DHS Partial Shutdown Impacting Local Law Enforcement

(The Center Square) Congress’ failure to reach an agreement to continue funding the Department of Homeland is not only impacting TSA workers, it’s also impacting local law enforcement agencies that rely on federal grants.

Texas law enforcement officials argue that state lawmakers cannot rely on federal money and a long-term approach is needed to fund ongoing border security operations.

DHS has experienced a partial shutdown since Feb. 14, with Democrats expressing outrage over how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations were run under former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Multiple agencies are impacted, including the Coast Guard, TSA, FEMA, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Secret Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Although March 28 marks day 46 for many DHS employees not receiving a paycheck, Border Patrol and ICE agents are still being paid due to provisions in the “Big Beautiful Bill” signed into law by President Donald Trump last July.

In Texas, TSA agents have been selling blood plasma to make ends meet, and major airports are operating with nearly 50% fewer TSA agents, The Center Square reported.

Lack of federal funding is also impacting Texas law enforcement agencies that receive federal grants. They include port security, emergency preparedness and response, cybersecurity, ICE 287(g) programs and Operation Stonegarden, a vital resource for Texas border sheriffs.

Texas law enforcement officers are entering their fifth year in Texas’ border security mission, Operation Lone Star, and the fourth year of a multiagency OLS Task Force initiative.

Due to a stipulation with the state’s OLS grant, recipients are required to use federal grants before they use OLS grants. But when federal grant money doesn’t come in, as it hasn’t for some in this case, OLS funds are used, and they’re already gone for some.

Several Texas sheriffs have received emails stating their federal grant funding is being held up because of the partial DHS shutdown, including Jackson County Sheriff Rick Boone.

“I was wondering when we are going to see the ripple effect. Here it is,” he told The Center Square.

With no Stonegarden funds and no more OLS funds, Boone says his OLS deputies won’t be able to work overtime or prioritize interdiction. ICE 287(g) funds for those participating in all three programs also haven’t come in. Terrell County Sherriff Thad Cleveland says he hasn’t received his 287(g) funds. Lavaca County Sheriff Steve Greenwell said the previous shutdown impacted his grant funding. The sheriffs are OLS Task Force members.

In Kinney County, Sheriff Brad Coe had to let three deputies go to fund jail and transportation costs due to lack of OLS funding, The Center Square reported.

With the Texas Department of Criminal Justice no longer housing OLS arrests and limited or no OLS funds, sheriffs find themselves “between a rock and hard place,” they told The Center Square. A lack of federal funds exacerbates the issue.

Part of the problem is the state legislature’s and Congress’ “lack an understanding of the nature of the criminal justice system and what we do,” Goliad County Sheriff Roy Boyd told The Center Square.

“We are fortunate because Gov. Greg Abbott has sustained funding. But you can’t fund operations for short periods of time and then quit funding. If that happens, we will never be able to complete investigations and tasks we set out to complete that we’ve encountered as a result of the OLS initiative. You can’t sporadically fund programs and turn them off. This doesn’t help law enforcement fight crime.”

“Political decisions have real world implications for people out in the field doing the work,” he added. In 2020, the sheriff’s office handled 8,888 calls a year. In 2025, it handled 15,739 calls. “We almost doubled our call volume from 2020 to 2025 and we’re not getting additional manpower,” he said.

If OLS funding were to dry up, Boyd said he’d lose one-third of his deputies and their criminal investigations and multijurisdictional operations would be grounded to a halt.

“It doesn’t matter whether the numbers drop at the border,” he added. “We still have cartel presence throughout Texas and the United States. There’s still a lot of work to be done. There are still tens of millions of illegal aliens that are beholden to the cartels that are that are here. The only way for us to dismantle the cartel business model is to make a long hard push and that could take years.

“The cartel has people in every community. It doesn’t matter how small. It doesn’t matter how large. They’re still selling drugs like they’ve always sold drugs. Our interdiction efforts are still ongoing. Our intelligence efforts are still ongoing. Ongoing funds are needed to fund staff and resources to sustain this operation.”

Brooks County Sheriff Benny Martinez told The Center Square, “We like to work. We aren’t politicians. We know what’s in the best interest of defending the rule of law regardless of the politics and we cannot lose that.”

“We are looking at saving generations down the road: protecting them from drug and sex trafficking. The norm of society is changing but the rule of law doesn’t change. We need support to continue combatting crime and enforcing the rule of law.”

At least 15 US Troops Wounded by Iranian Attack on Base in Saudi Arabia

(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.comAt least 15 US troops were wounded by an Iranian attack on the Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia on Friday, The Associated Press has reported.

Sources told the AP that the attack involved Iran firing six ballistic missiles and 29 drones at the base, which is about 60 miles southeast of Riyadh. Five of the US troops who were wounded are in serious condition.

Several US military refueling aircraft were also damaged in the attack, and a photo from the base verified by the BBC shows that an E-3 Sentry aircraft was split in half. So far, US Central Command hasn’t issued any statements about the attack.

The AP report said that the number of US troops injured in the war since it was launched by the US and Israel on February 28 is now over 300. At least 13 US troops have been confirmed killed by the Pentagon, including one who was killed by an earlier attack on the Prince Sultan base.

Despite the weeks of heavy US-Israeli strikes on Iran, Iranian attacks continue to make it past US and Israeli air defenses. According to a report from The New York Times, the majority of US bases in the Middle East are now basically uninhabitable due to the Iranian strikes.

This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.



Dozens of Unruly ‘No Kings’ Protestors Arrested after Officers Hit by Bricks

(Headline USAAuthorities in Los Angeles deployed tear gas near a federal detention center and made dozens of arrests after officers were hit by bricks at a “No Kings” rally, which was organized to protest President Donald Trump’s actions and the war in Iran.

Los Angeles police said Sunday that 74 people were arrested for failing to heed a dispersal order that was given after Saturday’s rally ended. One other person was taken into custody on suspicion of possessing a weapon that police described as a dagger.

The arrests stood out from what otherwise were mostly peaceful protests. Organizers said there were more than 3,100 events registered in all 50 U.S. states.

As hundreds of protesters surrounded a federal complex in downtown Los Angeles, some threw rocks, bottles and broken concrete blocks at officers, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement late Saturday night.

Two officers who were struck by concrete blocks sustained undetermined injuries and received medical attention, DHS said.

Andre Andrews Jr., a Navy veteran and independent journalist, had walked the entire route of the Los Angeles rally and captured video of the event. He said after authorities gave the dispersal order, they deployed tear-gas canisters when protesters didn’t comply. Some protesters wearing shields and gas masks on the other side of a fence at the federal complex picked up the canisters and tossed them back at police. Andrews said some people also smashed concrete barriers into smaller pieces and threw them at authorities.

“Does it make L.A. look bad? No. They’re bad actors causing problems, for sure,” Andrews said. “The peaceful protest was good for the cause. You have the right to do that. But the other people, they were definitely causing problems.”

Police said those arrested included eight juveniles. Also detained was a woman dressed as the Statue of Liberty, smiling as she chatted with an officer who led her away.

In Denver, the police department said on the social platform X that it declared an unlawful assembly and deployed smoke canisters after a small group of protesters blocked a road and did not leave as asked. At least eight people were arrested, as was a ninth person later who police said was throwing objects.

Nationwide, people rallied from New York City, with almost 8.5 million residents in a solidly blue state, to Driggs, a town of fewer than 2,000 people in eastern Idaho, a state Trump carried with 66% of the vote in 2024. In Minnesota, a flagship event on the Capitol lawn in St. Paul drew Bruce Springsteen as its headliner to celebrate resistance to Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement.

Demonstrations also were held in more than a dozen other countries, according to co-executive director Ezra Levin of Indivisible, which spearheaded the events.

U.S. organizers have estimated that the first two rounds of No Kings rallies drew more than 5 million people in June and 7 million in October. Levin estimated at least 8 million participants showed up Saturday.

An analysis by Headline USA reporter Luis Cornelio casts doubt on those numbers.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

 

Sheriff Warns Against Antisemitic Memes, Sparking Free Speech Concerns

(José Niño, Headline USA) Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard triggered outrage and bewilderment following a press conference where he seemed to imply a man was detained for sharing an antisemitic meme. His office later acknowledged the arrest was actually on an unrelated felony stalking warrant, according to The Detroit Metro Times.

During a press conference after the March 19 attack at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, an incident his office investigated, Bouchard displayed an internet meme showing him with a Star of David on his forehead and exaggerated Orthodox Jewish features. He called the person who shared it “pond scum” and cautioned that such posts could lead to violence, as the Detroit Metro Times.

He then revealed a detail that exploded across social media. The seven-term Republican announced the man “was arrested today in Wisconsin.” 

“Some pond scum felt empowered and emboldened enough to put this picture of me up to threaten and intimidate me,” Bouchard declared.

He went on, “If this person is emboldened and empowered enough or feels safe enough to do this for me, what does he do to a kid? What does he do to a Jewish family walking down the street?”

Bouchard indicated the First Amendment does not protect such speech, stating “you can’t” post offensive memes.

“If you think you can do it to somebody in law enforcement, again, what are you going to do in an alley or a street to a Jewish family or a kid walking down the street? Nuh uh, we say ‘no.’ We’re drawing the line.”

The footage circulated rapidly online, accumulating more than 1 million views and generating both outrage and confusion. Observers across the political spectrum interpreted it as a disturbing instance of law enforcement conflating political speech with criminal behavior. Others reacted defiantly, sharing similar memes and challenging authorities to pursue them.

“I live in Oakland County. F*** this guy!” one individual wrote while posting a meme of Bouchard with exaggerated Jewish features. “Come arrest me asshole! I will sue the ever living s*** out of you!”

Another cautioned, “If we lose our First Amendment rights, we lose it all.”

Additional commenters demanded lawsuits and charged Bouchard with violating free speech protections.

Only later did the sheriff’s office reveal what actually occurred. The man in Wisconsin was apprehended on an unrelated felony stalking warrant.

Rather than recognizing the confusion or accepting responsibility for how the message came across, the department attacked the public.

“For people that are whining that someone was arrested for posting a meme; sorry to disappoint,” the sheriff’s office wrote on X. “Not even for threatening, racist, AND anti-semitic comments.”

The sheriff’s office then disabled replies, reinforcing criticism that Bouchard refuses to tolerate disagreement even when he manufactured the controversy himself, as the Detroit Metro Times

The sheriff’s office investigated the synagogue attack on March 19. Authorities stated Ayman Ghazali, 41, a restaurant worker from Dearborn Heights, drove a vehicle into the building before exchanging gunfire with security and fatally shooting himself. Federal authorities characterized it as a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.

The Detroit Metro Times reported that an Israeli airstrike killed Ghazali’s two brothers, Kassim and Ibrahim, along with Ibrahim’s two children. Ibrahim’s wife sustained serious injuries and remains hospitalized.

José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino 

Over 3,500 More US Troops Arrive in Middle East as Iran War Continues to Escalate

(Jason Ditz, Antiwar.comWhile the administration continues to downplay the possibility of boots on the ground in Iran, large numbers of US ground troops continue to conspicuously arrive in the Middle East, with over 3,500 additional troops reported by Central Command (CENTCOM) to have arrived Saturday.

A substantial majority of the new arrivals were US Marines aboard the USS Tripoli, with various reports putting the number at 2,200 to as many as 2,500 Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) being delivered to the “area of responsibility.”

Another similar sized number of Marines from Camp Pendleton’s MEU, aboard the USS Boxer and its associated Amphibious Ready Group, are also reportedly en route to the region, and is expected to arrive in roughly a week.

Marines from the USS Tripoli arrive in the Middle East | Image from CENTCOM’s X account

All of this amounts to the largest US military buildup in decades, supplementing some 50,000 US troops already stationed in the area as the Iran war continues to escalate, leading to military turmoil across the region and economic turmoil the world over.

The US and Israel launched the war on Iran, dubbed “Operation Epic Fury” on February 28, assassinating top Iranian officials including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and leading to substantial Iranian retaliation against US and Israel targets across the region.

Though US officials have been insisting for nearly a solid month that the war is on the verge of ending, it seemingly continues to pick up pace, and the deployment of more and more Marines to the region only adds to speculation that the administration ultimately has designs on it becoming a ground war.

That would likely prove wildly unpopular, particularly as the administration has struggled to define the point of the attacks is, and what end goals they envision for the conflict. This has raised fears that the escalation is ultimately happening without a well thought out plan.

Further escalation seems on the horizon with Yemen’s Houthi movement announcing today that they are joining the conflict. Much of the attention surrounding the war of late has centered on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway off the Iranian coast, and the Houthis have threatened ships in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, another vital economic route for the Arabian Peninsula.

US and Israeli attacks over the weekend have centered on Khuzestan Province, and the Khuzestan Steel Company, which has announced it was halting certain of its operations after substantial damage was done in the strikes.

This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.

Epstein Victims Sue over Exposed Identities

(Luis CornelioHeadline USA) Some of the women subjected to Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse initially scolded the Trump administration over what they saw as a slow release of files tied to the late sex offender’s prosecution.

Months after those demands were met, they are now suing the same administration, arguing that the rushed release — carried out under a congressionally mandated deadline— may have exposed their personal information.

Filed Thursday in federal court in California, the civil lawsuit named a victim identified as “Jane Doe 1, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated.” It also listed Google as a defendant and seeks a minimum of $1,000 per class member from the federal government, meaning taxpayers would foot the bill.

The plaintiffs are also seeking undisclosed compensatory and punitive damages, along with attorney fees and other relief, to be determined by the court if the case goes to trial.

The lawsuit centers on allegations that some DOJ-released documents from December included personal details about victims that should have been withheld.

The plaintiffs further accused Google of republishing the files even after the DOJ removed them following backlash.

At the time, the DOJ was operating under a tight 30-day deadline imposed by Congress to release the files.

President Donald Trump, who signed the law establishing the deadline, had previously warned against a rushed release, citing potential risks to individuals and victims named in the documents.

Notably, some of the victims previously participated in Democrat-led protests demanding the release of the files.

In the lawsuit, however, they say that the DOJ “outed approximately 100 survivors of the convicted sexual predator, publishing their private information and identifying them to the world.”

Targeting Google, the complaint added: “Even after the government acknowledged the disclosure violated the rights of the survivors and withdrew the information, online entities like Google continuously republish it, refusing victim’s pleas to take it down.”

The plaintiff said they “now face renewed trauma,” as strangers allegedly “call them, email them, threaten their physical safety, and accuse them of conspiring with Epstein when they are, in reality, Epstein’s victims.”

Epstein died in federal custody in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges brought during Trump’s first term.

Judge Releases Suspect Tied to Las Vegas Bio Lab

(José Niño, Headline USA) A federal judge ordered the release of a property manager connected to a suspected biological laboratory in Las Vegas who prosecutors charged with illegally possessing firearms.

According to a report by 8 News Now, U.S. Magistrate Judge Elayna Youchah released Ori Solomon, 55, on a personal recognizance bond. The judge ordered Solomon to surrender his passport and remain within the Continental United States. Should Solomon leave the Las Vegas area, he must inform the court.

8 News Now reported that Police and the FBI searched a home on Sugar Springs Drive and a second residence on Saturday, January 31, discovering a “possible biological laboratory,” including “refrigerators with vials containing unknown liquids,” according to police. Sources confirmed Solomon serves as the property manager for the home. Federal documents indicate he lived in one of the two searched homes with three children.

Solomon, who is originally from Israel, resides in the country on a non-immigrant visa and is barred from owning or possessing firearms, prosecutors stated. During searches, teams recovered guns from Solomon’s home.

Officers found French and Israeli passports in Solomon’s name during the raid. After his arrest on the state charge, Solomon called a family member from jail and asked, “Is there any guns left?” according to documents that 8 News Now made a reference to.

During another search last Monday, federal officials “seized numerous firearms, ammunition, and firearm accessories” from the home, documents stated.

Federal prosecutors did not ask Youchah to detain Solomon in the gun case. Solomon does not face any federal charges connected to the biological laboratory.

The Las Vegas lab is connected to a similar incident in California where officials found infectious agents such as HIV and malaria, as the 8 News Now Investigators first reported. An LLC tied to the home’s county records matches the name of a company that is part of an ongoing federal case in California involving a biological laboratory there.

In that California case, a Chinese citizen named David He faces federal charges for allegedly manufacturing and distributing misbranded medical devices, according to federal prosecutors, as 8 News Now reported. 

Solomon faces a state charge connected to the January 31 raid involving hazardous waste.

José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino

Rand Paul Floats 2028 Bid Despite Flopping Last Time

(Luis CornelioHeadline USA) While talk of President Donald Trump’s 2028 successor has focused on his administration’s top brass, an outsider could decide to throw his hat in the ring despite being a long shot.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination in 2016, is now mulling another bid for the presidency in 2028, according to an interview set to be released Sunday.

The 2028 chatter began after Paul lamented what he claimed was a lack of free-market ideas in the Republican Party.

When CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Robert Costa then cited a Washington Examiner headline suggesting he was running, Paul acknowledged he was considering a bid.

“Yeah, I don’t know yet. So maybe they know something I don’t know. We’re thinking about it, and I would say 50-50. We’ll make a decision after the election,” Paul stated.

Paul’s comments come more than a decade after he dropped out of the 2016 race, where he finished fifth in the Iowa caucuses with less than five percent of the vote.

Politico reported at the time that he entered the 2016 race “essentially broke,” with nearly $250,000 in unpaid bills and $1.27 million in funds that were earmarked for use only in the general election.

In his CBS interview, Paul stressed his non-interventionist foreign policy views and cast himself as the lone free-market senator within the GOP.

“There used to really be a free market/Libertarian wing of the party, and now there’s not much left,” he claimed. “In fact, on many days it’s me in the Senate, the only one left for free trade.”

Paul has repeatedly found himself at odds with President Donald Trump, most recently as the sole senator to vote against Trump’s nomination of Markwayne Mullin to lead DHS.

Meanwhile, Trump has called Paul “a nasty little guy,” and on other occasions said his “ideas are actually crazy.”

If Paul enters the 2028 race, he would face steep odds against Vice President JD Vance and a crowded field of Republicans already polling far ahead of him.

A RealClearPolitics polling average, as of March 28, shows Vance leading with roughly 45 percent. The vice president’s lead is larger than that of his closest hypothetical competitors, including Donald Trump Jr., at 16.3 percent, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, at 12.3 percent.

EXCLUSIVE: Hyped ‘No Kings’ Rallies May Have Been Smaller Than Advertised

(Luis CornelioHeadline USA) Americans tuning in on television or scrolling through social media may have come across headlines touting the so-called nationwide “No Kings” protests against President Donald Trump.

But a closer look at the timing and locations of many of these events may suggest the protests could have appeared larger than they were, with activists potentially moving from one nearby rally to another throughout the day.

A Headline USA review of “No Kings” events in Northern Virginia showed multiple demonstrations staggered across the day, which may have given attendees time to travel between locations.

One protest in Arlington, Virginia, was scheduled from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. ET. Another event listed in the Roslyn neighborhood was listed on the website as two separate demonstrations later in the day.

Across Fairfax County, events were largely scheduled between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. ET, meaning attendees from earlier rallies could have easily driven to those locations.

But between Leesburg and Ashburn, at least five events were scheduled between 1:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. ET, according to Headline USA’s count.

Another event in the Reston-Herndon area was scheduled from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET, potentially extending the window for activists to move between protests.

A similar pattern seemingly emerged in New York City, where a Headline USA review found multiple events across Manhattan and the Bronx that did not overlap in timing.

There were four “No Kings” protests in Manhattan. One event in Washington Heights began at 10:00 a.m. ET. Another, just a few miles south in Morningside Heights, was scheduled from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET.

Another Morningside Heights event was held on the same street at the same time, though at a different corner.

Yet another protest in Midtown ran from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, while the Bronx featured two events. Of those two, one was held in the East Bronx from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET and another in the South Bronx from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET.

In at least two instances, the “No Kings” map listed what appeared to be duplicate events at the same location and time, raising questions about how the demonstrations were counted.

Similar observations were noted elsewhere, according to screenshots shared by a social media user identified as “Oilfield Rando.”

As seen in those screenshots, two North Carolina rallies located roughly 10 minutes apart seemed to have been scheduled hours apart. There was one in Apex from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and another in Cary from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET.

It was not immediately clear whether organizers staggered events to allow attendees to travel between locations or whether the scheduling was coincidental.

Organizers for the “No Kings” demonstrations did not respond to a Headline USA request for comment sent late Saturday seeking comment on the scheduling.

Despite the apparent overlap and timing gaps, legacy media outlets ran glowing headlines about the scope of the protests.

The New York Times, for example, declared: “A Show of Defiance Across the Nation.”

The Washington Post similarly reported: “No Kings protests draw crowds, with record number taking place across U.S.”

The Post claimed that activist “filled the streets Saturday at more than 3,300 rallies across all 50 states for No Kings.”

FBI Director to Release Eric Swalwell’s ‘Fang Fang’ Files

(Luis CornelioHeadline USA) The FBI may finally release files tied to Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., alleged connections to a suspected Chinese spy from his early days in Congress, according to a new report.

FBI Director Kash Patel reportedly deployed agents to review and redact the Swalwell-related documents for a potential release.

The release of the files could shed light on a scandal that has long shadowed Swalwell, who is now running to become California’s next governor.

The Washington Post, citing anonymous sources, reported Saturday that FBI leaders “even discussed sending agents to China” to speak with Christine Fang, also known as “Fang Fang,” about her knowledge of Swalwell.

An FBI spokesperson disputed aspects of the reporting, stating, “The contentions in this story are incorrect. This FBI, being the most transparent in history, prepares documents for numerous different reasons, including for release to different agencies and departments to further review investigations that may have been opened under previous administrations.”

The scandal dates to the early 2010s, when Fang reportedly targeted Swalwell as part of her intelligence operation between 2011 and 2015.

She reportedly connected with him while he was a council member in Dublin, California, and later, after he was elected to Congress in 2012.

According to Axios, Fang helped place an intern in Swalwell’s congressional office, served as a bundler for his 2014 re-election campaign and reportedly put him in contact with Chinese officials.

In 2015, the FBI briefed Swalwell about Fang and her ties to the Chinese government. He reportedly cut ties after that.

Swalwell declined to comment on whether he had a sexual relationship with Fang, who allegedly slept with two other mayors as part of her espionage activities, according to Fox News and Business Insider.

Swalwell’s ties to Fang Fang were investigated by the House Ethics Committee for two years. The committee ultimately took no action in 2023.

A letter from the committee informed Swalwell, “As you are aware, on April 9, 2021, the Committee on Ethics (Committee) informed you that it had determined to investigate allegations raised in the complaint that you may have violated House Rules, laws, or other standards of conduct in connection with your interactions with Ms. Christine Fang. The Committee will take no further action in this matter.”

Swalwell celebrated the decision at the time, saying that it was “time to move on.”