Attorneys General Sue to Keep SNAP for Legal Immigrants

Headline USA Editor
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Attorneys General Sue to Keep SNAP for Legal Immigrants

(Dave Mason, The Center Square) Democratic attorneys general from 22 jurisdictions sued the Trump administration Wednesday over ending food assistance for noncitizens who are legal permanent residents.

The lawsuit, which names the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins as defendants, was filed in the Eugene division of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. The suit argues the USDA’s guidance for the Supplemental Food Assistance Program violates the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and says the federal law keeps permanent legal residents eligible for SNAP benefits. The suit also says the USDA violated its own regulations by allowing only one day, instead of 120 days, for states to adjust to the new guidance, which was issued Oct. 31. The transition period ended Nov. 1, according to the suit.

“This guidance reads like someone took notes from the Grinch, taking food from families during the holidays,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta told reporters Wednesday during a virtual news conference, which also featured attorneys general from Massachusetts, Oregon and Minnesota.

“California will not stand by while families lose access to food because of unlawful federal action,” Bonta said. “So we’re taking Trump to court.”

The new USDA guidance deprives tens of thousands of lawful permanent residents across the U.S. of help, Bonta said, adding, “SNAP recipients are still recovering from the whiplash President Trump and his administration put them through in seeking to block November SNAP benefits during the government shutdown.”

“No president has fought harder to deprive hungry Americans from food,” he said, later adding, “No group of attorneys general has fought harder to make sure they are fed.”

Although the Big Beautiful Bill Act eliminated SNAP eligibility for individuals who entered the U.S. as refugees or were granted asylum or humanitarian parole, it did not end the eligibility for noncitizens who became legal permanent residents, Bonta said. He added that under the federal law, refugees and people granted asylum or humanitarian parole become eligible for SNAP once they become legal permanent residents.

The lawsuit says the USDA guidance is contrary to the law, is arbitrary and capricious, and violates the Administrative Procedure Act.

The suit seeks a preliminary injunction to ensure families don’t go hungry, Bonta said.

Answering a question from The Center Square, Bonta said a federal court ruling could come in a matter of days or even immediately, depending on the judge. “We’ve sought restraining orders and secured them on the same day we file.”

The attorneys general are asking the U.S. District Court to rule as soon as possible, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said.

In the meantime, Massachusetts is working with food pantries and community organizations to keep families fed until a ruling is issued, Campbell said, answering a question from The Center Square. “So food pantries and many folks are working overtime to close the gap.”

Other attorneys general said their states were taking similar actions.

“The state and food banks have been stepping up to provide more support,” Bonta said about California.

Campbell, meanwhile, told The Center Square the coalition of attorneys general succeeded during previous efforts to preserve SNAP benefits.

“We were successful, this coalition, when we fought the Trump administration the first time during the government shutdown, to make sure SNAP benefits would continue to flow for the month of November and to ensure all folks in our respective states would see benefits in November and not partial but full benefits,” Campbell said.

Bonta said the attorneys general previously wrote a letter to the USDA, believing the department simply made a mistake in its guidance.

“We gave them a chance to start over,” Bonta said, but added, “The USDA’s silence in response tells us everything we need to know.” He said the new guidance was deliberate.

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield told reporters that no one in the U.S., one of the world’s wealthiest countries, should go hungry.

And President Donald Trump must follow the law, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said during the news conference. Trump is welcome to try to get Congress to change a law that he doesn’t like, Ellison said, but added, “We won’t let him rule by fiat. We won’t let him break the law.”

Attorneys general said Wednesday’s lawsuit is the 48th one in California and Oregon against the Trump administration. For Minnesota and Massachusetts, it’s the 45th and 43rd one respectively.

Democratic attorneys general are winning more than 80% of their legal actions against the federal government, Bonta said, answering questions from The Center Square. He added he doesn’t anticipate that the latest lawsuit over SNAP will end up in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Besides California, Oregon, Massachusetts and Minnesota, Wednesday’s lawsuit was filed by New York, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.

This Is Why This Friday Is Black

Money Metals News Service
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This Is Why This Friday Is Black

(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) It’s finally Black Friday!

(Take a look at the Money Metals one million dollar Christmas tree HERE)

Of course, it feels like it’s been Black Friday for weeks. Yesterday was Black Friday. Tomorrow will be Black Friday. Heck, last week was Black Friday. And next Friday, it will still be Black Friday.

This is how we roll in 2025. Black Friday isn’t a day. It’s a season.

I’m not going to lie. I kind of miss the days when Black Friday was just one day. You know, on a Friday. AFTER Thanksgiving.

And really, that’s the rub. I hate the fact that the Christmas season lasts for two months. Stores start throwing up Christmas decorations before the kids even eat the good candy out from Trick-or-Treat. In my day, black licorice was the only thing left once Christmas decorations showed up.

Three weeks of Black Friday is a function of Christmas mission creep. I’m not going to lie — it irks me a little. I love Thanksgiving, and it irks me that we’re basically just phasing it out.

You’ve heard of the “war on Christmas?” Well, the war can’t end until Christmas ends its illegal occupation of November. Ot at least the first three weeks of November. I’m OK with Christmas stuff after Thanksgiving. In fact, today is the day I start listening to Christmas music. It’s also the proper time to put up the Christmas tree.

And Black Friday should be one day. On Friday. The day after Christmas. Old Man Maharrey will not compromise on this!

As if anybody cares.

There is a bit of irony in my getting all worked up about Black Friday because when it was a single-day event, I hated it. In fact, I pretty much refused to participate. It wasn’t so much the spirit of the day that I hated. It was how the day played out in practice.

I can best illustrate this by telling you what I rarely did on Black Friday.

Leave the house.

That’s my tradition, and I’m sticking to it. It’s just too peopley out there.

On top of my propensity to avoid hordes of grumpy shoppers, I like to sleep. Black Friday generally involves getting up early to get the best deal. As much as I like to save a few dollars, there isn’t a Walmart deal ever conceived that can entice me to go shopping at 5 a.m.

The truth is I have zero desire to go out at the crack of dawn, fight traffic, elbow through a smelly mass of humanity to squeeze into a store, risk a fistfight over the last discounted laptop on the shelf, stand in a long line to pay for said discounted laptop, fight traffic some more, only to get home exhausted to find out somebody broke my el-cheapo laptop during the melee.

Now, my mom and grandmother — they did some serious Black Friday shopping back in the day. I think they crammed almost all their Christmas shopping into one exhausting day. But that was a different era when you couldn’t get “Black Friday” deals for weeks. As I said, from a nostalgia standpoint, I kind of miss Black Friday being, well, Black Friday. Not Black November and beyond.

So, why do they call it Black Friday?

Because it’s an awful day.

I’m not kidding.

I can confirm this from experience. I worked part-time at Toys “R” Us back in the mid-90s. It was part and parcel with trying to make a living as a musician. Remember the Power Ranger craze? I survived it. In fact, I personally helped break up a physical altercation between two women in a Toys “R” Us aisle. They were fighting over the last of that season’s must-have Ranger.

Conventional wisdom holds that they call it Black Friday because it was the busiest shopping day of the year, and sales on the day after Thanksgiving typically got retailers out of “the red” and into “the black” financially for the first time during the year. But this is nothing but propaganda put out by the retail industry. It’s kind of like the new-fangled definition of inflation concocted by government people and their enablers in the media and academia. It’s designed to twist reality. Leaders in the retail industry made the “we’re in the black now!” story up because they didn’t want negative connotations attached to what, at the time, was arguably the most important shopping day of the year.

Obviously, the importance of Black Friday has waned. These days, it’s more about the entire holiday shopping season, running from October through the end of the year. In fact, as I understand it, black Friday isn’t even the busiest shopping day anymore, if it ever was. The Saturday before Christmas is generally the biggest sales day of the year for retailers.

So, why is it really called Black Friday?

I already told you. It’s an awful day. But the retail people don’t want you to consider that. Thus – the rebrand.

Interestingly, the first reference to the “getting out of the red” explanation for Black Friday that anybody can find was in the Philadelphia Enquirer in 1981.

I was Googling to confirm this and ran across a 1985 Philadelphia Inquirer story that I found kind of amusing. It highlights how people in the retail sector were desperately trying to rebrand Black Friday.

The article describes a phone call by a reporter to a big department store executive.

“The caller wanted to know about retail sales at Hess’s department store in Allentown on Black Friday. But the question touched a sensitive nerve for Irwin Greenberg, chairman of the chain. ‘That’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard,’ snapped Greenberg. ‘Retail sales?’ the caller asked. ‘No!’ he steamed, ‘The term Black Friday. Black Friday is a phrase that’s sinful, and it’s disgusting,’ a perturbed Greenberg said. ‘Why would anyone call a day, when everyone is happy and has smiles on their faces, Black Friday?’ he asked.”

I don’t think that dude was ever actually in one of his stores on Black Friday. Based on my experience working at Toys “R” Us, people were not typically happy and smiling during their black Friday shopping experience. I remember a lot of cursing, elbowing, and general grumpiness.

Anyway, the earliest known use of “Black Friday” predates the Enquirer article by three decades. The term was used in the journal Factory Management and Maintenance in 1951, referring to workers calling in sick the day after Thanksgiving.

At about the same time, cops in Philadelphia started using the terms Black Friday and Black Saturday to describe the crowds and traffic congestion as the Christmas shopping season kicked off the weekend after Thanksgiving.

You’ll notice Philly keeps popping up here. Now, no disrespect to any Philly folks, but I’ve been in your city, and I understand why.

In 1961, a public relations expert recommended rebranding the days “Big Friday” and “Big Saturday.” That went nowhere, and the New York Times started using Black Friday to describe the busiest shopping and traffic day in 1975.

That led to the “we’re in the black now” story that was concocted in the 80s.

You’ll notice traffic is a recurring theme here. Combine that with long lines, flustered shoppers, and surly clerks, and you have a recipe for unpleasantness.

So, there ya go. It’s Black Friday because it’s an awful day.

Well, anyway, enjoy Black Friday in whatever manner you choose. If you do go out, I’ll remember you as you were. And a friendly reminder — be considerate of your fellow shoppers. Say you’re sorry as you shove people out of the way. And make sure you turn your phone horizontally before you video any Black Friday fist fights!

And if you’re like me and don’t want to go out, you could sit at your desk and buy your loved ones the gift of money. No. Not the worthless paper printed by the government. I’m talking about gold and silver! Check out our Black Friday Specials, along with these great Christmas gift ideas!

Mike Maharrey is a journalist and market analyst for Money Metals with over a decade of experience in precious metals. He holds a BS in accounting from the University of Kentucky and a BA in journalism from the University of South Florida.

Ex-TPUSA Employee Denies Kidnapping Allegations

Ken Silva
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Ex-TPUSA Employee Denies Kidnapping Allegations

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Two anonymous plaintiffs have reportedly accused a former Turning Point USA employee and current Avondale City Council member of drunkenly propositioning a male coworker to have sex and briefly kidnapping his 14-year-old daughter after he denied her advances.

The lawsuit was filed by “Father John Doe” and “Minor Jane Doe” in Maricopa County Superior Court on Nov. 14. The defendant, ex-TPUSA employee and councilwoman Jeannette Garcia, has vigorously denied the allegations.

“I am aware of the outrageous and false accusations being made about me. Let me be very clear: these claims are untrue. I have never kidnapped anyone, never harmed anyone, and never solicited anything inappropriate, ever. The situation being referenced involved me helping a young girl,” Garcia said Wednesday on Twitter/X.

“Anyone twisting an act of support into something malicious is spreading intentional misinformation. Again, these accusations are false. I am preparing to pursue legal action against those responsible for spreading these lies and for the damage they are attempting to cause to my reputation.”

According to the lawsuit, Father John Doe had been hired by TPUSA last year to promote candidates for the 2024 election, and Garcia was his supervisor. After the Republicans dominated the November 2024 election, the two were out celebrating a week later with other TPUSA staffers at a restaurant.

That’s when the alleged events transpired.

“At one point in the evening Garcia propositioned Father Doe, offering him employment with (Turning Point) if he agreed to have sex with her. As Garcia became more aggressive and explicit, presumably due to excessive consumption of alcohol, Father Doe eventually decided he could no longer tolerate Garcia’s harassment and inappropriate conduct and decided to leave the restaurant and go home,” the lawsuit says, according to the Phoenix New Times.

Father Doe said he couldn’t find his daughter when he got home. According to the lawsuit, Garcia and two other people—including another TPUSA employee who’s also a defendant in the case—had already picked up the daughter.

“Doe wasn’t able to retrieve his daughter until around noon the next day, partly because Garcia allegedly wouldn’t answer his calls. He learned from his daughter that ‘Garcia told her that she (Garcia) was concerned for Minor Doe’s safety because Father Doe had been drinking, suggesting that Father Doe could become violent, and that he was on his way home,’” the Phoenix New Times reported, citing the lawsuit.

The defendants have not yet responded to the lawsuit in court. TPUSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

Trump Demands ‘REVERSE MIGRATION’ after National Guard Shooting

Headline USA Editor
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Trump Demands ‘REVERSE MIGRATION’ after National Guard Shooting

(Headline USA) President Donald Trump says he wants to “permanently pause migration” from poorer nations and is promising to seek to expel millions of immigrants from the United States by revoking their legal status. He is blaming immigrants for problems from crime to housing shortages as part of “social dysfunction” in America and demanding “REVERSE MIGRATION.”

His most severe social media post against immigration since returning to the Oval Office in January came after the shooting Wednesday of two National Guard members who were patrolling the streets of the nation’s capital under his orders. One died and the other is in critical condition.

A 29-year-old Afghan national who worked with the CIA during the Afghanistan War is facing charges. The suspect came to the U.S. as part of a program to resettle those who had helped American troops after U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Since the shooting not far from the White House, administration officials have pledged to reexamine millions of legal immigrants, building on a 10-month campaign to reduce the immigrant population. In a lengthy social media post late Thursday, the Republican president asserted that millions of people born outside the U.S. and now living in the country bore a large share of the blame for America’s societal ills.

“Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. “Other than that, HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL, except those that hate, steal, murder, and destroy everything that America stands for — You won’t be here for long!”

The president said on Truth Social that “most” foreign-born U.S. residents “are on welfare, from failed nations, or from prisons, mental institutions, gangs, or drug cartels” as he blamed them for crime across the country that is predominantly committed by U.S. citizens.

He pledged to “terminate” millions of admissions to the country made during the term of his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden. He also wants to end federal benefits and subsidies for those who are not U.S. citizens, denaturalize people “who undermine domestic tranquility” and deport foreign nationals deemed “non-compatible with Western Civilization.”

Trump claimed immigrants from Somalia were “completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota.”

“The seriously retarded Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, does nothing, either through fear, incompetence, or both,” he added.

On Wednesday night, Trump called for the reinvestigation of all Afghan refugees who had entered under the Biden administration. On Thursday, the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow, said the agency would take additional steps to screen people from 19 “high-risk” countries “to the maximum degree possible.”

Edlow did not name the countries. But in June, the administration banned travel to the U.S. by citizens of 12 countries and restricted access from seven others, citing national security concerns.

The shooting of the two National Guard members appeared to trigger Trump’s anger over immigrants, yet he did not specifically refer to the event in his social media post.

The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is accused of driving across the country to the District of Columbia and shooting two West Virginia National Guard members, Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24. Beckstrom died on Thursday; Wolfe is in critical condition.

The suspect, currently in custody, was also shot and had wounds that were not believed to be life-threatening.

Trump was asked by a reporter Thursday if he blamed the shootings on all Afghans who came to the U.S.

“No, but we’ve had a lot of problems with Afghans,” the president said.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

 

One of the National Guardsmen Ambushed Wednesday Has Died

Headline USA Editor
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One of the National Guardsmen Ambushed Wednesday Has Died

(Headline USA) President Donald Trump said that one of the two West Virginia National Guard members shot by an Afghan national near the White House had died, calling the suspect, who had worked with the CIA in his native country, a “savage monster.”

As part of a Thanksgiving call with U.S. troops, Trump announced that he had just learned that Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, had died, while Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, was “fighting for his life.”

“She’s just passed away,” Trump said. “She’s no longer with us. She’s looking down at us right now. Her parents are with her.”

The president called Beckstrom an “incredible person, outstanding in every single way.” The White House said he spoke to her parents after his remarks.

Trump used the announcement to say the shooting was a “terrorist attack” and criticized the Biden administration for enabling Afghans who worked with U.S. forces during the Afghanistan War to enter the U.S. The president has deployed National Guard members in part to assist in his administration’s mass deportation efforts.

Trump brandished a print-out of a news photo of Afghan evacuees sitting on the floor of a military plane during the chaotic evacuation from Kabul in 2021 during his remarks. He suggested that the shooter was mentally unstable after the war and departure from Afghanistan.

“He went cuckoo. I mean, he went nuts,” the president said. “It happens too often with these people.”

The shooter worked with U.S. forces in Afghanistan

The suspect charged with the shooting is Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29. The suspect had worked in a special CIA-backed Afghan Army unit before emigrating from Afghanistan, according to The Associated Press.

Trump blamed the asylum process in which Afghans who worked with U.S. forces arrived by plane for being ineffective and failing to ensure people were properly vetted.

“We have no greater national security priority than ensuring that we have full control over the people that enter and remain in our country,” Trump said. “For the most part, we don’t want them.”

Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, declined to provide a motive for Wednesday afternoon’s brazen act of violence which occurred just blocks from the White House. The presence of troops in the nation’s capital and other cities around the country has become a political flashpoint.

Pirro said that the suspect launched an “ambush-style” attack with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver. As of Thursday morning, the suspect faced charges of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, but Pirro suggested the charges would be upgraded if one of the National Guard members died, as happened later on Thursday.

The suspect also was shot and had wounds that were not believed to be life-threatening, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

 

Putin Says US Plan Could Be ‘Basis’ for Ukraine Deal

Headline USA Editor
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Putin Says US Plan Could Be ‘Basis’ for Ukraine Deal

(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday spoke favorably about the US’s initial 28-point draft for a potential peace deal in Ukraine, saying it could serve as the “basis” for a future agreement, though he said work still needs to be done to turn it into a concrete plan.

“In general, we agree that this could be the basis for future agreements,” Putin told reporters during a visit to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. “However, it would be inappropriate for me to speak now of any final versions, as these do not exist.”

The initial US draft was altered during talks between US and Ukrainian officials in Geneva, but the exact changes are unclear. Putin said that he understood that the officials “decided among themselves that all these 28 points should be divided into four separate components. All of this was passed on to us.”

Putin speaking to journalists in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on November 27, 2025 (Kremlin photo)

Putin said that it was clear the US was taking some Russian positions “into account” but that more discussions were needed. “There are, unquestionably, areas where we need to sit down and engage in serious discussions on specific points, and all such matters must be framed in proper diplomatic language,” he said.

Putin also confirmed that President Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will be traveling to Moscow next week to discuss the deal.

The Russian leader also said it was “ridiculous” that Russia was being asked to commit to not attacking Europe since it has no plans to do so. “We never had any such intentions. But if they want to have it formalized, let’s do it, no problem,” he said.

While speaking positively about the US proposal, Putin also said it was pointless to sign agreements with the Ukrainian government, which he said was not legitimate because of the lack of elections in Ukraine. The initial US plan called for elections within 100 days of the deal’s signing.

“Signing documents with the Ukrainian leadership is pointless. I have emphasized this on many occasions. I believe that the Ukrainian authorities made a fundamental and strategic mistake when they succumbed to the fear of participating in the presidential elections. As a result, the president lost his legitimate status,” Putin said.

Putin also made clear that if Ukraine doesn’t cede territory, he was content with continuing the war. “If they don’t withdraw, we will achieve this through military means,” he said.

Like Clockwork: Liberals Blame Trump for National Guard Terrorist Attack

Luis Cornelio
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Like Clockwork: Liberals Blame Trump for National Guard Terrorist Attack

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Members of the elitist media wasted no time finding a culprit for Wednesday’s shooting of a National Guardswoman in D.C. 

Instead of blaming the Afghan national now in custody, they are pointing their fingers at President Donald Trump. 

Leading the charge was Jane Mayer, a staff writer at the lefty New Yorker magazine, who wrote on X that the shooting was both “so tragic” and “so unnecessary.”  

“These poor guardsmen should never have been deployed,” she added. “I live in DC and watched as they had virtually nothing to do but pick up trash. It was for political show and at what a cost.” 

Her post quickly garnered more than seven million views and thousands of comments, most of them blasting the inaccuracy of her claims. 

White House spokesperson Steven Cheung told her to “respectfully, shut the f*ck up.”

Trump declared a crime emergency in D.C. on Aug. 11 and deployed the National Guard to assist federal and local law enforcement officials in response. 

By Aug. 14, 800 troops were deployed to D.C., causing crime to plummet. 

NBC News, far from a conservative outlet, reported in September that offenses like rape, assault with a deadly weapon and sexual abuse were down 16 percent between Aug. 11 and Sept. 10, compared to the prior month. 

Non-violent crime in D.C. dropped 18 percent during the same period, the outlet added, citing data from the Metropolitan Police Department.

Wednesday’s attack was carried out why whom authorities have identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who entered the U.S. in 2021. 

He was among the thousands of Afghan nationals who rushed to flee the Taliban takeover after Biden’s disastrous withdrawal. 

According to federal law enforcement, Lakanwal shot 20-year-old Guardswoman Sarah Beckstrom in what early investigations determined to be a targeted attack. 

Beckstrom, who was shot in the head and chest just blocks from the White House, had just been sworn into the National Guard and is not expected to survive her wounds, her father told news outlets. 

National Guard Shooter, Who Worked in CIA ‘Death Squad,’ Criminally Charged

Headline USA Editor
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National Guard Shooter, Who Worked in CIA ‘Death Squad,’ Criminally Charged

(Headline USA) An Afghan national who worked with the CIA in his native country and immigrated to the U.S. in 2021 drove from Washington state to the nation’s capital where he shot two West Virginia National Guard members deployed in Washington, D.C., U.S. officials said Thursday.

The suspect had worked in a special CIA-backed Afghan Army unit before emigrating from Afghanistan, according to two sources who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, and #AfghanEvac, a group that helps resettle Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the two-decade war.

Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, declined to provide a motive for Wednesday afternoon’s brazen act of violence which occurred just blocks from the White House. The presence of troops in the nation’s capital and other cities around the country has become a political flashpoint.

Pirro identified the guard members at a news conference as Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24. The West Virginia National Guard said both had been deployed in D.C. since August. Both remained hospitalized in critical condition on Thursday, while the office of West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said he met with the victims and their families and other guard members.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Webster Springs, where Beckstrom is from, will hold three prayer vigils Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, according to a Facebook post from the Webster County Veterans Auxiliary.

Pirro said that the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, launched an “ambush-style” attack with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver. The suspect currently faces charges of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Pirro said that “it’s too soon to say” what the suspect’s motives were.

The charges could be upgraded, Pirro said, adding: “We are praying that they survive and that the highest charge will not have to be murder in the first degree. But make no mistake, if they do not, that will certainly be the charge.”

Accoridng to the New York Times, Lakanwal had been spiraling in the months leading up to his alleged attack.

“Lakanwal had suffered from mental health issues and was disturbed by the casualties his unit had caused,” the Times, reported, citing one of the alleged shooter’s childhood friends.

Trump issued an emergency order in August that federalized the local police force and sent in National Guard troops. The order expired a month later. But the troops have remained in the city, where nearly 2,200 troops currently are assigned, according to the government’s latest update.

The guard members have patrolled neighborhoods, train stations and other locations, participated in highway checkpoints and been assigned to pick up trash and guard sports events. The Trump administration quickly ordered 500 more National Guard members to Washington following Wednesday’s shooting.

The suspect who was in custody also was shot and had wounds that were not believed to be life-threatening, according to the Associated Press.

Suspect worked with CIA during Afghanistan War

A resident of the eastern Afghan province of Khost who identified himself as Lakanwal’s cousin said Lakanwal was originally from the province and that he and his brother had worked in a special Afghan Army unit known as Zero Units in the southern province of Kandahar. A former official from the unit, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said Lakanwal was a team leader and his brother was a platoon leader.

The cousin spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. He said Lakanwal had started out working as a security guard for the unit in 2012, and was later promoted to become a team leader and a GPS specialist.

Kandahar is in the Taliban heartland of the country. It saw fierce fighting between the Taliban and NATO forces after the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 following the al-Qaida attacks on Sept. 11. The CIA relied on Afghan staff for translation, administrative and front-line fighting with their own paramilitary officers in the war.

Zero Units, criticized as “death squads” by human rights groups, were paramilitary units manned by Afghans but backed by the CIA and also served in front-line fighting with CIA paramilitary officers. Activists had attributed abuses to the units. They played a key role in the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from the country, providing security around Kabul International Airport as the Americans and others fell back during the Taliban offensive that seized the country.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement that Lakanwal’s relationship with the U.S. government “ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation” of U.S. servicemembers from Afghanistan.

Lakanwal, 29, entered the U.S. in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from the country, officials said. Lakanwal applied for asylum during the Biden administration, but his asylum was approved under the Trump administration, #AfghanEvac said in a statement.

The initiative brought roughly 76,000 people to the U.S., many of whom had worked alongside U.S. troops and diplomats as interpreters and translators. It has since faced intense scrutiny from Trump and others over allegations of gaps in the vetting process, even as advocates say there was extensive vetting and the program offered a lifeline to people at risk of Taliban reprisals.

Lakanwal has been living in Bellingham, Washington, about 79 miles (127 kilometers) north of Seattle, with his wife and five children, said his former landlord, Kristina Widman.

Wednesday night, in a video message released on social media, President Donald Trump called for the reinvestigation of all Afghan refugees who entered under the Biden administration.

The director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow, said in a social media post Thursday that Trump directed him to review the green cards of people from countries “of concern.”

Edlow didn’t name the countries. But in June, the administration banned travel to the U.S. by citizens of 12 countries and restricted access from seven others, citing national security concerns. Green card holders and Afghans who worked for the U.S. government or its allies in Afghanistan were listed as exempt.

Attack being investigated as terrorist act

FBI Director Kash Patel said the shooting is being investigated as an act of terrorism. Agents have served a series of search warrants, with Patel calling it a “coast-to-coast investigation.”

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, has previously questioned the effectiveness of using the National Guard to enforce city laws. Last week, a federal judge ordered an end to the deployment there, but the judge also paused her order for 21 days to allow the administration to remove the troops or appeal.

On Thursday, Bowser interpreted the shooting as a direct assault on America itself, rather than specifically on Trump’s policies.

“Somebody drove across the country and came to Washington, D.C., to attack America,” Bowser said. “That person will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

 

Report: FBI Agents Received At Least $851K in Overtime Pay for Redacting Epstein Files

Ken Silva
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Report: FBI Agents Received At Least $851K in Overtime Pay for Redacting Epstein Files

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) FBI agents reportedly worked around the clock in March to redact information for impending publication of what’s popularly known as the “Epstein files”—the trove of bureau documents related to deceased sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein and his criminal activities.

 “FBI agents are working around the clock—some in 12-hour overnight shifts—on a frenzied mission this week,” CNN reported at the time.

“For hours, agents sit at banks of computers, using editing software to identify redactions required under federal laws, including the Privacy Act. The material also includes video.”

Those agents were apparently paid well for their work. According to Bloomberg, they received $851,344 in overtime for working on the Epstein files between March 17 and March 22.

Eight months later, the FBI still hasn’t released its files on Epstein, which should span from the 1990s or 2000s all the way until when he was found dead in a prison cell in August 2019. Most of the recent Epstein revelations—including his “birthday book,” a ledger indicating he paid women or girls to massage Prince Andrew, and emails showing his Israeli intelligence links—have come from his private estate or hacked emails, and not the government.

Some of the files may never see the light of day. President Donald Trump signed a bill to release the files last week, but that legislation reportedly allows some records “to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy.”

Meanwhile, the FBI has police officers guarding the complex where the files are being held—likely in electronic form. According to Bloomberg, the FBI police were sent to the Central Records Complex in Winchester, Virginia, in response to online chatter about citizens possibly getting ambitious and burgling them.

Bloomberg reported earlier this month that users on the social media site Reddit had called for a protest outside of the complex, according to Bloomberg. Another commenter reportedly suggested a break-in instead of a protest.

“At what point do we go from protesting to the next logical progression?” the user said, according to Bloomberg.

“The bureau interpreted the comments as potentially threatening and took action. The FBI sent its uniformed police officers to the Central Records Complex to guard the facility,” Bloomberg reported, citing two anonymous sources. “The officers, who normally patrol the FBI’s headquarters in Washington, were also assigned to protect top officials and staff at the Virginia facility.”

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

Report: Trump Administration Granted Asylum to National Guard Shooter

Ken Silva
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Report: Trump Administration Granted Asylum to National Guard Shooter

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) CNN has reported that the Trump administration granted asylum in April to the man accused of murdering two members of the National Guard on Wednesday.

While CNN is a notoriously anti-Trump outlet, officials have declined to comment on its report. FBI Director Kashyap Patel dodged questions about the timing of the asylum granted to the suspect, Afghan national and CIA asset Rahmanullah Lakanwal.

“Can you clarify the timeline of when the suspect was granted asylum?” a reporter asked Director Patel, to which he responded: “I believe Kristi Noem put that out, and that’s a DHS matter, I’ll refer it to them.”

Suspect worked with CIA during Afghanistan War

A resident of the eastern Afghan province of Khost who identified himself as Lakanwal’s cousin said Lakanwal was originally from the province and that he and his brother had worked in a special Afghan Army unit known as Zero Unit in the southern province of Kandahar. He said he had last spoken to Lakanwal about six months ago.

The cousin spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

The cousin said both brothers had moved to the United States in 2021. He said Lakanwal had started out working as a security guard for the unit in 2012, and was later promoted to become a team leader and a GPS specialist.

Zero Units, criticized as “death squads” by human rights groups, were paramilitary units manned by Afghans but backed by the CIA and also served in front-line fighting with CIA paramilitary officers. Activists had attributed abuses to the units. They played a key role in the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from the country, providing security around Kabul International Airport as the Americans and others fell back during the Taliban offensive that seized the country.

Accoridng to the New York Times, Lakanwal had been spiraling in the months leading up to his alleged attack.

“Lakanwal had suffered from mental health issues and was disturbed by the casualties his unit had caused,” the Times, reported, citing one of the alleged shooter’s childhood friends.

Meanwhile, the Taliban has denounced his actions.

“They fled to the United States in search of a better life,” a Taliban spokesman said in a social media post, as reported by the Times. “These traitors still do not let the Afghan people live in peace.”

Lakanwal, 29, entered the U.S. in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from the country, officials said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

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