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that they are seeking to denaturalize 12 naturalized American citizens accused of crimes like murder, terrorism, firearms trafficking, marriage fraud, identity fraud, and possessing child pornography, among other things. "If you’re going to come and become a citizen in this country, but you’re going to do it by fraud, you’re going to do it in a way that’s illegal, you should be worried," Attorney General (AG) Todd Blanche told CBS News this week. "We are not limiting ourselves to anybody in particular, except to say that unfortunately, and I think you’re going to hear more about this in the coming days and weeks, there are a lot of individuals who are citizens who shouldn’t be," Blanche said, hinting at the enforcement action announced Friday. NewsMax [5/8/2026 5:51 PM, Sam Barron, 3760K] reports that under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a naturalized U.S. citizen’s citizenship may be revoked, and the certificate of naturalization canceled, if the naturalization was illegally procured or procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation. Blaze [5/8/2026 2:00 PM, Candace Hathaway, 1556K] reports that the U.S. Department of Justice and the United States attorney for the District of Arizona filed a civil denaturalization complaint on Friday against Ali Yousif Ahmed, a 48-year-old man from Iraq who entered the U.S. in 2009 based on a claim that he and his family were attacked by Al-Qaeda terrorists. The DOJ stated that in 2019, the Republic of Iraq requested the U.S. extradite Yousif Ahmed, claiming that he was an Al-Qaeda leader who had murdered two Iraqi police officers in 2006. A U.S. investigation into Yousif Ahmed uncovered that he had allegedly illegally obtained his naturalization in 2015 by lying under oath about his criminal and family history. The DOJ is also moving to denaturalize Oscar Alberto Pelaez, a 75-year-old from Colombia, arguing that he lacks good moral character and that he lied to immigration authorities. The department stated that Alberto Pelaez, a Colombian Roman Catholic priest, pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a child on multiple occasions from 1998 to 2000. The victim was 14 to 17 years old at the time of the abuse. Alberto Pelaez was convicted of 13 counts of sexual assault against a child, including two counts of oral copulation with a person under 18 years of age, and two counts of sodomy of a person under 18 years of age. The DOJ claimed that Alberto Pelaez lied about his crimes in his naturalization application.

AP [5/8/2026 11:48 AM, Joshua Goodman and Jim Mustian, 35287K] reports federal prosecutors are seeking to revoke the U.S. citizenship of former U.S. Ambassador Manuel Rocha, the imprisoned former diplomat who served as a secret agent for Cuba dating back to the 1970s in one of the longest-running betrayals in the history of the foreign service. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami filed a civil denaturalization complaint Thursday that would complete the Colombian-born Rocha’s fall from grace, stripping him of the citizenship he attained after moving to New York City at age 10 with his widowed mother and two siblings. Rocha, 75, was arrested in late 2023 and later sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after admitting he worked for decades as a secret agent for communist Cuba. He was secretly recorded by an undercover FBI agent praising Fidel Castro as "El Comandante" and bragging about his work for Cuba’s communist government, calling it "more than a grand slam" against the U.S. "enemy." The plea to 15 federal counts averted a trial that would have shed new light on what, exactly, Rocha did to help Cuba even as he held prestigious State Department postings such as ambassador to Bolivia and top posts in Argentina, Mexico, the White House and the U.S. It’s not even clear when federal prosecutors first suspected Rocha was spying for Cuba. As part of his plea agreement, Rocha acknowledged that he first connected with Cuban intelligence agents in 1973 — five years before applying for U.S. citizenship — while attending a student program in Chile at the end of socialist President Salvador Allende’s rule. Shortly after, at the direction of Havana, he enrolled in master’s programs at Harvard and Georgetown Universities on his way to getting hired by the U.S. State Department.

Reported similarly:
New York Post [5/8/2026 7:04 AM, Ryan King, 40934K]
The Hill [5/8/2026 3:01 PM, Sophie Brams, 18170K]
NBC News [5/8/2026 11:06 AM, Hatzel Vela, 42967K]
Daily Caller [5/8/2026 11:21 AM, Mark Tanos, 803K]
Washington Examiner [5/8/2026 11:31 AM, Rena Rowe, 1147K]
Washington Times [5/8/2026 2:00 PM, Stephen Dinan, 1323K]

New York Post [5/8/2026 4:05 PM, Alex Oliveira, 40934K] reports migrants quitting asylum claims and volunteering to leave the US have increased at least seven-fold under President Trump — with the administration touting the increase as a success for the rule of law, but critics arguing it’s a sign detention practices have gotten out of hand. More than 80,000 "voluntary departure" orders were issued by US immigration judges between Jan. 2025 and March 2026 — a more than 600% increase from the 11,400 issued during the last 15 months of former President Joe Biden’s term, according to numbers from the Vera Institute of Justice reviewed by the Washington Post. And it seems to be on the rise — 6,370 took a voluntary departure order in July, while more than 9,000 did in March, the data shows. By comparison, about 750 per month were voluntarily departing in the second half of Biden’s presidency. It remains unclear how many of those numbers fall under the "self deportation" option President Trump has been pushing, which allows migrants to turn themselves in via a Department of Homeland Security app in return for a cash stipend and free flight home. Voluntary departures are orders granted by a judge to immigrants who have decided not to pursue their asylum case and have historically been an option for people who aren’t expected to be granted asylum. People who choose voluntary departure are not issued formal deportation orders, which makes it much easier to return to the US and try their hand at the immigration system at a later date. Immigrants can’t have a serious criminal record to qualify, and generally must leave the country at their own expense. However, over 70% of the 80,000 who have taken the option under Trump have done so from within detention facilities, prompting advocates to argue that migrants are taking the option simply to stay out of the holding facilities. "Biden and [then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas] recklessly unleashed millions of unvetted illegal aliens into American communities – and they abused many loopholes to do so," a DHS spokesperson told the Washington Post in a statement.

CBS News [5/8/2026 12:13 PM, Julia Ingram, 51110K] reports Willian Yacelga Benalcazar’s asylum case followed what had become a similar pattern in immigration courts across the country: After telling a judge he feared returning to his home country, the judge ordered his deportation to another one. Yacelga, who said he fled threats from criminal gangs in Ecuador, was facing removal to Honduras. By March, he had spent five months in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention, where he said he caught a virus, had to fight for food and drank water contaminated with chlorine. So he asked to be sent back to his native Ecuador rather than continue to fight his case in the U.S. "I believe we abandoned the asylum case because the lawyer told me I could be in detention for three, four additional months. I was already sick in there. I couldn’t take it anymore," Yacelga told CBS News from Ecuador, speaking in Spanish during a phone interview. "All I wanted was to get out, to be free, because it’s horrible being locked up in there," he added. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told CBS News Benalcazar entered the U.S. illegally and was deported to Ecuador on April 16. The Trump administration’s unprecedented efforts to deport asylum-seekers to third countries have stalled thousands of immigrants’ cases and scared thousands more into giving up their asylum claims, according to a CBS News analysis of recently released federal data and interviews with attorneys and immigration policy experts. Third-country deportations "have more to do with fear than scale," said Ariel Ruiz Soto, a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C. ICE did not respond to CBS News’ request for comment about its efforts to send asylum-seekers to third countries or about detention facility conditions.

Breitbart [5/8/2026 7:05 PM, Neil Munro, 2238K] reports administration officials are quietly using debt collection companies to enforce huge fines on migrants who have ignored judges’ orders to leave the United States. Since January 2025, the Department of Homeland Security has levied fines against at least 65,000 migrants for at least $36 billion. Nationwide, roughly 1.5 million migrants have been ordered home but have not left. Lawyers opposing the program will ask a Massachusetts judge on May 13 to halt the fines. AZMirror reported the debt-collection notice sent to a landscaper who crossed into the United States 20 years ago: Sanchez was already nervous about receiving a letter from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, but nothing could prepare him for seeing the dollar amount the government said he owed them: $1,820,252.00. The Cuban landscaper, who came to the United States with his family 20 years ago, was floored. The Arizona Mirror isn’t identifying Sanchez by his full name because he fears he will be retaliated against for speaking out. Sanchez’s case is one of thousands across the country where DHS is charging immigrants $998 a day for staying in the country. The fines can be levied for a maximum of five years, and that’s what’s happening to Sanchez and the others, who all have been saddled with the same $1.8 million fine. The fines grow by roughly $1,000 per day per person. The fines are part of the multifaceted campaign by President Donald Trump to implement the deportation mandate he was given in November 2024. The departure of the foreign economic migrants will help younger Americans win higher wages and cheaper rents, and will pressure politicians to help Americans instead of migrants. By subscribing, you agree to our terms of use & privacy policy. You will receive email marketing messages from Breitbart News Network to the email you provide. You may unsubscribe at any time. The migrant departure will also pressure companies to divert some of their profits to buy the high-tech workplace equipment that helps Americans earn higher wages by getting work done each shift and help America compete against foreign rivals, such as China. Democrats oppose the enforcement measures, which likely will reduce the number of poor migrant clients for their taxpayer-funded urban political machines. "It seems to me it’s just another tactic by the Trump administration to make people’s lives miserable," Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) told ABC7 in San Diego. "You can imagine the horror when you get a notice of a potential fine like that, especially in this day and age when most working families are struggling to get by.”

Roll Call [5/8/2026 6:36 PM, Ryan Tarinelli, 673K] reports a federal appeals court on Friday allowed members of Congress to continue to conduct oversight visits to immigration detention facilities without a seven-day notice, with one judge saying the Department of Homeland Security did not show the visits were anything more than an administrative inconvenience. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit voted unanimously to reject a request from the Trump administration to allow DHS to enforce the latest versions of the restrictions while they are appealing a lower court order that blocked the policy. Judge Neomi Rao, in the order wrote the issue was a "close call" and said the government is likely to succeed on appeal based on whether the lawmakers who challenged the policy have a right to bring the lawsuit. But she said the administration had not met its burden to show "irreparable injury" from the lower court’s halting of the seven-day advance notice policy. "The Members have no standing to maintain this lawsuit, so the government is very likely to succeed on the merits of its appeal. But at this stage the government has not sufficiently substantiated its claim of irreparable injury," Rao wrote. Earlier this year, Judge Jia M. Cobb of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia halted the latest versions of the restrictions from then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. In that ruling, the judge concluded that the congressional lawmakers were likely to succeed in challenging the agency policy based on the nature of appropriations and the Administrative Procedure Act.

AP [5/8/2026 6:55 PM, Staff, 34146K] reports U.S. immigration authorities have canceled the visas of more than two dozen people, including some who worked on a Disney Cruise Line ship, amid allegations that they possessed or had viewed child sexual abuse images. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement Friday that authorities boarded eight cruise ships in late April and determined that 27 people, mostly from the Philippines, were involved in "the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution, or viewing" of child sexual abuse images. The agency canceled the visas of those involved and returned them to their home countries, the statement said. The agency did not say if any passengers aboard the ships were believed to be victims. It also did not say which ships agents boarded, why those ships were targeted or where the operations took place. The statement said no additional information was available. At least some of the ships had docked in San Diego. Disney Cruise Line in a statement said the company has a "zero-tolerance policy for this type of behavior and fully cooperated with law enforcement. While the majority of these individuals were not from our cruise line, those who were are no longer with the company.” Immigrant and workers’ rights groups said they had been trying, without success, to obtain information about the status of the workers and the reason behind the enforcement action. Benjamin Prado, with one of the groups, Unión del Barrio, said they held a news conference Tuesday in San Diego after previously receiving a generic statement from Customs and Border Protection. The statement the agency subsequently released to news organizations this week did not appear to be on the agency’s website, he said. That information should be readily accessible, he said. Prado said his group wants to better understand what kind of monitoring or surveillance might have been occurring ahead of the workers being detained and whether due process rights were followed. He acknowledged skepticism around information released by agencies like Customs and Border Protection. "At this point, we doubt, we question their claims and so we do want to follow up with some of these workers to find out exactly what took place," Prado said. Customs and Border Protection has said that a criminal charge is not required for someone’s visa to be revoked.

NewsMax [5/8/2026 8:57 PM, Jim Thomas, 3760K] reports the Department of Justice’s civil division chief told Newsmax on Friday that the 12 denaturalization actions filed in federal courts that day are "just a down payment on hundreds of cases" the agency intends to bring in the coming months. He said that there would be a sharp escalation of the Trump administration’s push to strip citizenship from naturalized Americans accused of fraud, terrorism ties, or violent crimes. Brett Shumate, the assistant attorney general for the division, appeared on "Rob Schmitt Tonight" hours after the department disclosed complaints against U.S. citizens from Bolivia, China, Colombia, Gambia, India, Iraq, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Somalia, and Uzbekistan. The defendants include a Colombian priest convicted of 13 counts of sexual abuse of a minor, a former Gambian military police officer accused of executing six fellow officers in 1994, a Somali national who pleaded guilty in 2009 to providing material support to al-Shabab, and a Colombian-born former U.S. official convicted of serving as an unregistered agent for Cuba. "I’m really excited to announce an unprecedented surge in denaturalization cases that we filed today," Shumate said, calling the defendants "the worst of the worst terrorists, child rapists, war criminals, fraudsters" who he said were "really depriving the United States of the most valuable government benefit that we have to offer. And that’s U.S. citizenship." Shumate said the Department of Homeland Security has "done a great job identifying cases and referring them to us, and we’re going to be filing those cases at a rapid clip this year." Asked why such cases had not been pursued more aggressively before, Shumate faulted the Biden administration. "We are prioritizing these cases," he said. "What happened under the prior administration, during the Biden administration, is that they refused to file these cases. "They put up bureaucratic obstacles. They made attorneys file paperwork, and they just didn’t file cases that were obvious cases where criminals were defrauding the United States." He credited acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who has led the department since President Donald Trump fired Pam Bondi on April 2, with directing the civil division to "prioritize these cases and get the criminals and the bad actors out of our country," with the "first step" being to take away their citizenship. Asked about a New York Times article suggesting the campaign could unsettle naturalized communities, Shumate said: "Law-abiding Americans have no reason to worry. "The cases that we filed are cases involving fraudsters who lied to the United States to obtain their citizenship." He framed the effort as fraud enforcement, saying citizenship is "the most valuable benefit we have to offer," adding that "New York Times is identifying and sympathizing with criminals, but not this administration." Shumate said the administration, having "secured the border," is "focusing on getting people out of our country who have lied and defrauded the United States and have no business maintaining U.S. citizenship." The complaints are allegations; citizenship can be revoked only if the government proves its case in federal court.

FOX News [5/8/2026 5:00 AM, Madison Colombo, 37576K] reports FBI Director Kash Patel revealed federal agents successfully disrupted four major terrorist plots over the holiday season, but warned that despite these wins, the constant pressure to "not miss anything" keeps him "up at night.” Speaking on the "Hang Out with Sean Hannity" podcast, Patel said the bureau is using new technology to prevent attacks, warning a future 9/11-style attack remains a concern. "I can tell the American public, just look at the month of December alone last year. We stopped four terrorist attacks in four weeks during the holidays," Patel told Hannity. "Everything from the ‘Pumpkin Day’ plot all the way through the attacks that were going to happen in Texas, Florida and New York — and we stopped them all," he added. The "Pumpkin Day" plot refers to a foiled ISIS-inspired terror attack that federal authorities said would have involved a massacre in a Detroit suburb. The two Michigan men involved allegedly used the codename "pumpkin" to discuss their plans for a mass shooting. Patel also said the FBI stopped attacks targeting Texas, Florida and New York. The FBI previously said it thwarted another ISIS-inspired plot in which a North Carolina man allegedly planned to use knives and hammers at a grocery store and fast-food chain on New Year’s Eve.

Breitbart [5/8/2026 7:26 PM, Elizabeth Weibel, 2238K] reports Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel detailed how the agency had conducted several operations and raids in which child predators were arrested, and drugs and firearms were seized. In a Weekly Internal update, Patel spoke about Operation Iron Pursuit and Operation Clean Sweep, and how "more than 200 child victims" had been identified, and over 300 child predator offenders were arrested. Patel also shared how because of the work of agents at FBI Albany, FBI Milwaukee, and FBI Charlotte, "hundreds of pounds of narcotics," along with "a kilo of fentanyl, 31,000 heroin doses" were seized. "This week, we announced the outstanding results of Operation Iron Pursuit — your coordinated, month-long effort to identify victims of child exploitation," Patel shared. "Thanks to the work of our teams and partners across all 56 field offices, we identified more than 200 child victims and arrested over 350 offenders, including 192 with federal charges.” Patel continued to explain that as a result of the FBI’s Albany division, Operation Clean Sweep had "led to major drug and firearm seizures, including hundreds of pounds of narcotics and 20 firearms.” "FBI Milwaukee announced the conclusion of a multi-year effort targeting drug trafficking operations in Wisconsin that resulted in 13 sentencings," Patel continued. "FBI Charlotte’s Raleigh-Durham Safe Streets Task Force carried out two raids with local partners that led to three arrests and the seizure of a kilo of fentanyl, 31,000 heroin doses, and other drugs.” Patel also shared that because of the work of the FBI’s San Antonio, Kansas City, and Legat Mexico City divisions, "a Texas man was found guilty this week" for his involvement in "trafficking firearms to a Mexican cartel.” Officials in the FBI’s Washington Field Office also "carried out an intelligence-driven surge targeting the most violent criminal offenders" in the Washington, DC, area, Patel shared, which resulted in "more than two dozen arrests.”

NewsNation [5/8/2026 9:36 AM, Ali Bradley and Taylor Delandro, 4464K] reports the Department of Homeland Security on Friday denied reports it was urging Florida to cease operations at the immigration detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Everglades. “Any reports that DHS is pressuring the state to cease operations at Alligator Alcatraz are false,” a DHS spokesperson told NewsNation. The spokesperson said Florida remains “a valuable partner” in advancing President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda and that DHS regularly reviews detention needs to meet operational demands. The response follows reports Florida officials have been discussing the detention center’s future with the Trump administration. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday the facility was always meant to be temporary. “At some point, we will, of course, break it down. That was always the goal,” the Republican governor said during a news conference in Lakeland. According to The New York Times, state and federal officials have had early discussions about potentially closing the facility, which DeSantis said has processed and deported 22,000 detainees since opening last summer.

Washington Examiner [5/8/2026 11:28 AM, Emily Hallas, 1147K] reports Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said on Thursday it was "always" his intention to close "Alligator Alcatraz," amid rumors Florida is in talks with the government to shut down the federal immigration detention center. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the Florida Everglades has sparked controversy, due largely to environmental and humanitarian concerns, since DeSantis said it opened for "aggressive deportation" last July. The governor has declared it a success, but suggested this week it could be winding down after processing and deporting around 22,000 detainees. "At some point, we will, of course, break it down. That was always the goal," DeSantis said at a news conference in Lakeland. "If we shut the lights out tomorrow, we will be able to say it served its purpose." His words came the same day the New York Times reported that the Department of Homeland Security is in talks with Florida officials to shut down the ICE facility due to high operational costs. Florida has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to operate the facility since it opened, according to the report. "It’s been discussed," DeSantis said Thursday of winding the facility down. "I said on Day One it was going to be temporary. We didn’t know how long, because we didn’t know what funding was going to be passed, how the DHS would stand up all this stuff. But it is going to be temporary.”

Washington Examiner [5/9/2026 6:00 AM, Anna Giaritelli, 1147K] reports Florida officials are in talks with the Trump administration about closing down “Alligator Alcatraz,” the cheeky term for a pop-up detention center for illegal immigrants in the Everglades, in the near future, the Washington Examiner has learned. “It is closing,” a former senior administration official with knowledge of the talks told the Washington Examiner on Friday. “Too expensive and they want it out before this hurricane season.” Hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. The confirmation follows a New York Times report this week that state and federal officials were in talks about shuttering the site soon. A spokesperson for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) did not comment on the future of Alligator Alcatraz and referred the Washington Examiner to the governor’s remarks a day earlier. DeSantis stopped shy of admitting during a press conference on Thursday that the site would be closed, only noting that both parties were discussing operations moving forward. “They haven’t said they want to wind it down. I mean, it’s been discussed about, because I think you had a new secretary come in, take a fresh look at these things,” DeSantis said.

New York Times [5/8/2026 5:42 PM, Madeleine Ngo, 148038K] reports Markwayne Mullin made clear from the start of his tenure as secretary that he wanted the Department of Homeland Security to stay out of the headlines and adopt a quieter approach after a tumultuous year under his predecessor, Kristi Noem. He paused plans to convert industrial warehouses into immigrant detention centers. Immigration agents have been told to stop entering homes without judicial warrants. His department has tried to rebrand Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers as “NICE” officers, at the urging of President Trump. The change in tactics stemmed from fears within the Republican Party that the crackdown could cost them voters in this year’s midterm elections. But the image overhaul has drawn backlash from some ardent Trump supporters who want the administration to dramatically ramp up arrests and broaden its focus beyond immigrants with criminal records. And it has raised questions about the direction of the department as Mr. Mullin and White House officials send mixed signals about how aggressively they plan to deliver on Mr. Trump’s signature campaign promise of mass deportations. “I don’t know how you do a mass deportation program quietly,” said Mike Howell, president of the Oversight Project, which was formed as a branch of the conservative Heritage Foundation. “The president ran loudly on it. I don’t think it’s something to shy away from.” White House officials have rejected claims they’re softening on immigration. “For the people out there saying, ‘President Trump’s getting weak on mass deportation,’ you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” Tom Homan, the White House border czar, said at the Border Security Expo in Phoenix this week. “This year will be a good year,” Mr. Homan added. “Mass deportations are coming.” Mr. Homan also pledged to deploy scores of immigration agents to New York if lawmakers passed measures that restricted state and local officials from cooperating with ICE. Mr. Mullin later backed his claims and said the department was “not slowing down one bit,” even as ICE data showed a recent dip in arrests. But Mr. Mullin has taken pains in interviews to make clear the department is targeting what it calls the “worst of the worst” and moving away from the more indiscriminate tactics that swept up many noncriminals in major cities. He has said Americans would not see a repeat of the Minnesota operation, which drew widespread backlash after two U.S. citizens were fatally shot by immigration officers amid protests. “We’re not going into New York like another Minneapolis,” Mr. Mullin said in an interview with Fox Business on Thursday. “We’re going to go after the felons.”

New York Times [5/8/2026 3:40 PM, Jonah E. Bromwich and Nicholas Nehamas, 148038K] reports that Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate who became the face of President Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters, could be deported before the Supreme Court hears his case after an unusually speedy decision from a court within the Justice Department. The decision last month included the recusal of multiple judges, continuing a pattern of abnormality that has marked the case from its outset. It concluded with the court upholding a lower immigration court’s finding that Mr. Khalil could be expelled from the United States. Mr. Khalil, 31, a legal permanent resident who is married to an American wife, mediated when Columbia and protesters clashed during demonstrations that rocked the university’s campus in 2024. The next year, after Mr. Trump had returned to the White House, Mr. Khalil was arrested and the administration moved to deport him. Though it is part of the Justice Department, the court that made last month’s decision, called the Board of Immigration Appeals, is required by law to make decisions independently. Internal board documents obtained by The New York Times show that the case was considered high priority even before the board officially received it. A note from an internal case-tracking file from June said that, even though Mr. Khalil had been released several days earlier, the case was to be handled as if he were still in detention, which would speed it along.

NewsMax [5/8/2026 11:29 AM, Nicole Weatherholtz, 3760K] reports Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Newsmax on Friday that Senate Republicans should force a talking filibuster to get the SAVE America Act passed, arguing the legislation has overwhelming public support while Democrat senators continue blocking election integrity protections. During an appearance on "Wake Up America," Scott said Republicans will return to Washington next week focused on advancing several major priorities, including reconciliation legislation, funding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, reforming FISA surveillance authorities, and confirming President Donald Trump’s nominees. Scott said Republicans also plan to renew their push for the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship and voter identification standards in federal elections. He argued the measure is supported by Republicans, Democrats, and independents across the country, while Senate Democrats remain the lone group opposing it.

CBS News [5/8/2026 11:41 AM, Dan Raby, 51110K] reports a federal grand jury has charged a Georgia man with threatening violence against former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and former Attorney General Pam Bondi on social media. An indictment obtained by CBS News Atlanta showed that Elliot Owen Schroer was indicted on two charges of threats by interstate communications and two charges of threats to former United States Officials on Tuesday. According to the indictment, Schroer made the threats in a series of posts on X on April 3. "I will stab your eyes out with a dull knife," Schroer wrote about Noem, authorities alleged. The indictment said that the Georgia man made other threats toward Noem, including writing "I will blow your esophagus out the back of your neck with a 12 gauge slug," and "we will put your head on a stake.” Another message addressed toward Bondi reportedly said "were going to kill you Pam." Prosecutors claim that the threats were intended to retaliate against both former Trump administration officials over their duties during their time of service. Law and Crime reports that Schroer requested and was granted a federal public defender to act as his attorney in the case on Thursday.

Bloomberg Law [5/8/2026 4:36 PM, Suzanne Monyak, 50K] reports a federal appeals court rebuffed the Trump administration’s attempt to reinstate a policy preventing members of Congress from conducting surprise oversight visits at immigration detention facilities. A three-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday declined to pause a lower court order that struck down the administration’s visitation restrictions. Judges Cornelia Pillard, Robert Wilkins, and Neomi Rao issued the decision in a short order. Rao wrote concurrence saying the lawmakers lack legal standing so the government is likely to ultimately succeed in the appeal, "but the current record does not substantiate the government’s claim that oversight visits without advance notice impose harms beyond administrative inconvenience.” The order leaves in place a ruling by US District Judge Jia Cobb that struck down a Department of Homeland Security policy requiring lawmakers to provide seven days’ notice before visiting detention sites. Cobb’s decision stemmed from a legal challenge brought by more than a dozen House Democrats. The administration has twice reissued its visitation policy, which it has claimed is allowed because it would be funded by Republicans’ party-line spending package. However, Cobb concluded the policy nonetheless likely violated federal spending law because DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement appeared to rely on funds from annual appropriations, despite language in funding bills that prohibits the government from using those funds to prevent lawmakers from entering detention facilities. "The power of the purse rests with Congress, and even a deep-pocketed agency must comply with Congress’s restrictions on the permissible uses of appropriated funds," Cobb wrote in her decision. NewsMax [5/8/2026 10:33 PM, Jim Thomas, 3760K] reports that the dispute centers on Section 527 of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, which bars DHS from using appropriated funds to block congressional oversight visits and states the law cannot be read to require lawmakers to provide prior notice. ICE imposed the seven-day rule in June 2025; then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem reissued versions of it in January and February 2026 after Cobb first struck it down. Cobb stayed each new iteration, finding the policy was being enforced using funds that the rider had restricted. Rao left a path forward for the government, indicating that a renewed stay motion with stronger evidence of operational harm or a fresh argument that the district court exceeded its jurisdiction could change the analysis. The merits appeal continues in the D.C. Circuit. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reported similarly:
New York Times [5/8/2026 6:30 PM, Zach Montague, 148038K] r

NewsMax [5/8/2026 7:46 PM, Solange Reyner, 3760K] reports White House border czar Tom Homan said federal immigration officers sometimes briefly detain U.S. citizens during enforcement operations based on suspicion but insisted that citizens are not deported once authorities confirm their identity. Speaking outside the White House about Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, Homan defended the agency’s tactics while acknowledging that some citizens may temporarily be caught up in immigration investigations. "We deport people that are going to be deportable," Homan said, according to The Hill. "We arrest people that will be deportable based on suspicion." Homan added that temporary detentions involving U.S. citizens can occur during field operations when officers are attempting to identify individuals. "Have U.S. citizens ever been shortly detained based on suspicion? I’m sure. I’m sure," he said. The comments come amid growing scrutiny from immigrant advocacy groups and civil liberties organizations over ICE enforcement practices, particularly during large-scale raids and targeted operations aimed at locating undocumented immigrants or individuals with deportation orders. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., in early March accused the Department of Homeland Security of violating the rights of U.S. citizens by detaining them. "DHS is supposed to be protecting our residents and upholding constitutional protections, but you’ve turned that on the head," Jayapal told then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a March 4 hearing. "You have actually turned the United States government against its own residents." Homan maintained that ICE officers release individuals once investigators determine they are not subject to removal proceedings. "If ICE officers determine that someone is not the guy we’re looking for, you are released," Homan said. "But we don’t deport U.S. citizens." Homan has become one of the leading public faces of President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda and has repeatedly defended aggressive enforcement measures along the southern border and in the interior of the country. The Trump administration has pledged to dramatically expand deportation operations and increase arrests of undocumented immigrants living in the United States. Administration officials have argued that stricter enforcement is necessary to address illegal immigration and public safety concerns. Immigrant rights groups, meanwhile, have warned that expanded enforcement operations could increase the likelihood of mistaken detentions and racial profiling. Federal law generally requires immigration officers to establish probable cause before making arrests for immigration violations, although brief detentions for questioning can occur during enforcement operations while officers verify identities and immigration status.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [5/8/2026 3:46 PM, Ryan Mancini, 18170K]

FOX News [5/9/2026 6:00 AM, Peter Pinedo, 37576K] reports President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, responded to a question about how many more deportations are needed to bring the U.S. back to a country of legal citizens, saying, "millions." Speaking with Fox News’ Will Cain on Thursday, Homan pushed back on rumors that the administration is ramping down its immigration enforcement surges, saying he expects the deportation numbers to actually increase. "We’re going to continue to surge resources, especially to sanctuary cities, because we know we have a problem there," he said. "So, I expect the numbers to increase while the border numbers continue to decrease." Asked how many more deportations are needed, Homan said, "Millions. Look … I see it all the time, there’s 12 million illegal aliens in the country, we used 12 million 25 years ago, I think its well over 20 million. So, we’re going to do everything we can to arrest as many people as we can." Pressed on whether the logistics of such large-scale deportation operations are possible, Homan responded, "I’ll give it one hell of a shot." "I mean, bottom line is we’re not going to give up on President Trump’s promise to the American people on mass deportations," he continued. Homan confirmed that the administration is hiring 10,000 more immigration enforcement agents. He said there are about 7,000 "on board" and 3,000 more going through training.

FOX News [5/8/2026 7:42 AM, Staff, 37576K] reports Border czar Tom Homan vows to deploy more ICE agents in New York, pushing back against Governor Kathy Hochul’s immigration enforcement policies. Former DHS advisor Charles Marino explains the legal basis for federal action, contrasting it with local authorities’ resistance. He details the implications of sanctuary city policies, which he argues increase the need for on-street apprehensions and strain federal resources. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [5/8/2026 8:35 AM, Staff, 37576K] reports Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to weigh in on the ongoing debate between New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and border czar Tom Homan regarding ICE limitations. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Univision [5/8/2026 8:32 AM, Staff, 4937K] reports border official Tom Homan has threatened to "flood the area" with immigration agents if New York passes bills that limit local coordination with federal government enforcement. New York seems willing to do it anyway. “I don’t tolerate threats well,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said Thursday . “We’re going to pass what we believe is important to protect New Yorkers.” Tensions are rising as Democrats try to put limits on the Trump administration’s immigration agenda, following the Republican Party’s often chaotic and violent deportation efforts.

Washington Examiner [5/8/2026 12:19 PM, David Zimmermann, 1147K] reports that Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) is vowing to oppose the renewed federal push to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to New York. Earlier this week, White House border czar Tom Homan threatened to "flood the zone" with a rapid ICE surge in New York and other states. Hochul did not take kindly to the threat as she unveiled a state budget that restricts cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration officers. "Their overreach and their excessive engagement and activities far beyond what was ever promised by the president or what Tom Homan has told me," she said on Thursday. After meeting together in March, Hochul said she and Homan agreed that there would be "no more" ICE raids or plans for immigration detention centers in the Empire State. President Donald Trump provided a similar assurance weeks earlier, telling the governor he would only push for a major immigration operation in states that want one. Homan seemingly walked back on that agreement of understanding when he spoke about mass deportations of illegal immigrants at the Border Security Expo in Phoenix on Tuesday. "So, what’s going to happen in places like New York… we’re going to flood the zone," he said. "You’re going to see more ICE agents [than] you ever seen before." The border czar particularly took issue with New York’s legislative effort to limit 287(g) cooperation, which allows local police to work with ICE. Nassau County is one of nine New York counties that have signed 287(g) contracts with the federal government.

FOX Business [5/8/2026 11:31 AM, Staff, 7946K] reports New York Post columnist Karol Markowicz joins ‘Varney & Co.’ to sound off on New York’s push to restrict ICE operations, warn of rising public safety risks and weigh in on high taxes driving a growing exodus of residents to Florida. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NBC News [5/8/2026 4:27 PM, Charles Watson, 42967K] Video: HERE reports an ICE takedown caught on camera in the Bronx left a 19-year-old bleeding and requiring stitches to his head. It wasn’t until later that agents found out they had the wrong person. Cellphone video showed the teen get tackled and detained by agents Wednesday afternoon at Gun Hill Road and Hull Avenue. Once agents figured out they had made a mistake, they dropped him off at a park, bloody and bruised, he said. Jeury Concepcion told NBC New York he was also suffering from a concussion as a result of his encounter with federal immigration agents. The incident was captured by several pieces of video obtained by News 4. In one video, a federal agent can be seen running with his gun drawn toward Concepcion as he was standing in front of a barber shop on Hull Avenue. The teen said he was approached by multiple ICE agents who ordered him to stop, then brought him to the ground and handcuffed him. Cellphone video from the incident showed agents lift the handcuffed 19-year-old off the ground, as blood dripped from his head. Federal agents walked Concepcion away, pressing him up against a car before they eventually put him in the vehicle and left. During the ride, Concepcion said the agents asked him for his ID and cellphone. That’s when they realized they had made a mistake, he said. "He told me he’s sorry, that he [was] confusing me with somebody else and that it would never happen again, and that he don’t want me to think they did it," Concepcion said. "And I told him I’m going to report them.” Concepcion said the agents dropped him off at a park he was unfamiliar with. He was eventually reunited with his mother, who took him to a hospital to get checked out. The incident comes as Border Czar Tom Homan has threatened to flood New York City with immigration agents as the state legislature considers legislation backed by Gov. Kathy Hochul that would limit local cooperation with federal immigration operations. However, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Thursday morning said he was not looking to send a surge of agents to the state right now.

FOX News [5/8/2026 8:09 AM, Leo Briceno, 37576K] reports New York Governor Kathy Hochul is using her 2027 budget request to push new restrictions targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Empire State, testing the limits of her authority to impose requirements on federal agencies — a test that experts say is doomed from its outset. The Local Cops Local Crimes Act would block local law enforcement from acting on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Alongside a proposed ban on masks and new operational limits in certain settings, Hochul’s efforts continue Democrats’ efforts to use state-level policies to push back on President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. "ICE will no longer be able to use our police, our jails and our resources to carry out civil immigration enforcement. Because guess what: Our officers paid for by local taxpayer dollars were hired to protect their communities, to be there to assist with a traffic accident, to go after retail theft, stop domestic violence," Hochul said at a press event on Thursday. "They’re not there to do the federal government’s bidding." Laurin Bis, acting assistant secretary for public affairs for the Department of Homeland Security, blasted Hochul’s announcement, calling it a dangerous development for NYC residents. "Governor Hochul’s policies of not cooperating with ICE put New Yorkers in danger. When politicians bar local law enforcement from working with DHS, our law enforcement officers have to have a more visible presence so that we can find and apprehend the criminals let out of jails and back into communities," Bis said. Bis said DHS feared that NYC would end up allowing more immigration-law violators back onto the street.

Axios [5/8/2026 6:03 AM, Mike D’Onofrio, 17364K] reports federal immigration operations in Philadelphia must soon operate under strict new restrictions, including a ban on masks and limits on accessing city property. Philly joins a growing group of cities pushing back on the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Mayor Cherelle Parker has signed a series of six so-called "ICE Out" bills that outline the new regulations. Another bill, which prohibits law enforcement from wearing a mask or facial covering to obscure their identity, will also take effect. Parker neither signed nor vetoed it. The bills go into effect in 60 days.

Bloomberg Law [5/8/2026 9:49 AM, Suzanne Monyak, 763K] reports the Trump administration violated a court order barring federal immigration agents from making arrests in the nation’s capital without warrants, a Washington federal judge held. Senior Judge Beryl Howell of the US District Court for the District of Columbia found Thursday that a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo providing guidance to immigration agents on when to arrest someone without a warrant "does not properly instruct law enforcement officers to comply" with her earlier court order restricting warrantless arrests. She found the memo gave officers a "flawed" definition of what constitutes an "escape risk," when evaluating if an immigrant may be arrested without a warrant. The memo tells officers to consider if an individual is "likely to remain at the scene of the encounter," but doesn’t mention if the person could be found elsewhere to be arrested later with a warrant, such as at home or work. The memo also "simply ignores" the requirement that arresting officers consider the extent of a person’s ties to the community when determining if they’re likely to flee before a warrant can be obtained, Howell said. The judge noted that "many" immigration officers have arrested people without asking any questions about community ties. Though Howell rejected some of the other challenges to the ICE memo, she said the issues the memo does have leave her with "no alternative but to prohibit reliance on the memorandum in its entirety." In a statement, Lauren Bis, acting assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, defended ICE’s legal authority to make arrests and said the Supreme Court "has already vindicated us on these practices."

Newsweek [5/8/2026 7:13 PM, Joshua Rhett Miller, 52220K] reports a New York City man who endured 150 days at federal immigration detention centers—including Florida’s infamous "Alligator Alcatraz"—is celebrating his release along with Mayor Zohran Mamdani following the "horrible" experience. Allan Michael Marrero, 34, spoke to Mamdani late Wednesday, five months after he was "whisked" away during what he thought would be a routine interview to obtain his marriage-based green card alongside his husband, Matthew Marrero. He is one of thousands caught in the net of President Donald Trump’s effort to launch the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history. As of February more than 4,000 immigrants had been unlawfully detained under the Trump administration according to Reuters. "It was just a horrible experience," Marrero said of the facility. "But mostly everywhere you went, it honestly just depended on the officer’s mood. You could get them in a decent mood one day, and then the next day they were completely different—shouting, erratic, being in your face like they wanted to fight. And if you reacted in any way, then they would ultimately jump you in there." Department of Homeland Security officials disputed Marrero’s allegations late Friday. "Another day and another hoax about Alligator Alcatraz," Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told Newsweek in a statement. "Far too often this office has had to respond to media questions on FALSE allegations about Alligator Alcatraz. The media is clearly desperate for these allegations of inhumane conditions at this facility to be true." Despite the menacing moniker, the immigration center doesn’t have overflowing toilets or poisonous snakes, Bis said. "These types of smears are directly contributing to our officers facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them," she said. "Here are the facts: Alligator Alcatraz does meet federal detention standards. All detainee facilities are clean. Any allegations of inhumane conditions are FALSE. When will the media stop peddling hoaxes about illegal alien detention centers and start focusing on American victims of illegal alien crime?”

FOX News [5/8/2026 8:22 PM, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Danamarie McNicholl, 37576K] Video: HERE reports state and federal immigration officers arrested a criminal illegal alien and MS-13 gang member in a captured-on-camera takedown. Luis Merary Peralta-Sevilla, a criminal illegal alien and MS-13 gang member from Honduras, was arrested in an operation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Highway Patrol on April 14. In the video shared exclusively with Fox News by ICE, officers are seen apprehending and arresting the Honduran national. "Driver, hands out the window, now!," a deputy is heard yelling, as a translator repeats the commands in Spanish. After Peralta was in handcuffs, officers are seen circling the truck he was driving. Authorities said that they found "some minor narcotics.” Florida police, ICE said, also seized Peralta’s vehicle due to violations related to driving without a valid license. Peralta-Sevilla first illegally entered the United States in July 2013. U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered him in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, where he admitted he is a citizen and national of Honduras and acknowledged he was in the country illegally. A Justice Department immigration judge granted him bond, and he remained in the United States pending removal proceedings. He is currently in the Palm Beach County Jail pending transfer to ICE custody for removal proceedings. "What happened today is just another perfect display of our partnership with our local law enforcement, the Florida Highway Patrol, and other federal partners," an ICE deputy said in the video. "We got a lead on this individual here, Honduran National. He’s associated with the MS-13 transnational gang, is also a known suspected terrorist," he said. "He’s gonna be going over to the Palm Beach County Jail tonight, and we’ll be moving him over to ICE custody shortly and also following up on the criminal investigation we have going on this individual.” [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [5/8/2026 1:38 PM, Stepheny Price, 37576K] reports that the man accused of causing a deadly hit-and-run crash that killed a mother and her two young sons is now the subject of an ICE detainer, as new details emerge about his background and criminal history. Victor Napoleon Reyes, 33, is charged with three counts of negligent homicide in connection with the Sunday night crash on Arch Street that left 31-year-old Breu’hna Hall and her two sons dead. According to jail records, Reyes is being held at the Pulaski County Detention Center on a $350,000 bond and is also subject to an ICE hold. Reyes’ attorney, Bill James Jr., told Channel 7 News he does not believe his client has legal status in the United States. "As far as being in the country… I do not believe he has legal status here, no," James said. James told the outlet the ICE hold was likely triggered by Reyes’ arrest. "If someone is arrested, and they are believed to be illegal, a lot of times ICE will put a hold on them," he said, adding that "you’re not going to get an ICE hold unless you’re in custody.” He also said that if Reyes posts bond, he could be turned over to federal authorities. "If he bonds out, then he’ll be released to ICE, and then it’ll be up to ICE whether they take him or not," James told Channel 7 News. Fox News Digital has reached out to Reyes’ attorney and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for comment. Reyes has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to return to court on July 1.

FOX News [5/8/2026 12:57 PM, Alexandra Koch, 37576K] reports that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed to Fox News Digital that an illegal immigrant accused in a decade-long serial rape case in Indiana was previously convicted of multiple crimes and arrested twice by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Leonel Catalan-Torreblanca, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, was arrested April 22 and is facing 30 charges including rape, sexual battery, criminal confinement, kidnapping, strangulation and burglary. ICE has lodged an immigration detainer asking Indiana officials not to release him. DHS told Fox News Digital Catalan-Torreblanca had prior convictions for patronizing a prostitute, voyeurism and multiple DUIs. It is unclear where and when he first illegally entered the U.S., but records show he was arrested by ICE in 2012 and was released under the Obama administration. ICE arrested Catalan-Torreblanca again in 2017, and he voluntarily returned to Mexico in 2018. He then illegally re-entered the U.S., a felony, in 2023 under the Biden administration, according to DHS. Thanks to the incredible work of the men and women of federal law enforcement, this demented rapist’s ten-year crime spree is over. He is now facing 30 charges including rape, sexual battery, criminal confinement, kidnapping, strangulation, and burglary," said DHS spokeswoman Lauren Bis. "ICE is asking Indiana officials to hand him over to ICE custody. Indiana cooperates with ICE, so we will be able to work together to get him off our streets and out of our country." "Under President [Donald] Trump and [DHS] Secretary [Markwayne] Mullin, criminal illegal aliens are NOT welcome in the United States," Bis added.

CBS News [5/8/2026 5:32 PM, Doug Myers, 51110K] reports a Mexican man previously deported three times is accused of ramming federal immigration officers’ vehicles during an attempted traffic stop in Lewisville, federal prosecutors said. Jose Andres Hernandez Medina, 38, appeared Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Bill Davis on a federal charge of assaulting immigration officers, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas. Prosecutors say Federal ICE officers tried to stop Hernandez Medina’s vehicle near a Lewisville apartment complex on April 30 after spotting him during an enforcement operation along the I‑35 frontage road. Instead of pulling over, he allegedly accelerated away, slamming into multiple law enforcement vehicles. Two federal officers were injured badly enough to require hospitalization, authorities said. Hernandez Medina allegedly continued fleeing, hitting several parked cars before abandoning the vehicle and attempting to run.

AP [5/8/2026 5:55 PM, Carolina Cuellar, 35287K] reports Tucson migrant advocates have designed a new tool to help track immigration-related enforcement in and around the city as arrests surge under President Donald Trump’s mass deportation initiative. Tucson Migra Map allows people to document and visualize enforcement activities by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies. While revealing patterns, the tool also raises questions about safety, transparency and the limits of public tracking tools. "It indicates the level of chaos and how disruptive it is to our community," activist Lucia Vindiola said in a statement. Vindiola launched the mutual aid group La Bodega to provide groceries and other help to people affected by increased enforcement. "We are seeing firsthand the impact on families, limiting them from shopping for groceries and supplies," Vindiola said. In the year since Trump took office, immigration-related detentions have more than tripled in fiscal year 2025 — surging from less than 200 in late 2024 to more than 800 by June 2025. The response in communities nationwide has been swift, with groups such as the Tucson Rapid Response network organizing to monitor and track federal immigration action on the street. Geographer Dugan Meyer, one of the map’s creators, is a Ph.D. student at the University of Arizona who volunteers with Tucson Rapid Response and other related organizations. "This project came out of the documentation work that Rapid Response is doing, but also around the city," Meyer said. "It is a community research project, community mapping project." The data is pulled from spreadsheets maintained since January 2025 that tracks and documents federal enforcement actions in greater Tucson such as raids, vehicle stops and aerial surveillance. Hundreds of people, including non-citizens, have contributed their eyewitness accounts of immigration enforcement to the map and the database it draws from, according to the Tucson Migrant Map website. Information from the local news is included, along with reports collected by Rapid Response and other neighborhood networks such as Migra Watch, and information shared on social media and in WhatsApp groups.

Telemundo Washington DC [5/8/2026 3:31 PM, Staff, 120K] reports the parents of Kevin Gonzalez, a young man with terminal cancer, have already been released by ICE after several days in detention at the Florence detention center in Arizona. Around noon on May 8, Isidoro González Avilés and Norma Anabel Ramírez Amaya, Kevin González’s parents, crossed the Nogales border and this same Friday they could reach Durango. “I love him very much,” Ramirez Amaya told Telemundo Arizona, as a message to his son. In January, Kevin was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and the disease has spread throughout his body. According to doctors, there are no longer any treatment options and your time is limited. The young man lived in Chicago and his parents applied for humanitarian visas to go to take care of him, but the U.S. government denied them a visa. In desperation, they crossed the border and CBP agents arrested them. They were then prosecuted at the Florence detention center in Arizona. On May 7, an immigration judge ordered the expeditious deportation of the marriage so that he could return to Mexico and reunite with his son. Marcos Moreno, consul of Mexico in Nogales, explained that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is giving support in this case. “Today they would arrive at their home in Durango,” Moreno said. “The plan is for them to meet Kevin today, that’s the number one priority and that’s it.”

FOX News [5/8/2026 10:37 AM, Ryan Morik, 37576K] reports a union that includes nearly 2,000 SoFi Stadium workers issued a complaint to the attorney general of California, stating that they could be at risk of being targeted by ICE due to FIFA’s accreditation process. SoFi Stadium is one of 11 USA venues hosting World Cup matches this summer, but members of the UNITE HERE Local 11 union fear that FIFA’s process violates their rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act. According to the complaint, via The Athletic, workers had to share their Social Security number, nationality, address and country of birth. They also were required to consent to the "collection, use, and disclosure" of their "personal data, including any sensitive personal data, as described in (FIFA’s) Privacy Notice." The complaint also reportedly says that workers needed to consent to their information being shared with "local, regional, and/or federal government authorities or a third-party for the purposes of conducting a security background check.” The complaint, according to The Athletic, has called on FIFA to publicly ensure that ICE will not be present at World Cup venues throughout the tournament. The FBI has said that the Department of Homeland Security would be a "key partner" in the accreditation process. It remains unknown what ICE’s presence will be at World Cup games, but acting director Todd Lyons did say that it would play a "key part" in ensuring security during the tournament.

Daily Wire [5/8/2026 7:22 AM, Jennie Taer, 2314K] reports an illegal immigrant hid in the ceiling of a women’s bathroom in a Florida church while recording video on his phone, according to authorities. The Fort Walton Beach Police Department arrested Panamanian illegal immigrant Aquilino Sanjur Ortega on Sunday after receiving a call about a possible armed person at Grace Church while there was a religious service. One woman said that while she was inside the women’s restroom, "she observed a mobile phone positioned above the ceiling with its camera pointed downward in her direction," police said. The woman "immediately" left the restroom and informed church staff. Parishioners evacuated from the building before officers arrived at the scene, according to authorities. Witnesses told the officers that a man was hiding in the women’s restroom ceiling, which they confirmed after entering the church. Ortega, who was unarmed, was swiftly arrested. Ortega is charged with video voyeurism and disturbing a religious assembly. Ortega came to the United States in March 2007 with a tourism visa that expired that September, federal law enforcement sources told The Daily Wire. Because Ortega overstayed his visa by nearly two decades, he’s considered an illegal immigrant. As a result, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer with the Okaloosa County Jail. Local authorities are likely to honor the request and hand Ortega over to federal authorities for eventual deportation.

San Francisco Chronicle [5/8/2026 9:46 PM, Bob Egelko, 3833K] reports the Trump administration moved Friday to revoke the U.S. citizenship of 12 more immigrants for crimes or alleged lies in their citizenship applications. One is a former Catholic priest in Northern California who admitted to sexually molesting a teenage boy and was sentenced to prison. “This Department of Justice continues to file denaturalization actions at record speeds to restore integrity in our naturalization process,” Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate said in an announcement of the actions. “The disturbing criminal histories confirm these individuals should have never received the privilege of U.S. citizenship.” It is also another step in President Donald Trump’s program of “mass deportations” of immigrants who allegedly entered the United States illegally. Federal courts have rejected most of his efforts, including plans to hold migrants without bail during deportation proceedings, an attempted shutdown of the U.S.-Mexican border to immigrants seeking asylum and the swift deportation of hundreds of Venezuelans under a 1798 law, halted by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. “Denaturalization can be seen as part of the mass deportation campaign,” said Kevin Johnson, an immigration law professor at UC Davis. “All in all, the Trump administration seeks to limit legal immigration, remove any relief from removal and remove as many noncitizens as possible.” Thousands of U.S. immigrants were denaturalized during the first and second World Wars and the early years of the Cold War. The Supreme Court then issued several rulings restricting the government’s authority to revoke citizenship based on a person’s political views, and the rate of denaturalization fell to an average of 11 cases per year between 1990 and 2017, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. But it more than doubled during Trump’s first term, and increased again when he took office last year. The 12 on Friday’s Justice Department list included 75-year-old Oscar Pelaez, a native of Colombia, who entered the U.S. in 1992 and became a religious worker in 1993, eventually attaining the priesthood in the Diocese of Stockton. He was granted U.S. citizenship in 2001 and, as part of his citizenship application, denied having committed any previously undisclosed crimes. But in 2002, Pelaez pleaded no contest to charges of sexually abusing a teenage boy for years while he was a priest at Sacred Heart Church in Turlock (Stanislaus County). He was sentenced to six years in prison, but was released on parole in 2005 while being required to register as a sex offender for life. Immigrants sponsored by their employer or a close relative who is a U.S. citizen can apply for naturalized citizenship after three to five years of living and working legally in the United States. California has 5.6 million naturalized U.S. citizens, far more than any other state. In a federal court filing Thursday, Trump’s Justice Department said that because Pelaez, in the years leading up to his citizenship application, committed serious crimes and then lied about them, he “could not establish that he was a person of good moral character” and therefore “was ineligible for naturalization.” Others on Friday’s denaturalization list included a man accused of murdering two police officers in his native Iraq; another man accused of taking part in the execution of six military officers during a 1994 coup in the African nation of Gambia; a man from Nigeria who allegedly used false names in the 1980s and 1990s to acquire legal status and U.S. citizenship, and a Colombian immigrant who allegedly spied for Cuba while living in the U.S. in the 1970s.

Wall Street Journal [5/8/2026 11:45 AM, Elizabeth Findell, 646K] reports as officials and contractors working in border security milled around a convention-center hall this week, artificial intelligence analyzed their threat potential in real time, displaying the results on computer screens. Companies showed off how their systems, from miles away, could distinguish people from animals, or those carrying bags or weapons—using mounted cameras or sensors or drones as small as a child’s toy. The annual Border Security Expo, a trade show catering to Department of Homeland Security personnel, provides an array of companies showing off the newest, flashiest technology they are eager to sell to the U.S. government. This year, the stakes were even higher. The rapid acceleration of AI in border-security technology hit a fever pitch over the past year, bringing new competitors into the industry and offering a new vision of what surveillance and border enforcement looks like. The Trump administration has made border security and immigration enforcement its top priority, and vendors have been eager to secure funding and contracts before political winds shift. Paul Allen, president of Airship AI, a surveillance intelligence system, said the administration’s emphasis on securing the border has led companies serving other sectors to begin applying their technologies to border security. “If you look at where the money’s going, it’s ICE and CBP,” Allen said, referring to a pair of U.S. agencies: Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. “So if you’re in this line of work, that’s what you’re doing.”

NewsMax [5/8/2026 3:31 PM, Nicole Weatherholtz, 3760K] reports the Trump administration’s push to increase border security is fueling a boom in artificial intelligence-driven surveillance technology, as companies race to secure billions in new federal funding, according to a new report. At this week’s Border Security Expo, an annual trade show for Department of Homeland Security officials and contractors, vendors showcased AI systems capable of identifying people, weapons, bags, and suspicious activity in real time using drones, radar, cameras, and remote sensors. The surge comes as President Donald Trump has made border security and immigration enforcement a top priority, prompting defense and tech companies to pivot toward Homeland Security contracts. "If you look at where the money’s going, it’s ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and CBP [Customs and Border Protection]," Paul Allen, president of Airship AI, told The Wall Street Journal. "So, if you’re in this line of work, that’s what you’re doing.” Republicans last year approved more than $170 billion for border-security and immigration measures through Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, touching off competition among contractors eager to win government deals before the political landscape changes. "Speed is more important than efficiency or effectiveness right now," David Olive, a homeland-security consultant, told the Journal. Olive noted that agencies are racing to spend allocated money amid concerns Democrats could try to claw back funding if they regain congressional control.

CBS News [5/8/2026 3:09 PM, Megan Cerullo, 51110K] reports that a U.S. trade court’s ruling against a Trump administration tariff could further constrain the White House’s ability to impose import levies, according to legal and trade experts. The Court of International Trade (CIT) sided with 24 states and businesses that filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of a 10% global tariff imposed by President Trump in February under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. In a ruling by the three-judge panel, the court found that the temporary tariffs were "unlawful" and harmful to businesses. The blow to Mr. Trump’s trade policies follows a February Supreme Court ruling that struck down U.S. tariffs imposed last year under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. The U.S. government owes importers an estimated $175 billion in tariff refunds, plus interest, because of the ruling. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has since launched a portal where importers can submit refund claims. White House spokesman Kush Desai defended Mr. Trump’s use of tariffs. "President Trump has lawfully used the tariff authorities granted to him by Congress to address our balance of payments crisis," Desai said in a statement to CBS News. "The Trump administration is reviewing legal options and maintains confidence in ultimately prevailing." Trump administration officials have said tariffs are an important tool for ensuring fair trade relations with U.S. economic partners, defending critical U.S. industries and raising federal revenue.

The Texas Tribune [5/8/2026 9:18 PM, Ayden Runnels, 2400K] reports plans to build portions of the border wall in Big Bend National Park are off after bipartisan backlash over the proposed construction, a top U.S. Customs and Border Patrol official told the Washington Examiner. CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said the Trump administration was no longer planning to construct the wall within the national park following pushback from residents, the Examiner reported this week. “Big Bend National Park has some just, like, unbelievably huge granite cliffs. It would be kind of silly to put like a 30-foot border wall on top of a 90-foot granite cliff,” Scott said in an interview with the Examiner. “So what we’re trying to convey is that we are going to have meaningful border security in that entire area.” Scott’s comments only referenced the national park and did not detail whether CBP’s withdrawal from wall construction also included the nearby Big Bend Ranch State Park or private property in the region. CBP officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment about updated plans.

Washington Examiner [5/8/2026 12:36 PM, Anna Giaritelli, 1147K] reports that officials at the Departments of Homeland Security and War are gravely concerned about the security of the nation’s skies along the land border and have admitted that the airspace is incredibly easy to penetrate from Canada and Mexico. Recent and continuing major improvements in infrastructure at the U.S.-Mexico border have already begun to push terrorist organizations and cartels into the air to get around ground infrastructure, such as walls, river barriers, and sensors, as they smuggle money and guns into Mexico and drugs into the United States, according to government officials leading efforts to counter unfriendly drones. "What happens when you shrink the battle space? They go up… or they go down," said Anthony Crane, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s acting executive director for countering unmanned aircraft systems within the defense capability group, during a discussion at the Border Security Expo in Arizona this week. "As we fundamentally look at the threats as they approach, that’s where we’re focused on, mainly above ground, because that is the easier access. It takes a long time to build a tunnel. Crane said the new DHS secretary, Markwayne Mullin, saw and learned about the threats posed by enemy drones during a recent trip to the border, and Mullin also has knowledge of the problem from private briefings as a former senator. Willoughby wants to "normalize" unmanned aerial systems as tools accessible to all personnel across CBP, the Coast Guard, the Federal Protective Service, and other DHS agencies.

Breitbart [5/8/2026 2:03 PM, Randy Clark, 2238K] reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the San Ysidro Port of Entry recently found and seized more than 225 pounds of cocaine in a single smuggling event. The late-April seizure demonstrates the agency’s ability to focus on defeating cartel smuggling networks that continue to probe the heightened Trump border security posture for weaknesses. The cocaine smuggling venture was encountered at the San Ysidro Port of Entry when officers became suspicious of a 21-year-old male U.S. citizen driving a Ford F-250 pickup truck attempting to enter the country, according to information provided to Breitbart News by CBP officials. Officers referred the individual and the vehicle to a secondary inspection area for a more thorough investigation, during which an imaging system and a CBP canine team alerted officers to an anomaly discovered in the vehicle. A physical inspection led to the discovery of 81 packages of a substance that tested positive for cocaine concealed within the spare tire and gas tank. The narcotics weighed approximately 225.44 pounds and had an estimated street value of $4,328,448, officials reported. The enforcement posture at land border ports has hardened due to strict border security measures enacted by President Trump, which are helping officers focus on enforcement and inspections. The Biden-initiated CBP-One smartphone application, which allowed 1,400 migrants daily to enter land ports of entry to launch asylum claims and gain release into the United States, saw many CBP officers diverted from enforcement and inspection duties to processing migrants for release.

Daily Caller [5/8/2026 1:05 PM, Leena Nasir, 803K] reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents reportedly apprehended Disney cruise staffers amid an operation targeting alleged child sexual exploitation material (CSEM). A CBP spokesperson said Disney staffers aboard a cruise ship docked in San Diego were among 28 people taken into custody by authorities, The California Post reported Wednesday, citing law enforcement officials. Authorities boarded eight cruise ships between April 23 and April 27 and spoke with 26 suspected crew members from the Philippines as well as one from Portugal and another from Indonesia, a CBP spokesperson told the Daily Caller. "[O]fficers confirmed that 27 of the 28 subjects were involved in either the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution, or viewing of CSEM or child pornography," the spokesperson told the Caller. "CBP cancelled their visas and these criminals have been returned to their country of citizenship." Staffers on a Disney cruise ship docked in San Diego were among 28 people arrested in a sweeping crackdown on a child pornography operation: CBP agents boarded eight cruise ships between April 23-27 and interviewed suspects from the Philippines, Portugal and Indonesia. A spokesperson for Disney Cruise Line issued a statement, according to Variety. "We have a zero-tolerance policy for this type of behavior and fully cooperated with law enforcement," the company said. "While the majority of these individuals were not from our cruise line, those who were are no longer with the company," they continued.

HS Today [5/8/2026 5:40 AM, Staff, 38K] reports FEMA has worked for more than a year with partners to prepare for a safe and secure FIFA World Cup 2026™. The agency continues to deliver training and exercise support to state, local and tribal governments preparing for the events. To date, FEMA has coordinated training for more than 238,000 local emergency managers and first responders in host cities. These trainings focused on special event safety and security, including coordinating emergency response, large sports venue management and mass casualty events. “The federal government is fully prepared to make this tournament a success, but we couldn’t do it without the expertise, experience and resources of our private industry partners, and state and local government partners,” said Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. “This is a great example of what we can achieve when industry and every level of government plans and works together.” “Last week, we hosted representatives from business and industry as well as the state and local partners and national associations at FEMA headquarters to continue the forward-leaning coordination. Partners across a variety of sectors play a critical role in making the FIFA World Cup 2026 events a historic success,” said Karen S. Evans, Senior Official Performing the Duties of FEMA Administrator. “These partners are the anchors of community resilience every day – both on gray-sky days and on game days.” “This will be the largest sporting event in the world, and we need our private sector and state and local partners every step of the way, from the planning stages which began over a year ago to after the final match in New Jersey on July 19,” said Andrew Giuliani, Executive Director of the White House Task Force. “This is an opportunity to show the world what the United States can achieve during our nation’s 250th birthday.”

CBS Los Angeles [5/8/2026 5:58 PM, Staff, 51110K] reports California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday requested a 12-month extension of federal disaster assistance for Los Angeles wildfire victims, as many are still displaced. California is requesting an extension of the Individuals and Households Program through FEMA, which provides financial and housing assistance to disaster survivors. The extension would allow eligible survivors to continue receiving support through July 9, 2027. Rep Judy Chu backed the request during a news conference, saying that it’s needed "to provide desperately needed infusions of federal funds for rebuilding and recovery.” The governor recognized that rebuilding remains challenging, with insurance payments delays, housing shortages, and limited contractor availability. "Thousands of Californians are still navigating the long road to recovery after these devastating fires. We’re doing everything in our power to support survivors, but they need continued federal support to rebuild safely and fully," Newsom said in a statement.

Washington Post [5/9/2026 5:00 AM, Danielle Paquette and John Woodrow Cox, 24826K] reports Peyton Vanest was fuming about President Donald Trump when he grabbed his phone and hit record. “Somebody should,” he declared, pausing for dramatic effect. “Somebody should, you know?” “If somebody knew what needed to be done, that person should probably just do it …” the 27-year-old progressive influencer continued, conspicuously not defining “it.” Then he uploaded the 62-second video to TikTok, where it accumulated more than 700,000 likes and 3.2 million views. His version on Instagram garnered another 1.4 million views. “Crazy how we all know exactly what you’re talking about,” one of thousands of commenters replied. Vanest’s vague plea — posted 18 days before the third apparent attempt on Trump’s life in less than two years — is part of a social media trend that has twisted the idea of a presidential assassination into a morbid joke. Once an unseemly feature of the web’s fringes, deliberately ambiguous chatter about political violence has spread on mainstream platforms over the past year — most often in reference to Trump and Elon Musk, according to a new report from Know Your Meme, which tracks the rise of viral posts. “Somebody should do it” and its online variants, the authors wrote, is wink-nudge shorthand for suggesting that somebody kill a powerful person. One of the earliest cases to go viral was a TikTok video from a Brooklyn comedian nebulously talking about “all the Elon, Trump stuff.” Someone should “throw their life away,” he said in the February 2025 post, and “take one for the team.” The conservative Libs of TikTok reposted the clip. So did Musk, helping it rack up 48 million views. “Everybody dies, but not everybody lives,” the tech titan jabbed back on X. (The comedian declined to comment.) Know Your Meme found that interest in the “Somebody should do it” trend spiked after an armed man’s thwarted attack last month at the White House correspondents’ dinner in Washington, where Trump was scheduled to speak. Researchers who study how violence multiplies told Washington Post they are concerned about the posts’ reach and impact. Tim Weninger, an associate professor at the University of Notre Dame who studies how social media is wielded to dehumanize enemies, first encountered the trend last fall when a teenage family member happened to scroll upon it. This week, he said, he asked a few students on campus whether they’d seen “Somebody should do it” appeals, too. Every single one, he said, knew what that meant. “I’ve never seen it quite like this,” Weninger said of America’s seeming comfort level with murder gibes. “People are in a dark place.” Normalization of formerly taboo rhetoric — from both ends of the political spectrum — can sound like encouragement, he said, to somebody in the grip of a mental health crisis. The Post interviewed six people who described a range of complex and sometimes contradictory reasons for posting their own spin on “Somebody should do it.”

NewsMax [5/8/2026 11:00 AM, Charlie McCarthy, 3760K] reports Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is calling for an immediate audit of the Secret Service following the alleged assassination attempt on President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. In a sharply worded letter to Secret Service Director Sean Curran, Blackburn on Thursday accused the agency of suffering from a "clear pattern of incompetence" and demanded a "full, thorough audit of every single employee" on the agency’s payroll. "It is apparent that the United States Secret Service is in desperate need of a course correction," Blackburn wrote. "Unless you root out the rot, our nation will suffer the consequences.” Blackburn’s criticism comes after authorities say an armed suspect infiltrated the White House Correspondents’ dinner on April 25 before being stopped by Secret Service agents.

AP [5/8/2026 1:00 PM, Michael Kunzelman, 12718K] reports a man charged with attacking the White House Correspondents’ Assn. dinner is seeking to disqualify top Justice Department officials from direct involvement in prosecuting him because they could be considered victims or witnesses in the case, creating a potential conflict of interest. Acting Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche and U.S. Atty. Jeanine Pirro were attending the April 25 event at the Washington Hilton when Cole Tomas Allen allegedly ran through a security checkpoint and fired a shotgun at a Secret Service officer. In a court filing late Thursday, Allen’s attorneys argued that it creates at least the appearance of a conflict of interest for Blanche and Pirro to be making any prosecutorial decisions in the case. "As this case proceeds closer to trial, the country and the world will continue to wonder — how can the American justice system permit a victim to prosecute a criminal defendant in a case involving them?" defense attorneys Eugene Ohm and Tezira Abe wrote. Ohm and Abe, who are assistant federal public defenders, suggested that the appointment of a special prosecutor might be warranted. They urged U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump nominee assigned to Allen’s case, to disqualify Pirro, Blanche and possibly other Justice Department officials from direct involvement in the investigation and prosecution. "Both heard gunshots, which presumably forced them to duck below the tables with the rest of the occupants. They were quickly evacuated. Shortly thereafter, they learned that law enforcement believed the target was certain administration officials," Ohm and Abe wrote. Pirro said her office will respond to the defense lawyers’ arguments in its own court filing. "We will not tolerate people who come to the District of Columbia to engage in antidemocratic acts of political violence; and we will prosecute all such acts to the fullest extent of the law," Pirro said in a statement.

Washington Examiner [5/8/2026 8:39 AM, Emily Hallas, 1147K] reports Cole Tomas Allen filed a motion Thursday to have federal prosecutors disqualified from the court case in which he is accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump. Allen’s legal team argued U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche should be recused from the case because they have personal ties to the case. The federal prosecutors attended the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner that Allen is accused of attacking, making them ineligible to stand against him in court, the alleged gunman argued. "As this case proceeds closer to trial, the country and the world will continue to wonder—how can the American justice system permit a victim to prosecute a criminal defendant in a case involving them?" Allen’s lawyers wrote in the motion "Or even—how can one of the victim’s closest friends prosecute the alleged perpetrator of the offense?" they continued, referring to Pirro’s longtime friendship with Trump, who said he was a victim of an assassination attempt, after Cole allegedly rammed through the dinner’s security checkpoint, shot a Secret Service Service agent, and began running towards the ballroom where the president, Pirro, and others were gathered.

Roll Call [5/8/2026 1:47 PM, Paul M. Krawzak, 673K] reports that Senate Democrats are preparing to challenge on procedural grounds a $1 billion provision in a GOP reconciliation bill that is connected to plans for a White House ballroom. Democrats say the provision is a "glaring" violation of the Senate’s Byrd rule, which restricts the type of material that can be considered in a reconciliation bill, according to sources familiar with their conversations. The White House and Department of Homeland Security have come out in strong support of the provision in recent days, arguing, for example, that past attempts to assassinate President Donald Trump and a gunfight with an intruder at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner two weeks ago necessitate increased security measures. The section of the reconciliation bill written by Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans would provide $1 billion to the Secret Service "for the purposes of security adjustments and upgrades, including within the perimeter fence of the White House Compound to support enhancements by the United States Secret Service relating to the East Wing Modernization Project, including above-ground and below-ground security features." The provision also includes a limitation that none of the $1 billion "may be used for non-security elements of the East Wing Modernization Project," which presumably includes the planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom. Democrats believe the funding and its purpose lie outside the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee, a violation of the Byrd rule if true, the sources said.

CBS News [5/8/2026 11:12 PM, Staff, 51110K] reports the U.S. military’s latest strike on an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean killed two men Friday while leaving one survivor. Video posted on social media by U.S. Southern Command shows a black, boat-shaped image before what appears to be an explosion, followed by a column of fire rising from the ocean. Southern Command said it "immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivor." It did provide details on the rescue or the survivor’s condition. The White House announced Wednesday that President Trump has signed off on a new U.S. counterterrorism strategy that sets eliminating drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere as the administration’s highest priority. The Trump administration’s campaign of blowing up alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters, including the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean Sea, has gone on since early September and killed at least 192 people in total. The military has not provided evidence that any of the vessels were carrying drugs. The strikes have ramped up again in recent weeks. At the same time, Mr. Trump has sought to press regional leaders to work more closely with the U.S. to target cartels and take military action themselves against drug traffickers and transnational gangs that he says pose an "unacceptable threat" to the hemisphere’s national security. Critics, meanwhile, have questioned the overall legality of the boat strikes. The first attack in the campaign occurred on Sept. 2. In early December, however, the Trump administration came under heavy scrutiny after it confirmed a Washington Post report that in that Sept. 2 attack, the U.S. had conducted a follow-on strike, or "double tap," that killed two survivors of the initial strike on the vessel. Some lawmakers questioned whether the follow-on strike constituted a war crime.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [5/8/2026 10:59 PM, Sophie Brams, 18170K]
AP [5/8/2026 8:44 PM, Staff, 2238K]
FOX News [5/8/2026 9:50 PM, Michael Sinkewicz, 37576K]
NewsMax [5/8/2026 9:22 PM, Christian Martinez, 3760K]

Stars and Stripes [5/8/2026 1:26 PM, Peter Krouse, 1251K] reports that the U.S. Coast Guard has a new tool for tracking suspicious vessels on the Great Lakes, enforcing fishing regulations and aiding in search and rescue efforts. It’s an uncrewed sailboat, equipped with radar, cameras and collision-avoidance technology that will allow it to stay in open waters for long periods of time. The Coast Guard has deployed two of the autonomous drones on Lake Erie and another two on Lake Superior, with plans to add one each to Lake Huron and Lake Ontario this fall, said John Mustin, president of California-based Saildrone Inc, which makes the drones. Lake Michigan will not get a drone because it does not have a border with Canada. The drones are intended to provide additional surveillance. Anthony Popiel, who manages the Coast Guard’s unmanned autonomous system program on the Great Lakes, said Lake Erie, for instance, can be an entry point for undocumented people and contraband coming into the United States. Other times, the drones may be used to keep tabs on fishing boats operating in areas that are off limits, Mustin said. "We’re able to see who’s fishing or more importantly where they are fishing," he said. They can also help out with search and rescue by providing wind, wave and current information before ships arrive on the scene. "Humans get seasick," Mustin said. "Our drones never get seasick." The drones will have no impact on staffing, Popiel said. The Coast Guard operates six boat stations on Lake Erie, including four in Ohio — Fairport Harbor, Cleveland, Marblehead and Toledo.

The National Desk [5/8/2026 1:27 PM, Charlotte Hazard, 571K] reports that the Department of Justice announced Thursday that 10 people were charged for conspiracy to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. "N. Kapeli, Militante-Hanamaikai, Kaolulo, Jardine, Taylor, Kumos, Holmes and T. Kapeli face a charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana," the DOJ put out in a press release. "Jardine has also been charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes. N. Kapeli, Tuimalealiifano, and Keliikuli are accused of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine." Court filings show that the two individuals shipped a large amount of methamphetamine to Hawaii. "The organization, sometimes referred to as H-Mob, used juveniles to store narcotics and firearms at the Puuwai Momi Housing complex," the release reads. During the investigation, 20 pounds of methamphetamine were seized by investigators. If the defendants are convicted, they face a minimum sentence of 10 years. "The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Coast Guard Investigative Service, United States Postal Inspection Service, Honolulu Police Department, and Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement are investigating the case," the release concluded. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Post [5/8/2026 6:00 AM, Ian Duncan and Nitasha Tiku, 24826K] reports the arrival of a new generation of powerful artificial intelligence models, like Anthropic’s Mythos, has begun to crack the White House’s hard-line stance on promoting the technology, as top officials confront security risks posed by tools that can easily find flaws long buried in computer code. President Donald Trump’s team is considering an executive order to tackle those risks, and National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett compared the approach this week to how the FDA tests new drugs “so that they’re released to the wild after they’ve been proven safe.” Within hours, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles used her fourth-ever post on X in an apparent attempt to clarify the comments, saying that the president would not be “in the business of picking winners and losers.” Details about how the system might work were still being hashed out, according to an official familiar with the planning, and experts said the FDA-style system outlined by Hassett could face major hurdles, including requiring Congress to pass a law.

CyberScoop [5/8/2026 1:35 PM, Tim Starks, 122K] reports the Senate’s top Democrat called on the Department of Homeland Security Friday to work closely with state and local governments to defend against artificial intelligence-strengthened hacks. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to make sure state, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) governments aren’t left behind as AI models advance, posing new hacking threats. “There is a race between cybersecurity defenders and AI-enabled hacking — and there’s no time to waste,” Schumer wrote. “While the White House has reportedly begun hosting meetings about its internal security priorities following these frontier AI cyber breakthroughs, it is glaringly obvious that the Department of Homeland Security needs an updated plan for coordinating these efforts with [state, local, tribal and territorial] governments and implementing procedures to reduce the risk of disruptive cyberattacks enabled by frontier AI,” he stated. Schumer said he was worried about the capabilities of DHS and its Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to carry out that coordination, given federal funding cuts to the Multistate Information Sharing and Analysis Center, and the lack of a Senate-confirmed CISA director for the duration of the second Trump administration. Schumer wants a plan from DHS by July 1 on coordinating with state and local governments on a range of questions, such as how to identify top AI talent, carry out rapid patching and conduct risk assessments.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [5/8/2026 12:29 PM, Julia Shapero, 18170K]

Washington Post [5/9/2026 6:00 AM, Susan Svrluga, Ian Duncan, and Lauren Lumpkin, 24826K] reports the vast data breach at education platform Canvas this week exposed the vulnerability of student information as hackers increasingly target school systems, colleges and the tech companies they rely on in hopes of scoring big ransom payouts. The latest attack comes as a handful of big educational technology providers are managing a huge amount of information and as a backlash brews among parents who want to curb computer use in classrooms. Instructure, the company that operates Canvas, had been warned. Earlier this month, a message was sent, according to Ransomware.live: “This is a final warning to reach out by 6 May 2026 before we leak along with several annoying (digital) problems that’ll come your way. Make the right decision, don’t be the next headline,” and “FINAL WARNING PAY OR LEAK.” On Thursday, almost 9,000 schools and 275 million people were affected, including students, teachers, faculty and staff whose personally identifying information was leaked, according to Ransomware.live. A hacking group known as ShinyHunters said it was behind the break-in, a copy of a ransom note obtained by The Washington Post shows. It’s unclear exactly what data ShinyHunters took, but the group’s tactics involve stealing information and then threatening to release it unless their victims pay up. There’s potentially a Tuesday deadline looming, although hacker-tracking site Dark Web Informer said Thursday that ShinyHunters had taken Instructure off its published target list, likely indicating negotiations were taking place. Instructure said the group first got into its systems by “exploiting an issue related to our Free-For-Teacher accounts.” Robert Johnston, the chief innovation officer at computer security firm N-able, said it’s common for hackers to use trial accounts before breaking their way further in. The hack shut down the widely used platform in the midst of finals season. Canvas is used to manage grades, assignments and other coursework, so its collapse prompted some schools to advise faculty to be flexible about deadlines for exams and final projects.

Reuters [5/8/2026 12:19 PM, A.J. Vicens, 38315K] reports some schools and universities whose students’ data was stolen by a cybercriminal hacking group as part of an April breach of the educational tool Canvas individually sought to deal directly with the hackers to prevent data release, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday. ShinyHunters, a hacking group with a ‌string of data theft and extortion campaigns targeting major global companies, said in a May 3 post on its website that it had stolen roughly 6.65 terabytes of Canvas data related to nearly 9,000 schools worldwide that included student names, email addresses and private messages between students, teachers, and other staff. Student newspapers across the country reported this week that the hack was causing widespread disruption as students prepare for end-of-year tasks and assignments. The software is used by schools to facilitate class assignments and information sharing, as well as ⁠messages between students and school faculty. On May 5, the group posted a message saying that Canvas parent company, Instructure, had "not even bothered speaking to us" to prevent a data leak, and that their demand "was not even as high as you might think it is." The message included a list of roughly 1,400 individual schools and districts, and invited the schools to contact them to negotiate and prevent data from being posted.

NBC News [5/8/2026 9:13 PM, Valerie Castro, 42967K] Video: HERE reports the parent company of Canvas, a popular, cloud-based education platform, says it experienced a cybersecurity incident this week. NBC News’ Valerie Castro explains the impact this has had on students.

Chicago Tribune [5/9/2026 12:01 AM, William Lee, 5209K] reports the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has postponed all final exams and assignments after an online learning system was taken offline following a cyberattack. The downstate university was one of thousands of universities that experienced problems after an apparent global attack on the Canvas system, according to UIUC officials. In an email to faculty, staff and students on Thursday, UIUC Provost John Coleman initially said that some users of the Canvas program viewed a message that contained malicious website links and other contact points and warned that clicking them could “be sources of malware or potential compromise.” As a result, school officials postponed all final exams and assignments scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday and extended the postponement to all classes, including those that didn’t use the system. In an updated statement released late Friday evening, Coleman said that the school’s Technology Services were able to restore a connection to Canvas “to begin investigating whether the service can appropriately be restored for students, faculty, and staff to use,” he wrote. If tech workers can safely restore Canvas for faculty, students, and staff by 4 p.m. Saturday, all exams originally scheduled for Friday will take place on Sunday, Coleman said. But if the online tool cannot be turned back on safely, school officials will work with deans, department heads, and instructors regarding alternate ways to end the semester, sharing more information before noon Sunday. Instructure, the company behind Canvas, said late Thursday that the system was available for most users. Among the other local universities affected was Northwestern University in Evanston, which, in an online message, stated school officials were working to reconnect to Canvas by Saturday morning. A cybersecurity threat analyst says a hacking group called ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for breaching Canvas. An expert said the hackers posted online that nearly 9,000 schools worldwide were affected, with billions of private messages and other records accessed. Teachers had to find work-arounds to help students study for exams and submit final assignments, and some schools pushed back finals. Coleman said UIUC officials would consult with the school deans and the senate executive committee regarding next steps and would provide additional details to the campus community before noon on Sunday. Schools and universities use Canvas to manage nearly all aspects of instruction. The platform acts as a grade book, a hub for digital lectures and course materials, a discussion board for classroom projects, and a messaging platform between students and instructors.

CBS News [5/8/2026 7:58 PM, Marissa Armas, 51110K] reports a nationwide cyberattack targeting Canvas has impacted thousands of school districts and universities, including several in North Texas. While Canvas was back online Friday, the cyberattack disrupted thousands of students nationwide. The online learning platform is widely used by school districts and universities to post assignments, share course materials, and communicate with students. "I just thought they’d have better security," said William Perry, an SMU student. "I think everyone was just surprised by the scale.” School districts, including Frisco ISD and Grapevine‑Colleyville ISD, sent community-wide emails warning parents of the data breach. Universities such as the University of Texas, Tarrant County College, and Southern Methodist University also notified students and staff. "I’m just hoping they don’t have my social security number," said SMU student Sarah Ketsdever. "Everything is on Canvas now. I was like this panic of you’ve got to be joking. I finally got the slides, and then they shut it down, and I’m like ‘Oh, my gosh.’". The disruption forced SMU to push some scheduled finals from Friday to Sunday, adding stress for students already preparing for exams. "They moved our final to Sunday, which kind of sucks, cause I won’t be able to do things that I was planning to do on Sunday, and I have another final Monday," she said. The hacking group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the attack. Ben Singleton, a cybersecurity expert with NetGenius, said many breaches begin with phishing emails designed to steal login information. "They gain access to accounts by stealing credentials to these emails, and they’ve now started utilizing something called vishing to steal off codes," Singleton told CBS News Texas. Singleton said people should never share authentication codes over the phone and encouraged everyone to enable multi‑factor authentication whenever possible. He also recommends that anyone affected change their passwords immediately. "Passwords aren’t enough anymore," Singleton said. "I think if we can get everyone using multifactor authentication, a lot of this problem goes away.” Ketsdever said she hopes Canvas improves its security and that schools treat the incident as a learning opportunity. "I feel like they might need a little more of a backup plan, because I don’t think they ever thought this would happen," she said. "I think it’s a good learning lesson for everyone.”

Reuters [5/8/2026 10:45 AM, Rami Ayyub, 38315K] reports a prominent Palestinian-American developer asked a U.S. judge on Friday to throw out a lawsuit accusing him of ‌supporting Hamas through his Gaza projects, arguing it equates participating in Gaza’s economy with terrorism. Bashar Masri, who built luxury hotels in Gaza and the Palestinians’ first planned city in the West Bank, was sued last year by U.S. families of victims of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks who alleged his Gaza properties concealed tunnels the militant group used to stage its assault. Before Israel’s war in Gaza, Hamas built a labyrinth tunnel network that stretched across nearly all of Gaza. Businesses often grappled with whether and how to invest ⁠in a territory ruled by a group deemed a terrorist organization by the U.S. and whose tacit approval was needed for large development projects. The civil complaint, filed on behalf of around 200 American plaintiffs, alleges that Masri knew about Hamas tunnels under his two seaside hotels, which it says the group accessed from guest rooms. It also says the group powered underground fortifications with electricity from solar panels in an industrial zone he operated. The plaintiffs are seeking damages from Masri and four of his companies under the Anti-Terrorism Act, which lets American victims of terrorism sue for damages in U.S. courts.

Daily Wire [5/8/2026 6:23 PM, Jacob Wheeler, 2314K] reports an Egyptian national was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to an antisemitic firebombing attack that killed an elderly woman in Boulder, Colorado. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, an illegal immigrant from Egypt who overstayed his visa, confessed to killing one person and injuring at least a dozen others. Dressed in white and orange, Soliman, while railing against Zionism, apologized in court and called his own crimes a violation of “the teachings of Islam,” according to Reuters. In June 2025, Soliman used a makeshift flamethrower and firebombs to attack a demonstration by “Run for Their Lives Denver,” a group that holds marches calling for the release of hostages kidnapped by the terror group Hamas. Authorities said Soliman spent a year planning the attack. He disguised himself as a gardener to get close to the group before throwing Molotov cocktails at the marchers and shouting “Free Palestine.” He later told investigators he “wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead.” Soliman entered the United States in August 2022 on a tourist visa that expired in February 2023, according to the Department of Homeland Security. He applied for asylum in September 2022 and later received temporary work authorization in March 2023, though it later expired, according to DHS.

Bloomberg [5/8/2026 6:45 PM, Staff, 18082K] Video: HERE reports on "Balance of Power: Evening Edition," Bloomberg’s Michael Shepard discusses a forthcoming executive order from the Trump administration aimed at addressing AI security concerns without imposing mandatory pre-release reviews of AI models by government agencies.

NewsMax [5/8/2026 4:16 PM, Solange Reyner, 3760K] reports a newly surfaced FBI interview summary details an alleged encounter between senior U.S. intelligence officials and multiple glowing orbs during a nighttime search operation near a military facility in 2025. The three-page FBI FD-302 document, marked "SECRET//NOFORN," is part of a new batch of files on unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs, that the Pentagon began releasing on Friday as President Donald Trump taps into the public’s long-held curiosities about unidentified flying objects in the broader universe. It describes an interview with a senior U.S. intelligence official identified only as "Witness 1," who recounted participating in an aerial search after reports of mysterious lights and "thuds" near a restricted military site. According to the report, state and federal personnel launched a helicopter search over a nearby mountain range after eyewitnesses reported seeing orblike lights in the area. During the operation, a helicopter crew using forward-looking infrared equipment and night-vision goggles detected what observers described as a "super-hot" orb hovering near ground level. The orb reportedly accelerated rapidly, changed direction, and at one point appeared to split into two objects. The witness told FBI agents the helicopter tried to pursue the object but could not keep pace after the orb traveled an estimated 20 miles at high speed. A copilot also reportedly observed another object emerge from the original lights and move away "at a high rate of speed.” Minutes later, the helicopter crew and witness described seeing what the document calls a "swarm of lights" moving in multiple directions across the sky. The lights were reportedly too numerous to count and were observed through night-vision goggles and with the naked eye. The report further states that several large glowing orbs later appeared near the helicopter itself.

CBS News [5/8/2026 9:23 AM, Stefan becket, Eleanor Watson, and Joe Walsh, 51110K] reports that the Pentagon on Friday began releasing more files related to UFOs and UAPs, following through on an order from President Trump to make public government documents about unexplained phenomena. The release, posted on a new Pentagon "UFO" website, includes 162 files from the FBI, Department of Defense, NASA and State Department. The documents contain eyewitness testimony, photos and reports of sightings of unexplained objects, detailing incidents dating back decades from around the globe. "These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation — and it’s time the American people see it for themselves," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a statement. The president said the disclosure was aimed at providing "Complete and Maximum Transparency." "Whereas previous Administrations have failed to be transparent on this subject, with these new Documents and Videos, the people can decide for themselves, ‘WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?’" Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Have Fun and Enjoy!" Friday’s release included 120 PDFs, 28 videos and 14 image files. Other photos are contained in PDF documents. The images are mostly still pictures from footage of suspicious objects filmed by military aircraft. The roughly two dozen videos, which run for a total of 41 minutes, show reported encounters around the world between 2020 and 2026.

New York Times [5/8/2026 4:53 PM, Michael Levenson, 148038K] reports government drones, errant weather balloons, experimental spy planes, rocket launches and exhaust plumes are just some of the aerial phenomena that have generated U.F.O. sightings. Whatever the source, there is no end to the public’s fascination with mysterious objects darting across the sky. In recent years, the government has sought to disclose more of the information — including videos, historical documents and grainy images — that it has collected on what it calls unidentified anomalous phenomena. Congress has held hearings in its own search for answers. On Friday, the Pentagon released what it called “new, never-before-seen” files related to unidentified flying objects on a webpage with fonts and graphics reminiscent of a 1990s sci-fi thriller. President Trump described it as a promise fulfilled. “Whereas previous Administrations have failed to be transparent on this subject, with these new Documents and Videos, the people can decide for themselves, ‘WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?’” he wrote on Truth Social. The Pentagon said more records would be released on a rolling basis. Some of the initial files include documents from the 1960s space race between the United States and the Soviet Union, when both countries were pushing beyond Earth’s limits.

Telemundo [5/8/2026 9:52 PM, Staff, 162K] reports more than 100 passengers and crew members fell ill with norovirus aboard a Caribbean Princess cruise ship that departed from Fort Lauderdale, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement . In total, 102 passengers and 13 crew members reported being sick on the Caribbean Princess, the CDC said. In response, the ship reinforced its cleaning and disinfection procedures, authorities said. The cruise ship departed Port Everglades on April 29 and is scheduled to arrive at Port Canaveral on May 11. The cases represent approximately 3.3% of the 3,116 passengers and 1.2% of the crew on board, according to the CDC. Norovirus is the leading cause of diarrhea and vomiting outbreaks in the United States, according to the CDC. It can be spread through direct contact with other people, by consuming food and beverages contaminated with the virus, and by touching contaminated surfaces. The CDC says it can be prevented by disinfecting surfaces and washing hands frequently.

Telemundo51 [5/8/2026 6:32 PM, Staff, 162K] reports Ron DeSantis signed a bill to combat foreign influence, the new law (HB 905) prohibits the state from delivering or receiving funds from a terrorist organization and establishes a state designation for terrorist groups, both domestic and foreign. The project limiting foreign influence from “countries of concern” — including the imposition of sanctions on companies and a ban on surrogacy contracts with Chinese citizens — was enacted into law on Friday. The Foreign Interference Restraining and Enforcement Act (FIRE) will serve to “combat pernicious foreign influence” in Florida, DeSantis said. Before signing the bill at the Bay of Pigs Museum and Library in Miami, DeSantis took a moment to refer to Cuba, noting that Florida needs a “good neighbor” 90 miles from its shores. "It is time for the Cuban communist dictatorship to be sent to the dump of history once and for all," DeSantis said. "If Cuba were free, it would be an incredibly prosperous country," DeSantis said. The new law (HB 905) prohibits the state from delivering or receiving funds from any terrorist organization and establishes a state designation system for terrorist groups, both domestic and foreign. Current state legislation lists China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and Syria as foreign “countries of concern.” Under the new law, both adoption and surrogacy will be prohibited in cases where any of the parties involved in the contract are citizens or residents of a foreign country considered of concern. This provision, added at an advanced stage of the legislative process, drew criticism from Democrats, who argued that it could have unintended consequences for parents trying to adopt children from foreign countries.

CNN [5/8/2026 6:27 PM, Zachary Cohen, Natasha Bertrand and Jim Sciutto, 19874K] reports US intelligence assesses that Iran’s new supreme leader is playing a critical role in shaping war strategy alongside senior Iranian officials, according to multiple sources familiar with the intelligence. The reports found that precise authority within a now-fractured regime remains unclear, but that Mojtaba Khamenei is likely helping direct how Iran is managing negotiations with the US to end the war. Khamenei has not been seen in public since he sustained serious injuries during an attack that killed his father and several of the country’s top military leaders at the beginning of the war, leading to speculation about his health and role in the Iranian leadership structure. The Trump administration continues to pursue a diplomatic end to the conflict as a ceasefire stretches past a month with US intelligence assessing that Iran continues to dig out from the US bombing campaign that left significant Iranian military capabilities intact and the ability to survive months more of an American blockade, according to sources. Khamenei was announced as Iran’s new supreme leader replacing his father days after the strike that injured him, but to date the US intelligence community has not been able to visually confirm his whereabouts, the sources said. Part of the uncertainty stems from Khamenei not using any electronics to communicate, instead only interacting with those who can visit him in-person or by sending messages via a courier, one of the sources added. Khamenei remains isolated as he continues to receive medical treatment for his injuries, including bad burns on one side of his body impacting his face, arm, torso, leg, the sources added. Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, told Iranian state media earlier this week that he had held a two-and-a-half-hour meeting with Khamenei, marking the first reported in-person meeting between a top Iranian official and the country’s new supreme leader. What US officials do know about Khamenei’s status is based on information picked up from those who are communicating with him, the sources familiar said. There is, however, some question among intelligence analysts as to whether some in Iran’s power structure might be claiming access to Khamenei to co-opt his authority to push their own agendas. The war has degraded Iran’s military capabilities, but not destroyed them, according to US intelligence reports. CNN previously reported that US intelligence assessed that roughly half of Iran’s missile launchers had survived US strikes. A recent report increased that figure to two thirds partially due to the ongoing ceasefire providing Iran with time to dig out launchers that might have been buried in previous strikes, according to sources familiar with the intelligence.

FOX News [5/8/2026 9:54 AM, Staff, 37576K] reports Jennifer Griffin details new US airstrikes this morning against Iranian targets, including empty crude containers attempting to break a blockade and military checkpoints in Bandar Abbas. These actions follow Iran’s attacks on US destroyers USS Truxtun, USS Mason, and USS Rafael Peralta in the Strait of Hormuz, intensifying regional conflict. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Univision [5/8/2026 9:52 PM, Staff, 4937K] reports the US military attacked and disabled two Iranian oil tankers on Friday after exchanging fire with Iranian armed forces in the Strait of Hormuz . Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates reported another Iranian attack using missiles and drones. The attacks have sown further doubt about the fragile ceasefire that the United States insists is still in place. Washington is awaiting an Iranian response to its latest proposal for a deal to end the war, reopen the strait, and curb Tehran’s nuclear program. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he expects to receive “a serious offer” from Iran later on Friday. The U.S. military reported Friday that it had disabled two Iranian oil tankers attempting to violate a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. Hours earlier, the U.S. military claimed to have thwarted attacks on three U.S. Navy ships and struck Iranian military installations in the Strait of Magellan. Iran has largely blocked the shipping lanes since the United States and Israel launched their trade war on February 28, triggering a global surge in fuel prices and roiling world markets. The United States has imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports. Meanwhile, the UAE Ministry of Defense reported that three people were injured after air defenses intercepted two ballistic missiles and three drones launched by Iran. It was unclear whether all three were successfully intercepted. The U.S. military released video footage of two Iranian oil tankers being attacked by a U.S. aircraft on Friday. Also this week, a U.S. military aircraft destroyed the rudder of an oil tanker that, according to the U.S. military, was attempting to violate its blockade. Late Thursday, the U.S. military said it thwarted Iranian attacks on three Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz and struck Iranian military installations in response. It added that no U.S. ships were hit. “If they threaten Americans, they’re going to get blown up,” Rubio told reporters on Friday. The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned what it called a “hostile” US military action, maintaining that the ceasefire had been violated. “Every time there is a diplomatic solution on the table, the United States opts for a reckless military adventure,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X. A U.S. attack overnight killed at least one sailor and wounded 10 others aboard a cargo ship that boarded the vessel, an Iranian news agency reported. It was unclear whether the ship was one of the two tankers the United States acknowledged attacking. US President Donald Trump has insisted that the ceasefire hold. He has also reiterated threats to resume large-scale bombing if Iran does not agree to a deal to reopen the strait and curb its nuclear program. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his country has been in contact with the United States and Iran “day and night” in order to extend the ceasefire and reach a peace agreement. Satellite images reviewed by The Associated Press show what appears to be an oil slick in the Persian Gulf emanating from the western side of Kharg Island, Iran’s main crude oil export terminal. Images taken on Friday show the slick covering approximately 27 square miles and appear to show that oil is still leaking from the terminal, said Ami Daniel, chief executive of maritime intelligence firm Windward AI.

New York Times [5/8/2026 7:38 PM, Alan Rappeport, 148038K] reports the United States on Friday announced a flurry of new sanctions intended to increase pressure on Iran’s economy, targeting people and companies in China and Hong Kong that have been helping the Iranian military gain access to supplies and war equipment. The sanctions came ahead of a major summit between President Trump and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, in Beijing next week. China’s support for Iran has become a flashpoint with the Trump administration, which has been trying to compel independent Chinese refineries to stop purchasing Iranian oil. China is Iran’s biggest buyer of oil, and the Trump administration has said that it is sponsoring terrorism by propping up the Iranian economy. The new sanctions are aimed at Iran’s military industrial supply chain, and are intended to make it harder for Iran to secure access to the material it needs to build drones and missiles. In addition to China, the sanctions also target people and companies based in Belarus and the United Arab Emirates. “Under President Trump’s decisive leadership, we will continue to act to keep America safe and target foreign individuals and companies providing Iran’s military with weapons for use against U.S. forces,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. The Trump administration has been looking for ways to squeeze Iran’s economy and pressure the Iranian government to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for the flow of global oil. Oil tankers have had sporadic access to the critical waterway since the war started earlier this year, and the United States and Iran have been fighting over who should control it. U.S. warships that have been trying to transit the strait have been attacked by Iranian forces. The United States on Friday fired on and disabled two Iranian-flagged oil tankers as they tried to reach an Iranian port. The Treasury Department has also imposed sanctions on the Chinese “teapot” refineries this month. The independent refineries are major purchasers of Iranian oil. But China invoked a domestic policy ordering its companies to disregard the sanctions. Mr. Bessent said earlier this week that he expected Mr. Trump to urge Mr. Xi to use the country’s leverage over Iran to pressure it to allow oil cargo to travel. “Let’s see if China — let’s see them step up with some diplomacy and get the Iranians to open the strait,” Mr. Bessent told Fox News on Monday.

NBC News [5/9/2026 2:58 AM, Idrees Ali, Erin Banco and Hatem Maher, 42967K] reports the U.S. and Iran appeared no closer on Saturday to finding an end to their war after the two sides traded fire in the Gulf amid a tenuous ceasefire, while a U.S. intelligence analysis concluded Tehran could withstand a naval blockade for months. Recent days ⁠have seen the biggest flare-ups in fighting in and around the Strait of Hormuz since a ceasefire began a month ago, and the United Arab Emirates came under renewed attack on Friday. Washington has been awaiting Tehran’s response to a U.S. proposal that would formally end the war before talks on more contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear program. Speaking in Rome on Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was expecting a response that day, although an Iranian foreign ministry ⁠spokesperson said Tehran was still weighing its response. Sporadic clashes continued on ​Friday ⁠between Iranian forces and U.S. vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported. The Tasnim news agency later cited an Iranian military source saying the situation had calmed but warning more clashes were possible. The U.S. military said it ⁠struck two Iran-linked vessels attempting to enter an Iranian port, with a U.S. fighter jet hitting their smokestacks and forcing them to ​turn back. Tehran has ⁠largely blocked non-Iranian shipping through the strait since the ‌war began with U.S.-Israeli airstrikes across Iran on February 28. Before the war, one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passed through the narrow waterway. The U.S. imposed a blockade on Iranian vessels last month. But a CIA assessment indicated Iran would not suffer severe economic pressure from ‌a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports for about another four months, according to a ‌U.S. official familiar with the matter, raising questions over President Donald Trump’s leverage over Tehran in a conflict that has been unpopular with voters and U.S. allies. A senior intelligence official characterised as false the "claims" about the CIA analysis. Clashes extended beyond the waterway. The UAE said its air defences engaged with two ballistic ⁠missiles and three drones from Iran on Friday, with three people sustaining moderate injuries. Iran has repeatedly targeted the UAE and other Gulf states that host U.S. military bases. In what the UAE called a major escalation, Iran stepped up attacks this week in response to Trump’s announcement of "Project Freedom" to escort ships in the strait, which he paused after 48 hours.

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