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Judge rules against DHS’s policy of knocking on doors to track down possible noncitizen voters

2026-10-21 11:00 PM EDT / CBS News

A federal judge ruled late Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s practice of knocking on doors and asking people about their immigration status — and whether they have voted in recent elections — likely violates the Voting Rights Act.

The ruling took aim at an operation that was documented by a CBS News investigation earlier Wednesday. Homeland Security Investigations has posted photos and videos of agents approaching homes in multiple states. The Trump administration says the practice is part of an effort to crack down on voting by noncitizens, but critics say it could intimidate legal voters.

In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin ordered federal immigration authorities to stop carrying out “elections-related field operations and field interviews” in nine states, including California and New York, if the operations are likely to involve people who government officials “know, suspect, or should reasonably know or suspect are U.S. citizens.”

Her order will remain in effect until polls close on Election Day. She stayed the ruling until 5 p.m. on Friday, which will give the government a chance to seek appeal.

Martinez-Olguin sided with groups that sued over the noncitizen voting investigation surge, including the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United. She found the policy likely ran afoul of a section of the Voting Rights Act that makes it illegal to “intimidate, threaten, or coerce” those who assist people with voting or engage in voter mobilization efforts.

“Plaintiffs do not claim, nor does the Court find, that it is unlawful for federal officials to undertake investigations into unlawful voting in federal elections,” the judge wrote. “Rather, Plaintiffs seek to stop DHS from continuing to investigate U.S. citizens, who have a legal right to vote, in a way that intimidates and threatens the participation of CNA/NNU members from urging or aiding others to vote.”

Martinez-Olguin also pointed to the “high likelihood of error” in the government’s process for assembling a list of potential targets, which includes data from government agencies and commercially available data.

Protect Democracy, one of the groups that sued over the policy, celebrated the ruling.

“It was clear from the start that DHS built its lists on bad data, never checked how often it was wrong, and recklessly sent agents to people’s homes weeks before an election,” Beau Tremitiere, counsel at Protect Democracy, said in a statement to CBS News. “Today’s ruling should remind us that American citizens hold the ultimate power in our democracy, not the government–no matter what the administration says otherwise.”

CBS News has reached out to DHS for comment.

President Trump has prioritized cracking down on voter fraud during his second term, although there has been little evidence to back up his claims of widespread voting by noncitizens. Just 156 people have been charged with voting-fraud related offenses since the beginning of the Trump administration, according to the Justice Department.

The Justice Department reported earlier this week that it arrested several dozen green card holders in California on allegations they illegally registered to vote in U.S. federal elections.

Madeleine May contributed to this report.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/armed-dhs-agents-knock-on-doors-in-search-for-possible-noncitizen-voters/

US pulls personnel from Saudi Arabia as kingdom comes under Houthi fire

2026-10-21T17:03:01-04:00 / Fox News

Deadly Houthi missile and drone attacks on Riyadh and other Saudi cities prompted the mandatory departure order

By Morgan Phillips Fox News

Published October 21, 2026 5:03pm EDT

UK sends fighter jets to Saudi Arabia

Army Veteran of the 75th Ranger Regiment Will Thibeau analyzes the United Kingdom sending fighter jets to Saudi Arabia to defend critical infrastructure against Houthi drone strikes. Thibeau says that America should ‘appreciate’ the U.K.’s efforts.

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The Trump administration has ordered non-emergency U.S. government employees and their families to leave Saudi Arabia as deadly Houthi attacks intensify across the kingdom, raising the stakes as President Donald Trump weighs direct military action against the Iran-backed group.

State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott confirmed Wednesday that the mandatory departure order applies only to Saudi Arabia, pushing back on reports that Washington was preparing a broader evacuation of diplomatic personnel across the Gulf.

“The U.S. Department of State issued an ordered departure for non-emergency U.S. government employees and their family members in Saudi Arabia only,” Pigott said.

HOW SAUDI ARABIA’S DEFENSE VULNERABILITIES COULD BECOME TRUMP’S PROBLEM AMID HOUTHI ONSLAUGHT

Above is the US embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.(AFP via Getty Images)

The order comes amid a surge in Houthi missile and drone attacks that has left civilians dead, disrupted air travel and sent Saudi Arabia scrambling for additional missile defenses.

“Iranian-supported Houthis have increasingly engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including attacks on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure resulting in civilian casualties and severe travel disruptions,” Pigott added.

President Donald Trump is weighing whether to launch direct U.S. military strikes against the Houthis, whose expanding missile and drone campaign has increasingly threatened Saudi cities, airports and energy infrastructure.

Houthi strikes and attempted strikes on Saudi Arabia more than doubled in a single week this month, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, with airports in Riyadh, Jizan, Najran, Dammam and Abha targeted since Oct. 5.

The deadliest barrage struck King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 300.

SAUDI ARABIA ON EDGE: ICONIC KINGDOM CENTRE SENDS WORKERS HOME AMID HOUTHI ATTACKS

Smoke and flames rise from King Khalid International Airport after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis said they attacked the airport, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 8, 2026.(Reuters)

The escalating attacks have prompted Saudi Arabia to seek additional military support from its allies. Britain announced Tuesday that it would deploy Typhoon fighter jets to help defend Saudi cities and critical infrastructure, while Egypt is assisting the kingdom and Israel has offered to help.

Riyadh has also asked Washington for additional missile interceptors, though U.S. officials have warned that global demand is straining available supplies.

“I also talked to Saudi Arabia today; they’d like interceptors. Israel would like interceptors. We would like interceptors. Every country in the world would like interceptors,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday.

Rubio described the weapons as “probably the most in-demand product right now in the defense field,” acknowledging that the United States must balance requests from allies against its own military requirements.

The growing threat has exposed the difficulty of defending Saudi Arabia’s vast territory against relatively inexpensive missiles and drones, even with some of the world’s most sophisticated air defenses.

“Saudi Arabia is a huge geography to protect, and this speaks to a larger threat we’re facing globally: a relatively small nonstate actor can pose a serious challenge to even a sophisticated and extremely expensive military,” Farea Al-Muslimi, a research fellow at Chatham House, told Fox News Digital in an interview published Wednesday.

“The Houthis can impose enormous costs without having to spend very much themselves,” he said.

Trump has left open the possibility of direct military intervention against the Houthis, telling reporters earlier this month that the U.S. could join Saudi strikes against the group.

“We may. We’re gonna look at it,” Trump said. “We’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.”

Members of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces react during what they say to be clashes with Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis in a location given as near Al-Hazm, Yemen, in this screen grab obtained from a handout video released September 9, 2026.(Media Centre Of The Yemeni Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters)

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The U.S. conducted a roughly two-month bombing campaign against Houthi targets in Yemen in 2025 before Trump halted the operation following an Oman-brokered agreement.

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The U.S. continues to provide intelligence and targeting support to Saudi Arabia as Trump weighs whether to launch another round of strikes against the Houthis.

US orders departure of some embassy staff and families from Saudi Arabia amid Houthi threat

2026-10-21T21:01:03.518Z / CNN

By Kylie Atwood, Jennifer Hansler

PUBLISHED Oct 21, 2026, 5:01 PM ET

The US embassy headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 3.

AFP/Getty Images

The US State Department ordered the departure of non-essential staff and family members at its embassy in Riyadh, a move that comes amid intensifying strikes on Saudi Arabia by the Iran allied Houthi rebels in Yemen.

“The U.S. Department of State issued an ordered departure for non-emergency U.S. government employees and their family members in Saudi Arabia,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott wrote on X. “Iranian-supported Houthis have increasingly engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including attacks on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure resulting in civilian casualties and severe travel disruptions.”

While the State Department is drawing down its footprint in Saudi Arabia amid escalating risks, a few other US diplomatic posts in the region are also adjusting their staffing in response to the Houthi threat, a source told CNN.

“This is about the Houthis,” said a State Department official.

The State Department also warned in a security alert on Wednesday that US citizens should be aware of potential attacks on airports and general travel disruptions. That message for Americans came after a series of deadly Houthi attacks in recent weeks have targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi military facilities, oil infrastructure and maritime traffic.

“U.S. government employees working in Saudi Arabia require special authorization from Chief of Mission to use any airport in Saudi Arabia following recent missile and UAV attacks on airports in the Kingdom,” the alert said.

Saudi-backed forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized government have expanded operations against Houthi positions across multiple frontlines, while Saudi air power continues to provide military cover.

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia said it intercepted at least seven drones, including one targeting the Shaybah oil field in the kingdom’s Eastern Province, in an attack that killed two expatriate workers and injured two others.

The US has stepped up its support for the kingdom militarily by boosting intelligence and targeting support. But Saudi Arabia has been asking the US for more offensive support, and so far, President Donald Trump has decided against striking the Houthis.

As Saudi Arabia finds itself increasingly under attack, other allies have also stepped up support. On Tuesday, the UK said it will deploy fighter jets to defend Saudi Arabia against Houthi attacks. Egypt also pledged “all necessary and possible forms of support” in recent days.

CNN’s Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed reporting.

France in flames is preview of what ‘DSA’ Democrats want for US, senator warns

The Missouri senator pointed to Boeing F-47 jobs, a St Louis crime crackdown and airport funding as proof of GOP results

October 21, 2026 6:12pm EDT / Fox News

By Stepheny Price

Eric Schmitt warns France chaos is ‘exactly what’ Democrats want in America

Sen. Eric Schmitt tells Fox News Digital that unrest in France is “exactly what” Democrats want in America, warning that control of Congress could determine the future of President Trump’s immigration and public safety agenda.

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The chaos engulfing France is a preview of what Democrats want for America, Sen. Eric Schmitt warned, contrasting the unrest with new manufacturing jobs and a federal crime crackdown in Missouri that he credits to cooperation with the Trump administration.

“You see what’s happening in France. That’s exactly what they want here, the DSA Democrats,” the Missouri Republican told Fox News Digital.

His warning comes as riots, fires and looting have swept France after protests over rising living costs and strained public services turned violent, prompting curfews in parts of Paris and other cities.

“I think the Democrat Party at this point is sort of post-American and anti-Western civilization,” Schmitt said.

VIOLENT FAR-LEFT RIOTS IN FRANCE ARE ‘CHILLING WARNING’ FOR AMERICANS AT HOME, MIKE JOHNSON SAYS

A protester watches a fire burn at a demonstration in Paris, France, on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026.(Nathan Laine/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

With control of the House “up for grabs,” Schmitt argued, Republicans need to make the stakes clear while showing voters what they have delivered.

INSIDE THE HOUSE GOP’S 4-WEEK BATTLE PLAN TO SAVE ITS MAJORITY

Asked what a Democratic House would mean for Trump’s agenda, Schmitt accused Democrats of obstructing Republican efforts on immigration, permitting reform and regulations.

‘SQUAD’ DEMOCRAT FORMALLY INTRODUCES BILL TO ABOLISH ICE, BORDER PATROL AND DISMANTLE DHS

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He warned that Democratic control could jeopardize funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and revive what he described as the political weaponization of government under former President Joe Biden.

But Schmitt also argued Republicans need to give voters a reason to support them, pointing to jobs and public safety as areas where he says cooperation with the Trump administration is paying off.

KEY AMERICAN INDUSTRY SEEING BLUE-COLLAR JOBS BOOM AS TRUMP’S RE-SHORING POLICIES PAY OFF

In Missouri, he highlighted Boeing’s selection to build the Air Force’s F-47 and the Navy’s next-generation F/A-XX fighter as a potentially transformative investment in American manufacturing.

Boeing secured the Navy contract in September after winning the Air Force program last year.

BERNIE SANDERS ADMITS DEMOCRATS FAILED WORKING-CLASS VOTERS ON ECONOMICS, DRIVING THEM TO DONALD TRUMP

A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle is refueled by a KC-135 Stratotanker while patrolling the skies over the Middle East, according to CENTCOM.(CENTCOM)

Schmitt, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the programs would mean 7,000 direct jobs, with additional opportunities for suppliers and surrounding businesses.

“It means that the goal we’ve been fighting for, which is that St. Louis is the defense tech capital of the United States of America, is coming true,” he said.

TRUMP SAYS POLLS ‘DON’T ACCOUNT FOR ONE THING,’ AS HE PLEDGES TO DEFEAT COMMUNISTS ‘ONCE AND FOR ALL’

Schmitt said he worked with Trump and administration officials to help land the programs, describing them as “generational opportunities” for Missouri workers.

“You think of the good-paying jobs that’s going to mean for generations to come, it’s just a game changer,” he said.

He also tied the aircraft programs to the broader competition with China, saying the next generation of fighters would help meet military demands in the Pacific.

On public safety, Schmitt pointed to Operation Show Me Justice, an ATF-led enforcement surge that resulted in 435 arrests and the seizure of 166 firearms in St. Louis, according to the Justice Department.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, a Republican of Missouri, second left, and President Donald Trump shake hands during a signing ceremony for the “Secure America Act” in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.(Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Authorities also seized 81 kilograms of drugs and more than $1.25 million linked to suspected illegal gun and drug transactions during the operation, which officials announced had concluded Oct. 15.

Schmitt said his conversations with administration officials have carried a straightforward request for his hometown.

TRUMP’S LAW-AND-ORDER BLITZ MARKS ONE YEAR WITH EYE-POPPING HAUL OF SUSPECTS, GUNS IN BLUE CITY

“St. Louis, we need your help,” he said.

The former Missouri attorney general described the toll of violence on families, including grandparents cleaning up broken glass and parents burying their children.

“We don’t need to accept this,” he said. “We just don’t need to accept the idea that violent crime needs to be in the headlines every single day.”

He pledged the effort would continue beyond the surge.

“This isn’t a one-and-done deal. There are more resources coming,” Schmitt said.

OMAR’S NEW LEGISLATION TARGETING ICE SPARKS OUTRAGE WHEN THE INTERNET SEES WHAT’S IN IT: ‘UN-AMERICAN’

Video

For families wanting to send children safely to school, visit a park or attend a Cardinals game downtown, he said the goal is a better quality of life.

“I think the message is help is on the way, and there are real tangible results now, not just rhetoric, not just empty promises,” Schmitt said.

“We’re not letting up.”

Schmitt’s third major priority is modernizing St. Louis Lambert International Airport, an effort he linked to the region’s aerospace growth and aviation history.

His Modern Skies Act would fund improvements to air traffic control technology, towers and airport terminals. He said midsize airports need help securing investments that larger hubs can more readily finance.

“St. Louis is the gateway to the West,” he said. “It deserves a world-class airport.”

The proposal remains a legislative push rather than a guaranteed funding award for Lambert. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said during an October visit that airport funding would be competitive.

A terminal at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, left. On the right, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers inspect airline passengers before they board their flights at the airport in October 2016.(Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images; Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

For Schmitt, those priorities form part of the argument Republicans need to make as voters weigh control of Congress.

He cast the election as “common sense versus crazy,” but cautioned that Republicans cannot assume their supporters will show up.

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“I just don’t think you can take anything for granted,” Schmitt said. “I think we have to fight for every vote and tell an important story.”

“I think if we do that, we’re gonna hold on to the Senate, and the House is up for grabs.”

Stepheny Price is a Writer at Fox News with a focus on West Coast and Midwest news, missing persons, national and international crime stories, homicide cases, and border security.

Fox News Poll: Texas Senate race galloping toward a photo finish

In the Texas governor’s race, Talarico supporters cross the aisle to give Abbott an edge

October 21, 2026 6:00pm EDT / Fox News

Dana Perino warns GOP is on defense in tight Texas Senate race

‘America’s Newsroom’ co-anchor Dana Perino discusses the high-stakes Texas Senate race between Ken Paxton and James Talarico on ‘Fox & Friends.’

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Texas hasn’t gone blue in a statewide race in more than 30 years, but that streak could face a serious test this year. A new Fox News poll finds that while Texas likely voters favor Republicans retaining control of the U.S. Senate and give incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott an edge in his re-election bid, the Senate race remains deadlocked.

The survey, released Wednesday, finds Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton tied at 49% each among Texas likely voters in the race to replace Sen. John Cornyn, who lost the GOP primary to President Trump-backed Paxton.

Last month, Talarico was up by 2 points among likely voters (51%-49%). The shift to a tie reflects Paxton consolidating support among conservatives, rural voters, suburban women and voters who backed Cornyn in the primary.

FOX NEWS POLL: TUREK, HINSON IN CLOSE IOWA SENATE RACE

Although Paxton is falling short of Trump’s 2024 margins, he has strengthened his support a tad among both men (+1) and women (+1) since September, while Talarico slightly lost support (-1 and -2, respectively).

Talarico leads by wide margins among Black voters (+65 points), urban voters (+29), those under age 30 (+28), and women with a college degree (+23). Paxton’s strongest groups include White evangelical Christians (+52), White men without a college degree (+32), rural voters (+21) and those age 65 and up (+18).

The survey finds Hispanic voters swinging back toward the Democrats. After backing former President Joe Biden by 25 points in 2020, they favored Trump by 1 point in 2024, according to the Texas Fox News Voter Analysis. This key voting bloc now favors Talarico by 30 points (64%-34%) and prefers Democratic control of the U.S. Senate by 29 points.

Overall, when it comes to Senate control, Texans choose Republicans by 4 points (51% to 47%), up from +1 point in September.

Talarico’s stronger party loyalty is another reason the race is close: 98% of Democrats support him, compared with 90% of Republicans supporting Paxton. Nearly 3 in 10 non-MAGA Republicans cross party lines to back Talarico.

FOX NEWS POLL: COST-OF-LIVING CONCERNS WEIGH ON GOP IN MIDTERMS

Democrats also retain an enthusiasm edge: 69% are extremely interested in this year’s election, compared with 61% of Republicans. Extremely interested voters back Talarico by 7 points.

“The race is going to come down to two basic questions,” says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who helps conduct the Fox News Poll with Democrat Chris Anderson. “Do disaffected Republicans show up and, if so, do they grit their teeth and vote for a candidate who they have serious reservations about?”

Views of Talarico are net positive, albeit by just 1 point (49% favorable, 48% unfavorable), while Paxton’s ratings are underwater by 17 (41% favorable, 58% unfavorable). Among “double haters,” voters who view both candidates negatively, Paxton leads by 50 points.

Voters express similar levels of concern about both candidates: 53% worry Talarico’s positions are too liberal, while 50% are concerned Paxton is too close to Trump. The intensity of these concerns is nearly identical, with 36% extremely concerned about Talarico and 37% about Paxton.

In 2024, Trump won the Lone Star State by nearly 14 points, but his job rating is currently underwater by 9 points (45% approve, 54% disapprove). Still, Paxton draws support from 13% of voters who disapprove of Trump, while 6% of Trump approvers back Talarico.

When it comes to their personal finances, more than twice as many voters say they are worse off (43%) than better off (20%) compared with two years ago; 36% say they are about the same.

Voters who are worse off back Talarico by 45 points, while those who are better off (+49) or about the same (+26) favor Paxton.

The governor’s race gives Republicans more breathing room: Abbott edges his Democratic challenger, Gina Hinojosa, by 5 points (52% to 47%), unchanged since September.

Abbott has a positive job rating (50% approve, 48% disapprove), and nearly all who approve support him in the race, as do 9% of those who disapprove.

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Abbott also benefits from slightly stronger party loyalty and more ticket-splitting among Talarico supporters: 7% support Abbott, compared with 2% of Paxton supporters who back Hinojosa.

Conducted October 15-19, 2026, under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with a sample of 2,011 Texas registered voters randomly selected from a statewide voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (205) and cellphones (1,303) or completed the survey online after receiving a text message (503). Results based on the registered voter sample have a margin of sampling error of ±2 percentage points, and for the subsample of 1,398 likely voters it is ±2.5 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling errors, question wording and order can influence results. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population. Likely voters are based on a probabilistic statistical model that relies on past vote history, interest in the current election, intention to vote, age, education, race, ethnicity and marital status. Results among subgroups are only shown when the sample size is at least N=100.

全岛PM2.5浓度回落正常 西部24小时PSI仍不健康

2026-10-22 06:11:55 / 联合早报

截至星期四（10月22日）早上7时，只有西部的24小时空气污染指数（PSI）仍处于不健康水平，达110点，略低于一小时前的数据。 （档案照片）

本地空气素质好转，截至星期四（10月22日）早上7时，全岛一小时PM2.5悬浮颗粒浓度都回落到正常水平。

国家环境局数据显示，五个地区的PM2.5浓度介于每立方米26至39微克，处于正常水平。

截至早上7时，只有西部的24小时空气污染指数（PSI）仍处于不健康水平，达110点，略低于一小时前的数据。中部达97点、南部达85点、中部84点、北部74点，都回落到适中水平。

环境局提醒公众，规划隔天的户外活动时，应参考PSI预报及相关健康建议；若要进行即时户外活动，则可通过烟霾网站（haze.gov.sg）或myENV手机应用，查看最新一小时PM2.5浓度。

环境局星期三（21日）说，星期四我国及周边地区虽然会有阵雨，但加里曼丹南部预计持续干燥。在偏东南风或东南风吹送下，当地林火产生的烟霾可能继续飘向我国。

星期四的24小时PSI预计介于101点至160点，处于不健康水平。

俄罗斯释放退休美国教师以示友好 普京会见威特科夫

2026年10月22日 06:59 / 联合早报

美国公民哈伯德（左二）自2022年起被俄罗斯拘押。他于获释后在飞往美国的航班上与家人及美国官员合影。 （路透社）

俄罗斯释放被关押的美国退休教师哈伯德，并将他送往圣彼得堡搭机返美。美国称，释放哈伯德是美俄会谈取得的成果之一，也为结束俄乌战争迈出一步。

路透社报道，俄罗斯总统普京星期三（10月21日）在圣彼得堡与美国特使威特科夫会面时，宣布释放74岁的哈伯德。威特科夫随后说，各方将继续磋商，推动美国、俄罗斯和乌克兰举行预定的技术层级会谈。

威特科夫感谢普京释放哈伯德，并称普京是一名“人道主义者”。这番言论引起美国共和党和民主党议员强烈批评。俄罗斯自2022年全面入侵乌克兰以来，一直受到美国和欧洲国家谴责。

美国总统特朗普近期对莫斯科释放善意，包括达成购买俄罗斯柴油的协议，以及豁免新的制裁措施，已引起美国国会两党议员反弹，也令欧洲各国感到担忧。

俄罗斯总统普京（右）星期三（10月21日）在圣彼得堡与美国特使威特科夫会面。（路透社）

俄罗斯总统新闻秘书佩斯科夫说，普京应特朗普的请求释放哈伯德，同时也考虑到哈伯德健康状况不佳。特朗普随后证实，他最近几天曾在通话中向普京提出释放哈伯德的请求，普京表示同意。

威特科夫在俄罗斯国家电视台播出的会面画面中对普京说：“总统向你致谢，我们整个国家也感谢你，因为你释放了哈伯德。他现在可以回到家人身边了。”

路透社获得的一段视频显示，哈伯德身穿深色抓绒外套、剃去胡须，在俄罗斯一个未公开的地点与威特科夫握手并向他道谢。随后，特朗普发布一张照片，显示哈伯德与其他人身处机舱内，手持美国国旗。

哈伯德来自美国密歇根州，因被裁定从事雇佣兵活动，在俄罗斯一场不公开审理的案件中被判处六年十个月监禁。

哈伯德于2022年4月在乌克兰东部城市伊久姆被捕。美国政府此前将他列为遭俄罗斯“不当拘押”的美国公民；他获释前，是美国政府认定遭俄罗斯不当拘押的唯一一名美国在押人员。

Top Justice Department official asks Minnesota judges to step aside from immigration cases

October 21, 2026 / 4:11 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — A top official at the Justice Department is attempting to disqualify two Minnesota federal judges from a pair of cases, claiming comments they made to the New York Times about the Trump administration’s handling of immigration cases in the state call their impartiality into question.

The motions, filed against Judges Patrick Schiltz and John Tunheim, are an escalation of the Justice Department’s ongoing campaign against judges who it claims have treated the Trump administration unfairly. Both of the requests were made by Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, the third-highest-ranking official at the Justice Department.

Woodward also moved over the weekend to disqualify U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, who sits on the trial court in Washington, D.C., from overseeing a case involving President Trump’s efforts to overhaul a historic public golf course in the nation’s capital. Reyes rejected the Justice Department’s effort Sunday and accused the Justice Department of weaponizing “selective quotations to bring a baseless recusal motion.”

The requests seeking the recusals of Schiltz and Tunheim came in two separate immigration cases and were each filed by Woodward on Tuesday. In the case overseen by Schiltz, the Trump administration is seeking to strip a Minnesota man of his U.S. citizenship. In the second case, assigned to Tunheim, a South African national faces two charges of illegally voting in the 2024 election. She has pleaded not guilty.

Schiltz has scheduled a hearing on the motion against him for Nov. 23. Under ethics rules, judges cannot publicly discuss cases pending before them.

At the center of both requests are comments Tunheim and Schiltz made to the New York Times for an article published last month. The judges each raised concerns about the Trump administration’s handling of cases stemming from its immigration crackdown in Minnesota earlier this year, called Operation Metro Surge.

Woodward claimed in each of the filings that the judges’ comments raised questions about their ability to remain impartial in the cases.

“A judge who has publicly taken sides on the political issue of immigration enforcement cannot then preside over a case concerning one of the Justice Department’s key immigration initiatives: pursuing the largest denaturalization effort in Department history to restore trust and integrity in U.S. citizenship,” he wrote in the motion to disqualify Schiltz. “Absent recusal, the American people will reasonably question whether Judge Schiltz can be impartial regarding this important matter defending the integrity of American citizenship.”

Woodward separately claimed that Tunheim’s remarks to the Times suggest that he may view the charges against the South African national as unwarranted.

“To Judge Tunheim, the ‘rule of law’ apparently means ignoring the law when it comes to illegal aliens who have broken the law,” he wrote.

The associate attorney general said Schiltz and Tunheim’s statements and participation in the Times article “give rise to the appearance of bias in immigration-related cases,” warranting their recusals. Woodward is the only government lawyer who signed the motions.

What comes next

Experts on judicial ethics expect the Trump administration will likely fail in its efforts to sideline Schiltz and Tunheim from the cases. Still, these motions to disqualify are rare, and yet even more rare when they are made by the government.

“They’re looking to essentially antagonize the judges and to square off against them in some manner,” said Charles Geyh, a law professor at Indiana University Bloomington who focuses on ethics and judicial conduct.

In the rare instances where the Justice Department believes a judge should step aside from a case, government lawyers might write to the judge privately and lay out the reasons why they think recusal is warranted, said Stephen Gillers, a law professor at New York University who has written on judicial ethics.

But with the efforts involving Schiltz and Tunheim, not only did the Justice Department file their motions on the public dockets, it also promoted them on social media.

“It’s obvious DOJ has decided that its game plan is to challenge the fairness of the judges as a way of undermining judicial authority in the eyes of the public,” Gillers said.

He called the filings “performative” and said the Justice Department “wants to publicize them to discourage public confidence in what the courts are doing when they rule against the administration.”

The disqualification motions are the latest in a line of actions taken by the Trump administration that target judges who have ruled against it. The Justice Department filed a judicial misconduct complaint against all but one of the federal judges in Minnesota, including Schiltz and Tunheim, last month because of the Times article. It also submitted ethics complaints against Reyes and U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, the latter of which was dismissed.

The Justice Department sued all 15 of the federal judges in Maryland over a standing order that temporarily blocks the immediate removal of immigrants challenging their deportations. A judge in Virginia dismissed the lawsuit, and the Justice Department has appealed that decision.

Mr. Trump and senior members of his administration have also publicly insulted judges, including Supreme Court justices, by name and called for their impeachments.

“This is just a perpetuation of the project,” Geyh said. “It’s part of the network of efforts to delegitimize the judges involved, make them look partisan, make them look biased as a way to quiet them and diminish the check from the judiciary.”

Amid rising tensions between the federal judiciary and Trump administration, Schiltz and Tunheim are not the only federal judges who have raised concerns about what they say is the government’s disregard of court orders. Others have pushed back against the harsh rhetoric from the president and top administration officials.

The Judicial Conference, the policy-making body for the federal courts, issued an advisory opinion in February stating that ethics principles “permit judges to speak or write about the independence of the judiciary, or advocate for the rule of law in general, including why both values are crucial to our system of government.”

Additionally, the Judicial Conference said its Committee on Codes of Conduct believes there is “room, in at least some circumstances, for the measured defense of judicial colleagues from illegitimate forms of criticism and attacks that risk undermining judicial independence or the rule of law, whether or not they rise to the level of persecution.”

“If you’re talking generally about the concerns with the rule of law as a consequence of the general pattern of conduct the Department of Justice is exhibiting, it’s the opposite of bias,” Geyh said. “It is them really doing what they need to do to protect the rule of law.”

Amy Acton tells CNN she’s ‘not stunned’ by attack ad featuring her estranged mother

2026-10-21T22:26:37.603Z / CNN Politics

By Jake Tapper, CNN

Updated 7:04 PM EDT, Wed October 21, 2026

Amy Acton tells CNN she’s ‘not stunned’ by attack ad featuring her estranged mother

The Lead

CNN’s Lauren Fox reports for The Lead.

2:32 • Source: CNN

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to allow border wall construction to resume in Big Bend region

October 21, 2026 4:45 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — The Trump administration on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to allow it to resume for now construction of a border wall and other infrastructure through a remote area of West Texas that includes Big Bend National Park.

The Justice Department urged the high court to lift a lower court injunction that temporarily bars the Department of Homeland Security from building the barrier or related infrastructure in the Big Bend Sector, which covers more than 500 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border and 77 counties in Texas.

“The district court’s injunction significantly frustrates the government’s ability to stop the flow of illegal aliens and drugs across the southern border,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in the request for emergency relief. “The Secretary identified the Big Bend project areas at issue because of the high rates of illegal-alien crossings and drug smuggling in the region over the past several years.”

President Trump’s promise to build a wall along the southern border has been a hallmark of his immigration agenda for the last decade. But earlier this year, the president’s plans were met with significant pushback from lawmakers in both parties, cattle ranchers and local law enforcement officials in Texas when photos and videos shared to social media showed bulldozers arriving at Big Bend National Park.

In response to the backlash, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott paused construction inside the park until the end of September. The agency has said that the proposed border wall will not cut through Big Bend National Park, but other infrastructure would, including patrol roads, detection technology and roughly 17 miles of vehicle barriers.

Construction of a 47-mile-long stretch of wall in the Big Bend region began last month, according to CBP. The government has awarded contracts for five border-barrier projects in that area along the U.S.-Mexico border, the Justice Department said.

The Trump administration announced in February that the Department of Homeland Security would build barriers and roads in the Big Bend Sector. The project includes the construction of 30-foot-tall bollard walls stretching from Fort Quitman, Texas, to Closed Canyon, which is located in Big Bend Ranch State Park. Border walls and roads would span more than 300 miles, according to the government.

Because of the project’s impact on cultural, recreational, wildlife and environmental resources, the federal government would typically have to ensure compliance with federal environmental protection and historical preservation laws before moving forward.

But when then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced the project earlier this year, she invoked a 1996 federal immigration law that gives the secretary the authority to waive all legal requirements deemed necessary to ensure quick construction of physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the southern border to “deter illegal crossings in areas of high illegal entry.” Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who succeeded Noem after her firing, issued two more waivers allowing CBP to construct barrier systems.

In response to the move, an environmental nonprofit, a professional riverboat guide and a religious organization dedicated to preserving the Sacred Heart of the Church of Jesus along the Rio Grande filed a lawsuitin April seeking to stop the Trump administration from implementing the project.

The Trump administration argued that the stretch of land at issue in the case is an area of “high illegal entry” given the rates of illegal crossings and drug smuggling. The government said more than 89,000 people were apprehended trying to cross into the U.S. illegally in the Big Bend Sector between 2021 and 2025.

But the plaintiffs said that the Big Bend Sector ranks last for apprehensions compared to the other six sectors along the southern border. While the area covers more than 25% of the U.S.-Mexico border, annual apprehensions in the Big Bend Sector ranged between 0.3% and 2.2% of total border-wide apprehensions, according to court filings.

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone granted the challengers’ request for a preliminary injunction and barred the Department of Homeland Security from building border barriers or related infrastructure, or engaging in “any construction or ground disturbing activities” in the Big Bend Sector.

Cardone found that Noem and Mullin exceeded their authorities when issuing the waivers between February and July that allowed construction to proceed.

Just before the Justice Department sought the Supreme Court’s intervention, Cardone rejected the Trump administration’s request to pause her decision.