ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The chief federal judge for Minnesota issued a stern warning Thursday to the chief federal prosecutor for the state, as well as to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, warning them that they must comply with court orders or they risk criminal contempt charges.
Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz, who was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush and is seen as a conservative, took issue with an email he received Feb. 9 from U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen, in which the prosecutor accused the judge of overstating the extent of ICE’s noncompliance with court orders arising from the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement crackdown in Minnesota.
The U.S. attorney for Minnesota, Daniel Rosen, speaks with reporters during a news conference at the federal courthouse in Minneapolis, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)
His order filed Thursday was just the latest in a series of critical and sometimes scathing statements and rulings by federal judges in Minnesota and elsewhere across the country against how the Trump administration has attempted to conduct mass deportations of immigrants, often citing violations of due process and standards for humane treatment.
In a filing by a different judge Thursday, Rosen, the head of his civil division and ICE representatives were ordered to appear for a contempt hearing Tuesday over failures to comply with court orders for the return of detainees’ property.
Schiltz had previously described ICE as a serial violator of court orders related to the enforcement surge. In a Jan. 28 order, he expressed “grave concerns” after federal judges in Minnesota identified 96 orders that ICE had violated in 74 cases. In Thursday’s order, Schiltz said the government’s response “was not to do a better job complying with court orders, but instead to attack the Court.”
Rosen told Schiltz his office’s own review of a “statistically strong sample” of 12 of those 74 cases found a high compliance rate, and complained that the tally by the judges “was far beyond the pale of accuracy for an order that would be wielded so publicly and so sharply. The lawyers in my civil division didn’t deserve it.”
Schiltz wrote in a new order that he filed Thursday that he then asked his judges and law clerks to review the numbers. While he said they discovered some mistakes, which cut both ways, they concluded that ICE violated 97 orders in 66 of the cases referred to in his earlier order.
“Increasingly, this Court has had to resort to using the threat of civil contempt to force ICE to comply with orders,” he wrote. “The Court is not aware of another occasion in the history of the United States in which a federal court has had to threaten contempt — again and again and again — to force the United States government to comply with court orders.”
The chief judge also attached a list that documented 113 additional order violations in 77 additional cases, mostly since the original tally.
“The judges of this District have been extraordinarily patient with the government attorneys, recognizing that they have been put in an impossible position by Rosen and his superiors in the Department of Justice,” Schiltz wrote, noting the wave of resignations that has left Rosen’s office shorthanded. “What those attorneys ‘didn’t deserve’ was the Administration sending 3000 ICE agents to Minnesota to detain people without making any provision for handling the hundreds of lawsuits that were sure to follow.”
Neither Rosen nor ICE officials immediately responded to a request for comment.
Rosen acknowledged at a news conference Wednesday — his first since taking office in October — that his staff of prosecutors has fallen dramatically. He bristled when it was pointed out that at least two criminal cases have been dropped in recent days due in part to the losses. Rosen said the office had 64 assistant U.S. attorneys on the last day of his predecessor’s term; 47 as of Rosen’s first day; and was now down to 36. But he also insisted he was hiring new prosecutors at a “good clip” and that his office still has the capacity to prosecute major crimes.
The chief judge ended with a blunt warning:
“This Court will continue to do whatever is required to protect the rule of law, including, if necessary, moving to the use of criminal contempt,” he wrote. “One way or another, ICE will comply with this Court’s orders.”
A collection of just shy of two dozen people furious at U.S. government efforts to deport illegal immigrants gathered outside a detention center in rural Johnson County on the symbolically significant July 4 to carry out a violent rebuke, prosecutors described to a jury in Fort Worth on Tuesday at a joint trial for nine defendants.
With a rifle, Benjamin Song, a former Marine Corps reservist, fired upon Alvarado police Lt. Thomas Gross just after Gross arrived at the center, prosecutors allege. A projectile entered his upper shoulder, left the back of his neck and took a path through tissue and muscle, but avoided vital organs.
Song confessed to three co-defendants, who have pleaded guilty, Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Smith said in the government’s opening statement. The accomplices will testify at the trial, Smith forecast.
“They’re going to tell it to you,” Smith said of the expected testimony on Song’s admission.
Defense attorneys who represent eight of the nine defendants offered in their openings a radically different account of evidence they said would fall short of establishing a sophisticated conspiracy to commit violence.
Rather, many of the defense attorneys asserted, their clients intended to participate in nothing more than a noise demonstration to bring hope to detainees. One is a mechanical engineer; another operates a benign book club, the defense attorneys said.
Defense attorney Phillip Hayes, who represents Song, reserved his opening statement for a time later in the trial.
The indictment represents an attempt to prosecute citizens for their political beliefs, defense attorneys have argued.
Law enforcement officers escort nine defendants indicted in connection to the shooting of a police officer outside a North Texas ICE detention center from the federal courthouse in downtown Fort Worth on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. A jury for their trial was selected Monday in the second attempt after the judge declared a mistrial during jury selection last week. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
Defense attorney Warren St. John, who represents Meagan Morris, said his client was present at the detention center but was not involved in a crime.
“She didn’t get out of the van one time,” St. John said in his opening statement.
Beyond Song and Morris, who is referred to as Bradford Morris in the indictment, the defendants are Autumn Hill, referred to as Cameron Arnold in the indictment, Zachary Evetts, Savanna Batten, Maricela Rueda, Elizabeth Soto, Ines Soto and Daniel Rolando Sanchez Estrada.
Gross took the witness stand for the government, recalling being shot, falling to the ground and returning fire at a moving silhouette.
The emotional toll of the shootings continues, the lieutenant testified.
“It’s a day I’m going to have to live with for the rest of my life,” Gross said.
The trial is to continue on Wednesday with the government’s case.
This story was originally published February 24, 2026 at 10:42 PM.
Emerson Clarridge covers crime and other breaking news for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He works days and reports on law enforcement affairs in Tarrant County. He previously was a reporter at the Omaha World-Herald and the Observer-Dispatch in Utica, New York.
At times, the discussion on Monday inside a federal district courtroom in Fort Worth sounded as if it was from an AM radio talk show, with callers chiming in on hot-button political matters like guns, terrorism and antifa.
At one point, the host, U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, asked a mostly attentive audience whether anyone believed transgender people are more likely to be violent. A woman shared her view that mental illness was likely in play. No one else raised their hand.
One participant was less engaged. Prospective Juror No. 42 fell asleep.
But rather than passionate fuel for a radio broadcast, the responses were from prospective jurors on subjects at the center of a trial that is underway in Fort Worth in which nine defendants have been indicted in connection with the July 4 shooting of a police lieutenant outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Johnson County.
The hunt for a fair and impartial jury began anew after the first effort to impanel a jury was halted last week when Judge Pittman declared a mistrial in the case because a defense attorney, while questioning potential jurors, wore a T-shirt on which there were photos of Civil Rights Era-protesters.
Law enforcement agents stand outside the federal courthouse in downtown Fort Worth on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. A second attempt of the trial of nine defendants indicted in connection to the nonfatal shooting of a police officer outside a North Texas ICE detention center last year began Monday. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
Pittman concluded that attorney MarQuetta Clayton wore the shirt in an attempt to visually equate the civil rights movement to the Prairieland Detention Facility shooting, a position perhaps appropriate for argument to the jury, the judge said, but improper to deliver via clothing to panel members in jury selection.
Clayton wore the shirt under a blazer.
Pittman himself handled questioning in the second attempt at selecting a jury after offering the U.S. Attorney’s Office and defense attorneys an opportunity to suggest questions.
A 14-member jury was sworn in on Monday afternoon. Opening statements are expected on Tuesday morning.
Prosecutors have 61 potential witnesses. The trial is likely to take about two and a half weeks.
Pittman asked whether any of the prospective jurors held strong feelings about immigration enforcement or antifa, and whether, if they did, the panel members would only consider evidence from the trial in verdict deliberation and set aside political sentiments.
Law enforcement escort nine defendants indicted in connection to the nonfatal shooting of a police officer outside a North Texas ICE detention center last year from the federal courthouse in downtown Fort Worth on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. A second attempt of their trial began Monday after the judge declared a mistrial during jury selection in the previous trial. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
The case’s top count is attempted murder. Defense attorneys suggest the culpability of each defendant is in question.
Although much of the activity outside the Prairieland Detention Facility in Alvarado was recorded on video, the defendants’ use of monikers in encrypted written messages in advance of the shooting, avoidance of cellphones that would indicate their location and employment of other methods to maintain “op-sec” has stymied the connection of behavior to an individual defendant, the government has suggested.
The defendants’ attorneys refer to their clients as protesters. The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office describe them as attackers and domestic terrorists aligned with antifa.
Some ignited fireworks, others spoke from a bullhorn, still others spray-painted anti-ICE slogans on vehicles and an unoccupied guard booth.
Supporters of the nine defendants indicted in connection to the nonfatal shooting of a police officer outside a North Texas ICE detention center last year chant across the street from the federal courthouse downtown Fort Worth on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. A second attempt of the trial began Monday after the judge declared a mistrial during jury selection in the previous trial. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
One of the defendants, Benjamin Song, a 32-year-old former Marine Corps reservist who associates described to authorities as a cult-like ringleader who opposes the government on immigration enforcement and on other matters, shot Alvarado Police Department Lt. Thomas Gross, authorities allege.
The lieutenant suffered one gunshot wound that entered near his shoulder and exited his back.
Song was the only non-law enforcement shooter, the government alleges. He is accused of firing 11 rounds from a rifle. Gross returned fire with three rounds.
Song and the other defendants were motivated by the position that the migrants who are detained at the ICE facility are political prisoners, Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Smith asserted at an earlier hearing in the case.
Beyond Song, the defendants are Autumn Hill (referred to as Cameron Arnold in the indictment), Zachary Evetts, Savanna Batten, Meagan Morris (referred to as Bradford Morris in the indictment), Maricela Rueda, Elizabeth Soto, Ines Soto and Daniel Rolando Sanchez Estrada.
Law enforcement agents stand outside the federal courthouse in downtown Fort Worth on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. A second attempt of the trial of nine defendants indicted in connection to the nonfatal shooting of a police officer outside a North Texas ICE detention center last year began Monday. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
Emerson Clarridge covers crime and other breaking news for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He works days and reports on law enforcement affairs in Tarrant County. He previously was a reporter at the Omaha World-Herald and the Observer-Dispatch in Utica, New York.
WASHINGTON — New whistleblower documents detail substantial cuts by the Trump administration to the training requirements for new immigration officers.
Among the cuts are the elimination of practical exams, use of force and legal training courses, and an overall reduction in training time, contrary to an official’s testimony to Congress earlier this month.
The documents, provided to Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) by whistleblowers from the Department of Homeland Security, were publicly revealed ahead of a forum Monday with congressional Democrats — the third in recent weeks probing what the members view as abusive and illegal tactics used by federal agents.
Lauren Bis, deputy assistant public affairs secretary at Homeland Security, said no training hours have been cut.
“Our officers receive extensive firearm training, are taught de-escalation tactics, and receive 4th and 5th Amendment comprehensive instruction,” she said. “The training does not stop after graduation from the academy. Recruits are put on a rigorous on-the-job training program that is tracked and monitored.”
Earlier this month, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons testified to Congress that while the agency had reduced the number of training days to 42 from 75, “We went from five days a week to six days a week. Five days a week was five eight-hour days and we’ve gone to six 12-hour days.”
But the documents appear to contradict Lyons’ testimony.
“The schedules reflected on these documents indicate that current ICE recruits receive nearly 250 fewer hours of training than previous cohorts of recruits,” according to a 90-page memorandum from minority staff of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Blumenthal is the top Democrat on that committee.
Blumenthal’s office also disclosed the identity of one whistleblower: Ryan Schwank, an attorney who most recently served as an instructor for new Immigration and Customs Enforcement recruits at the ICE Academy within the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia.
Schwank, who resigned Feb. 13, is one of two whistleblowers who made a confidential disclosure to Blumenthal’s office last month regarding an ICE policy allowing agents to forcefully enter people’s homes without a judicial warrant.
In his testimony Monday, Schwank said that for the last five months, he watched ICE leadership dismantle its training program. What remains, he said, is a “dangerous husk.”
Schwank said the assertion by Homeland Security leaders that cadets receive the same training in a shorter time frame “is a lie.”
“This means that cadets are not taught what it means to be objectively reasonable, the very standard which the law requires them to meet when deciding whether or not to use deadly force,” he said. “Our jobs as instructors are to teach them so well they can make split-second decisions about what they can and cannot do in life-or-death situations. Yet in the name of churning out an endless stream of officers, DHS leadership has dismantled the academic and practical tests that we need to know if cadets can safely and lawfully perform their job.”
Schwank said he was shown the secret memo authorizing forceful home entry on his first day as a training instructor. He was told to teach its contents but not to take notes on it or discuss its existence.
“Never in my career had I ever received such a blatant unlawful order, nor one conveyed in such a troubling manner,” he said. “Incredibly, I was being shown this memo in secret by my supervisor, who made sure that I understood that disobedience would cost me my job.”
“So in effect, you were told, as an instructor on the law, that you were to train ICE agents how to break the law,” Blumenthal told Schwank.
Schwank told Blumenthal that the reason he received the training position was because the lawyer in the position before him had been forced to resign on their refusal to teach the contents of the memo.
Another witness at the forum was Teyana Gibson Brown, whose husband, Garrison Gibson, was arrested in Minneapolis last month after agents burst through their door with guns drawn. She said she and her husband repeatedly asked to see a warrant but were ignored.
“I heard the door pop and I realized we were no longer protected,” she said. “Ten officers that were all armed were standing in front of me and my family. Words can never be sufficient for me to portray what sorts of horror we felt in this moment.”
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) said the notion that “ICE wants to write its own permission slip, without a judge, to break down your door and to violate your rights” should terrify all Americans. Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, led the forum with Blumenthal.
Blumenthal’s office did not confirm whether Schwank or the other whistleblower, who is still anonymous, provided the documents that were released Monday and included in the 90-page memo.
The documents show ICE has eliminated more than a dozen practical exams that ICE officers previously needed to graduate. In July 2021, a cadet needed to pass 25 practical exams to graduate. Now, nine are required.
Eliminated exams include “Judgment pistol shooting,” “Criminal encounters,” and “Determine removability.”
“All of these are now instead evaluated, if at all, mainly by open-book, multiple-choice written exams and without any graded practical examinations,” the memo states.
During the hearing, Blumenthal raised a poster showing the two lists of exam topics. The longer list, Schwank told him, was a vital lesson on things like “how to use their firearms safely, how to encounter an individual they intended to detain, much like Mrs. Gibson Brown’s husband.”
Tests that used to be closed-book became open-book, he said. As a result, he watched cadets graduate despite using excessive force in practical exercises.
Comparisons between the program’s syllabus table of contents and general information sections from July 2025 — before the surge in hiring — and this month show that ICE appears to have cut whole courses, such as use of force simulation training, U.S. government structure, criminal versus removal proceedings, and use of force.
In a statement, Homeland Security said no training requirements have been removed and that new recruits get 56 days of training and an average of 28 days of on-the-job training. The agency said training was streamlined to cut redundancy and incorporate technological advancements without cutting subject matter content.
Candidates still learn the same elements always required, the agency said, including multiple classes on use-of-force policy, as well as safe arrest techniques and de-escalation.
The training reductions come as ICE plans to bring up more than 4,000 new Enforcement and Removal Operations officers this fiscal year, which ends in September. One of the documents notes that ICE had graduated 803 new officers in 2026 as of Jan. 29 and projected 3,204 more graduates by the end of the fiscal year.
In its statement, Homeland Security said the agency is prepared to train 12,000 new hires this year, and that the majority of new hires are experienced law enforcement officers who have already gone through a police academy.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada) asked Schwank about the new officers ICE has hired.
“Are they police officers that already have this training, so they don’t have to worry about it?” she asked. “Is it individuals that don’t have any law enforcement background?”
Schwank said the cadets he met genuinely wanted to learn and to do their jobs correctly but didn’t arrive with a law enforcement background.
“I’ve had cadets who are 18 years old,” he said. “I had a cadet who celebrated her 19th birthday in her classes. We have cadets who don’t have college degrees. We have cadets for whom English is not their primary language.”
Orlando-native Jack Hughes scored the game-winning goal for the United States in Sunday’s men’s hockey gold medal game of the Milan Cortina Olympics.The U.S. defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime after Hughes scored to secure the Americans a third Olympic title, and their first since 1980, famously known as the “Miracle on Ice” game. His father, Jim Hughes, was an assistant coach for the Orlando Solar Bears (IHL) for two seasons (1999-2000 and 2000-01). Reporting from the Associated Press: MILAN (AP) — No miracle needed. The United States is on top of the hockey world for the first time in nearly half a century.Jack Hughes scored in overtime, and the U.S. defeated Canada 2-1 in the gold medal final at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Sunday to earn the nation’s third men’s title at the Games and its first since the “Miracle on Ice” in 1980 — 46 years to the day of the upset over the Soviet Union, too.Unlike that ragtag group of college kids that pulled off one of the biggest shockers in sports history, the Americans in Milan were a machine that rode goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and a stacked roster full of NHL players through the tournament unbeaten.“This is all about our country right now,” Hughes said. “I love the U.S.A. I love my teammates. It’s unbelievable. The USA Hockey brotherhood is so strong.”Hughes’ goal off the rush off a pass from Zach Werenski 1:41 into 3-on-3 OT sent players into a wild celebration as Canada’s entire team watched from the bench. Werenski and Matthew Tkachuk carried a Johnny Gaudreau No. 13 around the ice as the latest tribute to the beloved player who was killed along with his brother in 2024.Gaudreau’s parents, Guy and Jay, his widow, Meredith, and their oldest children were in attendance. It was John Jr.’s second birthday.Hellebuyck was by far the best player on the ice, stopping 41 of the 42 shots he faced as Canada tilted the ice toward him. He made the save of the tournament by getting his stick on the puck on a shot from Devon Toews in the third period, then minutes later denied Macklin Celebrini on a breakaway — something he also did to Connor McDavid earlier.“Unbelievable game by Hellebuyck,” Hughes said. “He was our best player by a mile.”It was only fitting the Americans needed to go through Canada, their northern neighbor that beat them at the 4 Nations Face-Off a year ago and has won every international competition over the past 16 years that featured the world’s best players.Not anymore.Winning a fast-paced, riveting game that was full of big hits and plenty of post-whistle altercations, the U.S. got a goal from Matt Boldy 6 minutes in and led until Cale Makar tied it late in the second period. Hellebuyck and the penalty kill was a perfect 18 for 18 at the Olympics.“I can’t even believe this,” Hughes said. “I mean it’s such an unbelievable game, USA-Canada. Such a good game. There’s so many great players. We’re a great team. That’s exactly how we wanted it to go. We’re underdogs to Canada, (but we) beat them. It could have gone either way.”The U.S. finally came through after generations of churning out talent from the grassroots level like a production line. All but two of the 25 players on the team went through USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program.That group of 23 includes captain Auston Matthews, the top line of Brady and Matthew Tkachuk and Jack Eichel, and the second set of brothers, Jack and Quinn Hughes. Much of the team played together either at the program, under-18s, the world junior championship or some combination of them.The U.S. winning silenced criticism of general manager Bill Guerin and his management group choosing a roster full of experienced veteran players to fill specific roles and leaving four of the top 10 American goal-scorers in the NHL this season at home. Some decisions were no-doubters, like coach Mike Sullivan giving the net to Hellebuyck, who was the best goalie in the tournament.Canada, back-to-back Olympic champions in 2010 and ’14 and winners of three of the first five, fell short while playing without injured captain Sidney Crosby. The 38-year-old two-time gold medalist and three-time Stanley Cup champion left the quarterfinal game against Czechia and sat out the semifinal game against Finland.McDavid, the widely considered best player in the world who wore the “C” in Crosby’s absence, suffered another devastating defeat on the doorstep of a title. He and the Edmonton Oilers have lost to Matthew Tkachuk and the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final each of the past two years.
Orlando-native Jack Hughes scored the game-winning goal for the United States in Sunday’s men’s hockey gold medal game of the Milan Cortina Olympics.
The U.S. defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime after Hughes scored to secure the Americans a third Olympic title, and their first since 1980, famously known as the “Miracle on Ice” game.
His father, Jim Hughes, was an assistant coach for the Orlando Solar Bears (IHL) for two seasons (1999-2000 and 2000-01).
Reporting from the Associated Press:
MILAN (AP) — No miracle needed. The United States is on top of the hockey world for the first time in nearly half a century.
Jack Hughes scored in overtime, and the U.S. defeated Canada 2-1 in the gold medal final at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Sunday to earn the nation’s third men’s title at the Games and its first since the “Miracle on Ice” in 1980 — 46 years to the day of the upset over the Soviet Union, too.
Unlike that ragtag group of college kids that pulled off one of the biggest shockers in sports history, the Americans in Milan were a machine that rode goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and a stacked roster full of NHL players through the tournament unbeaten.
“This is all about our country right now,” Hughes said. “I love the U.S.A. I love my teammates. It’s unbelievable. The USA Hockey brotherhood is so strong.”
Hughes’ goal off the rush off a pass from Zach Werenski 1:41 into 3-on-3 OT sent players into a wild celebration as Canada’s entire team watched from the bench. Werenski and Matthew Tkachuk carried a Johnny Gaudreau No. 13 around the ice as the latest tribute to the beloved player who was killed along with his brother in 2024.
Gaudreau’s parents, Guy and Jay, his widow, Meredith, and their oldest children were in attendance. It was John Jr.’s second birthday.
Hellebuyck was by far the best player on the ice, stopping 41 of the 42 shots he faced as Canada tilted the ice toward him. He made the save of the tournament by getting his stick on the puck on a shot from Devon Toews in the third period, then minutes later denied Macklin Celebrini on a breakaway — something he also did to Connor McDavid earlier.
“Unbelievable game by Hellebuyck,” Hughes said. “He was our best player by a mile.”
It was only fitting the Americans needed to go through Canada, their northern neighbor that beat them at the 4 Nations Face-Off a year ago and has won every international competition over the past 16 years that featured the world’s best players.
Not anymore.
Winning a fast-paced, riveting game that was full of big hits and plenty of post-whistle altercations, the U.S. got a goal from Matt Boldy 6 minutes in and led until Cale Makar tied it late in the second period. Hellebuyck and the penalty kill was a perfect 18 for 18 at the Olympics.
“I can’t even believe this,” Hughes said. “I mean it’s such an unbelievable game, USA-Canada. Such a good game. There’s so many great players. We’re a great team. That’s exactly how we wanted it to go. We’re underdogs to Canada, (but we) beat them. It could have gone either way.”
The U.S. finally came through after generations of churning out talent from the grassroots level like a production line. All but two of the 25 players on the team went through USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program.
That group of 23 includes captain Auston Matthews, the top line of Brady and Matthew Tkachuk and Jack Eichel, and the second set of brothers, Jack and Quinn Hughes. Much of the team played together either at the program, under-18s, the world junior championship or some combination of them.
The U.S. winning silenced criticism of general manager Bill Guerin and his management group choosing a roster full of experienced veteran players to fill specific roles and leaving four of the top 10 American goal-scorers in the NHL this season at home. Some decisions were no-doubters, like coach Mike Sullivan giving the net to Hellebuyck, who was the best goalie in the tournament.
Canada, back-to-back Olympic champions in 2010 and ’14 and winners of three of the first five, fell short while playing without injured captain Sidney Crosby. The 38-year-old two-time gold medalist and three-time Stanley Cup champion left the quarterfinal game against Czechia and sat out the semifinal game against Finland.
McDavid, the widely considered best player in the world who wore the “C” in Crosby’s absence, suffered another devastating defeat on the doorstep of a title. He and the Edmonton Oilers have lost to Matthew Tkachuk and the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final each of the past two years.
Surrounded on stage by the Prince George’s County Council and numerous other leaders, County Executive Aisha Braveboy said she plans to introduce legislation mirroring the executive order she signed Thursday opposing immigration enforcement actions so it can be considered and passed by the council.
Surrounded on stage by the Prince George’s County Council and numerous other leaders, County Executive Aisha Braveboy said she will seek to have the executive order she signed Thursday opposing immigration enforcement actions be drafted into legislation and passed by the council.
In about two weeks, county residents will begin seeing large bilingual signs in English and Spanish informing immigrants that county-run government buildings, garages and other facilities are locations where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is not allowed to operate.
“We are taking decisive action to protect our diversity and those residents who chose to call America and Prince George’s County home,” Braveboy said. “We are establishing that county buildings, garages and parking lots are safe spaces in Prince George’s County — safe from ICE operations and other federal interventions that disrupt the quality of life for people in Prince George’s County.”
Braveboy said the decision to print the signs in both English and Spanish was an easy one.
“So that everyone understands that this is a safe space in Prince George’s County,” she said.
The order prohibits the Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement from issuing occupancy permits to ICE.
Standing on the stage with Braveboy and dozens of Prince George’s County officials in a unified show of support was Democratic Maryland Rep. Glenn Ivey.
“I think it’s critical for us to understand that we’ve got to fight back and we’ve got to win,” Ivey said, emphasizing that Prince George’s County and the state of Maryland have been hard hit since the Trump administration returned to office. “The target has already been on our back, since Jan. 20 of last year.”
Ivey said ICE’s actions in Minnesota are a main reason why congressional Democrats are holding firm when it comes to the partial government shutdown with the Department of Homeland Security, which is at the center of the dispute.
“It has been happening for a long time. We’ve had ICE here now for months, not just in Prince George’s County but across the state,” Ivey said.
Ivey said ICE’s actions in Minnesota are a main reason why Congressional Democrats are holding firm when it comes to the partial government shutdown with the Department of Homeland Security at the center of the dispute.
“That’s what we saw in Minnesota. They rolled in, they sent in 3,000 ICE officers,” Ivey said. “It’s clear that we’re going to have to fight, not just on ICE, but on all levels.”
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VANCOUVER, Wash. — The Clark County Council adopted a resolution this week regarding federal immigration and ICE. It expresses alarm over reported federal immigratoin enforcement tactics along the 4th Plain corridor and elsewhere throughout Vancouver and Clark County.
The resolution attempts to clarify the county’s role with federal agents for personell, services and resources. The vote was 4-1 with Councilor Michelle Belkot voting no.
The Council heard testimony for weeks on the issue before voting.
There is no doubt that under the current Trump administration, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)has been reduced to the role of hired goons. In case anyone disagrees with this position, you can simply browse through any social media platform, but especially X (formerly Twitter), where you will find innumerable examples of ICE villainising the immigrant populations residing in the US. Not just that, of late, they have also extended their area of influence and are attacking US citizens, too. Case in point: Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.
Under Donald Trump’s about-to-be-dictatorial regime, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has become extremely lawless, so much so that questions are being raised about the qualifications and training of agents. Because how else do you justify these people killing two American citizens, while they were in no way trying to harm them? Everyone has the right to protest. Just because one has a gun and doesn’t like what the person on the other side is doing, that doesn’t give them the right to take someone’s life.
ICE under scrutiny for allegedly assaulting a detained woman
The presence of ICE agents throughout the United States is no longer an oddity, and neither are their malpractices under the current Trump administration. Everyone is aware of agents manhandling and detaining individuals. But now, reports suggest that the people who are being detained in facilities are also being subjected to neglect and sometimes ill treatment.
For instance, a particular case that has emerged through a video currently circulating on social media platforms, including X (formerly Twitter), has pretty much enraged the masses. And why wouldn’t it? In this clip, a woman is alleging that an ICE officer, at whom she is pointing the camera, sexually assaulted her. In the video, she remarks, “She grabbed my tit. That’s the one that grabbed my tit. She full titty grabbed me.” The officer’s reaction to this? Cold and completely unacceptable. She says, “You liked it,” before adding, “I’m pretty sure you were crying in there. Yeah, I remember you shivering and crying.” Disgusting!
ICE agents assaulting people is not a new development
According to an article published by the Associated Press on February 11, 2026, based on a review, the publication found that “at least two dozen U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees and contractors have been charged with crimes since 2020.” The piece additionally states that these individuals had repeated misdemeanours in the departments of physical and sexual abuse, corruption and “other abuses of authority.”
The Associated Press article also highlighted several other harrowing details about ICE agents. For example, it revealed that investigators had found that one immigration enforcement official was physically assaulting his girlfriend for several years and got away with it repeatedly. Another official, on the other hand, repeatedly sexually abused a woman while she was in his custody and even admitted to it. A third official was taking bribes to “remove detention orders on people targeted for deportation.”
Sanchari Ghosh is a political writer for The Mary Sue who enjoys keeping up with what’s going on in the world and sometimes reminding everyone what they should be talking about. She’s been around for a few years, but still gets excited whenever she disentangles a complicated story. When she’s not writing, she’s likely sleeping, eating, daydreaming, or just hanging out with friends. Politics is her passion, but so is an amazing nap.
Dozens of protesters marched down the streets of Hyattsville, Maryland, protesting a proposed Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.
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Dozens rally against proposed ICE facility in Hyattsville
Dozens of demonstrators marched down the streets of Hyattsville, Maryland, protesting a proposed Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.
Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey and other Maryland elected officials sent a letter this week to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE Director Todd Lyons for more information about the project.
“When ICE agents kill people, when ICE agents terrorize people, when ICE agents separate children from parents, and they do not even identify themselves — they hide, they hide their faces — they are given the right to do anything with absolute immunity,” Charles Askins, a Hyattsville resident told WTOP. “That is the worst of the worst, not immigrants.”
Askins was one of the many protesters who marched through Hyattsville, ending in front of the building of the proposed new office on Belcrest Road.
In the letter to DHS officials, Ivey wrote, “Given the significant community concern surrounding ICE operations and the potential local impact of this expansion mere blocks from a church, a sensitive location and in the same building as a local Social Services Office of Family Investment, serving young children and families — we are requesting detailed information regarding this proposed facility.”
The letter was also signed by Maryland senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks. It requests more information about the operations and size and scope of the office, and whether it will be an enforcement arm with holding cells or just an administrative office.
“I’ve seen what those detention centers look like,” Ivey said. “They treat people terribly. They’re horrible conditions. I’ve seen animal shelters that are better than some of the detention centers they’re running. And we don’t want the roving patrols. We don’t want this to turn into Minneapolis.”
When asked about the recent ban of 287(g) agreements signed by Gov. Wes Moore and whether President Donald Trump’s administration will continue immigration enforcement in the state, Ivey said, “Trump’s mode of operation has just been to go do what he wants to do, and he keeps doing it until people push back.”
“That’s what we saw in Minnesota,” he continued. “They rolled in, they sent in 3,000 ICE officers. That’s five times more ICE agents than they had than police officers in the Minneapolis Police Department. The community stood up and pushed back, and they ran them out of town.”
The congressman walked with other local leaders during their short march, including Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy and Hyattsville Mayor Robert Croslin.
“The only thing that I can do right now is to thank you all,” Croslin said to the many marchers waving signs reading “No ICE.” “And to let you know that Hyattsville is a sanctuary city.”
Braveboy announced that she would be signing an executive order Thursday that would further limit local law enforcement from working with ICE officers.
Hyattsville resident Kathy Hogle said many of her neighbors are immigrants and fear immigration enforcement.
“Probably the most important thing at this moment is that we have now hundreds of thousands of families who don’t have their breadwinners, hundreds of thousands of families that have been traumatized and that will have to live with this trauma for generations,” Hogle said.
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It’s no secret that the Trump administration is thin-skinned about criticism and intolerant of efforts to document its activities. Administration officials smear ideological opponents and those who monitor Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as potential “domestic terrorists.” So, it’s no surprise the administration is targeting online channels where its opponents coordinate. It’s no surprise, that is, but it’s an intolerable attack by yet another presidential administration on free speech rights.
Last week, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) urged tech companies to resist federal demands for data about users who have been critical of the administration.
You are reading The Rattler from J.D. Tuccille and Reason. Get more of J.D.’s commentary on government overreach and threats to everyday liberty.
“DHS has consistently targeted people engaged in First Amendment activity,” warns Mario Trujillo, a senior staff attorney for the civil liberties group. “Among other things, the agency has issued subpoenas to technology companies to unmask or locate people who have documented ICE’s activities in their community, criticized the government, or attended protests.”
Trujillo emphasizes that the subpoenas “are unlawful” and that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been leery of testing their legitimacy. In November, DHS withdrew a subpoena seeking details about Instagram users who posted about ICE raids in Los Angeles rather than defend the document in court.
EFF recommends that tech companies abide by recommendations developed with the ACLU of Northern California. Among other things, it urges that subpoena recipients fight the demands in court, inform targeted users so they can secure legal assistance, and resist gag orders that seek to prevent recipients from warning users and publicly discussing the situation.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is also battling the administration’s war against critics. As reported by Reason‘s August Billings, FIRE is suing the federal government on behalf of two plaintiffs who created a Facebook group and an app that helped people document ICE activities.
“As U.S. citizens, we have the right to keep each other informed about what our government officials are doing and how they’re doing it,” commented Mark Hodges, one of the plaintiffs.
The problem is that the Trump administration doesn’t recognize that right. In December. Reason‘s C.J. Ciaramella asked a DHS representative if the feds considered following or recording federal agents to be obstruction of justice. He was told, “That sure sounds like obstruction of justice.”
Since then, after violent clashes in Minneapolis culminating in two killings of protesters by federal agents, the FBI has opened an investigation into Signal group chats used by opponents of the federal immigration crackdown.
“That sort of Signal chat being coordinated with individuals, not just locally in Minnesota, but maybe even around the country,” FBI Director Kash Patel commented, “if that leads to a break in the federal statute or a violation of some law, then we are going to arrest people.”
Patel claims the investigation will result in arrests “if” Signal chats lead to violations of law, but that’s a big “if” that could be applied to any conversation at any time. Recording, tracking, and sharing information about government enforcers is perfectly illegal.
“While the Supreme Court itself hasn’t yet faced the issue squarely, the seven federal circuits that have done so—the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th, and 11th—all agree that the First Amendment protects the right to record police performing their duties in public,” points out Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies.
The Trump administration must have some lawyers on staff who told them the same thing. So, federal officials have complained that critics are doxing—collecting and publicizing information about—federal agents and that this is, perhaps, illegal-ish.
“Videotaping ICE law enforcement and posting photos and videos of them online is doxing our agents,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told the Center for Media and Democracy last September. “We will prosecute those who illegally harass ICE agents to the fullest extent of the law.”
But doxxing isn’t illegally harassing. It’s not illegal anything.
“Government officials and employees don’t enjoy special immunity from ‘doxxing’,” writes David L. Hudson, Jr., associate professor of law at Belmont University, for FIRE. “Merely disclosing the names of government agents or places where they carry out their official duties is constitutionally protected speech, especially when tied to political criticism.”
If collected information is then used to do something illegal—like attack people in their homes—that’s a different matter. But it’s that extra action that violates the law, not the gathering of faces, names, and addresses. Unfortunately, the administration (like many of its predecessors) seems to have a problem with criticism and opposition of any sort.
In the wake of the assassination of conservative figure Charlie Kirk, when many Americans were understandably profoundly upset by the crime, the White House issued a memo charging that “common threads animating this violent conduct include anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity; support for the overthrow of the United States Government; extremism on migration, race, and gender; and hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality.” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi followed up with a directive to federal prosecutors and law enforcement agencies to target “domestic terrorists” identified in part by “extreme viewpoints on immigration, radical gender ideology, and anti-American sentiment.”
It’s true that these viewpoints can inspire crimes—just look at Kirk’s murder, for starters. But if you target beliefs rather than violent actions, you go down a dangerous path that threatens everybody. Under the last administration, the FBI investigated fans of the Gadsden flag and other “Revolutionary War imagery.” In both cases, government officials clearly targeted opponents, not crimes. The intent was to stifle people’s right to dissent, not address real threats to the public.
That’s why the EFF, FIRE, tech companies, and regular people need to resist efforts to investigate critics of the government and to shut down communications platforms. They need to resist not because the critics are always right, but because governments can’t be permitted to target and muzzle their opponents.
Wunmi Mosaku says it feels “truly dystopian” to celebrate her best supporting actress Oscar nomination after people were killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The Sinners actress, who became a first-time nominee last month for her role as Annie in the Ryan Coogler-directed film, recently spoke during an interview with the Timesof London about the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of ICE agents last month.
“I’ve not been able to celebrate because of what’s going on right now, with the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minnesota and the kidnapping of a five-year-old boy,” Mosaku said. “It’s difficult to hold both the nomination and the news because one feels beautiful and one is so dark and heavy; truly dystopian — how can I possibly go out and buy some drinks and enjoy the moment?”
She added that her husband “is not as shocked as I am at the news. There’s a very strange American psyche where terrible things happen and people still can go to work the next day, whereas I’m floored for a week and think, ‘How are people going to crowded places when this has just happened?’ I want a cocoon. My reaction reminds him that this is not normal.”
Mosaku joins other celebrities who have spoken out against ICE and the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies, including Billie Eilish and Bad Bunny, who called out ICE during the 2026 Grammys. Bruce Springsteen also released an anti-ICE song about the “state terror” in Minneapolis following the deaths of Good and Pretti. More recently, at the Spirit Awards on Sunday, Natasha Rothwell, Tessa Thompson and Kumail Nanjiani also protested the federal immigrationagency.
After learning of her Oscar nomination last month, Mosaku told The Hollywood Reporter at the time that her nod felt even more special because of the impact her Sinners character had on Black women.
“Just knowing how a lot of Black women felt when seeing me represent her, just feeling lovable and soft and strong and powerful and loving and all of our humanity and our mystique and power and spirituality and our ancestors and our connection and our purpose — seeing the response, hearing the response from other Black women felt really healing. So just knowing that this character is being celebrated in award season feels really good. I don’t take it lightly,” Mosaku said.
“I always say more than anything, I’m so grateful for the people who poured into Ryan to give him this gift and see us in all of our humanity and our gentleness and how much he loves Black women because he wrote that role and he cast me,” she continued. “He hasn’t been tainted by capitalism and the ideas of what femininity is and what beauty is.”
Police identified the shooter involved in a deadly assault inside a hockey rink in Rhode Island and credited a good Samaritan for helping to stop the attack.Three people, including the suspected gunman, are dead and officials said three others were injured in the shooting that happened during a scheduled hockey game at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, two miles from the Rhode Island-Massachusetts border. According to Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves, the shooting may have been domestic in nature, as the victims included members of the suspect’s family and a family friend. Investigators believe the shooter fatally shot himself after the incident, Goncalves said.”A good Samaritan stepped in and interjected in the scene and that’s probably what led to a swift end of this tragic event,” Goncalves said.Goncalves later said the shooter, born in 1969, was born as Robert Dorgan, but also uses the name Roberta and the surname Esposito.More than one weapon was recovered from the scene, the chief also said.Video below: Police chief says bystander intervened in hockey game shootingTwo teams made up of students from multiple schools were playing in hockey games at the arena when the shooting took place. One of the schools was celebrating Senior Night, which honors senior student-athletes and their families during what is usually the final game of the season.All of the schools involved in the game confirmed that their students and players were not injured in the shooting.One woman and her son said they were in the stands when they heard the gunshots.”After four shots, we saw everybody hitting the ground,” she said. “The first thing I thought was where’s my kid? I turned around, I looked toward the stands and he was there and I was just screaming at him to get down. I went back in to see where he was and I saw them doing CPR in the stands. It was really disturbing.”Students in many school districts in the area are currently on February break. A 16-year-old goalie for one of the teams said he was on the ice when shots rang out.”I’m overwhelmed, but trying to stay calm,” he said. “You don’t know what it feels like until you’re in it.”In the wake of the shooting, the Rhode Island Interscholastic League announced that it was temporarily suspending all games “out of respect for the victims and to reflect upon this senseless act of violence.”Video below: Hockey players raced across ice after shots fired in arenaA bus filled with hockey players, parents and family members who were inside the arena at the time of the shooting was taken to the Pawtucket Police Headquarters. Mayor Donald Grebien said investigators had conducted about 100 interviews in the hours after the incident.A woman who was leaving the Pawtucket Police Department after the shooting told sister station WCVB that her father was the shooter.”My father was the shooter,” she said, without giving her name. “He shot my family, and he’s dead now.”She also said, “He has mental health issues.” Later Monday evening, investigators were seen towing a white van from the parking lot outside the arena.FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that the agency was assisting state and local police in the shooting investigation.
Police identified the shooter involved in a deadly assault inside a hockey rink in Rhode Island and credited a good Samaritan for helping to stop the attack.
Three people, including the suspected gunman, are dead and officials said three others were injured in the shooting that happened during a scheduled hockey game at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, two miles from the Rhode Island-Massachusetts border.
According to Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves, the shooting may have been domestic in nature, as the victims included members of the suspect’s family and a family friend. Investigators believe the shooter fatally shot himself after the incident, Goncalves said.
“A good Samaritan stepped in and interjected in the scene and that’s probably what led to a swift end of this tragic event,” Goncalves said.
Goncalves later said the shooter, born in 1969, was born as Robert Dorgan, but also uses the name Roberta and the surname Esposito.
More than one weapon was recovered from the scene, the chief also said.
Video below: Police chief says bystander intervened in hockey game shooting
One of the schools was celebrating Senior Night, which honors senior student-athletes and their families during what is usually the final game of the season.
All of the schools involved in the game confirmed that their students and players were not injured in the shooting.
One woman and her son said they were in the stands when they heard the gunshots.
“After four shots, we saw everybody hitting the ground,” she said. “The first thing I thought was where’s my kid? I turned around, I looked toward the stands and he was there and I was just screaming at him to get down. I went back in to see where he was and I saw them doing CPR in the stands. It was really disturbing.”
Students in many school districts in the area are currently on February break.
A 16-year-old goalie for one of the teams said he was on the ice when shots rang out.
“I’m overwhelmed, but trying to stay calm,” he said. “You don’t know what it feels like until you’re in it.”
In the wake of the shooting, the Rhode Island Interscholastic League announced that it was temporarily suspending all games “out of respect for the victims and to reflect upon this senseless act of violence.”
Video below: Hockey players raced across ice after shots fired in arena
A bus filled with hockey players, parents and family members who were inside the arena at the time of the shooting was taken to the Pawtucket Police Headquarters. Mayor Donald Grebien said investigators had conducted about 100 interviews in the hours after the incident.
A woman who was leaving the Pawtucket Police Department after the shooting told sister station WCVB that her father was the shooter.
“My father was the shooter,” she said, without giving her name. “He shot my family, and he’s dead now.”
She also said, “He has mental health issues.”
Later Monday evening, investigators were seen towing a white van from the parking lot outside the arena.
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that the agency was assisting state and local police in the shooting investigation.
The frustration around the Irvington BART station is understandable, but what rings hollow is the sudden outrage from Aisha Wahab, who has been absent from the regional transportation conversation until launching a campaign for Congress.
For years, BART’s structural funding problems, service cuts and capital delays were well known, yet there was no public leadership on these issues from her. Now, in the middle of a high-profile race, state official business is being repackaged as campaign messaging. Calling out BART after the fact, without having done the hard work of coalition-building, regional coordination or advancing long-term transit funding solutions, looks less like leadership and more like political grandstanding. Using official letters and legislative stature to generate headlines may score short-term attention, but it does not move projects forward.
Residents deserve serious, sustained advocacy on transportation, not last-minute positioning designed to boost a political profile. California deserves better.
Katelyn Rubadue Vacaville
The illegality is coming from ICE agents
I encourage anyone who hasn’t listened to the Feb. 3 congressional hearing on ICE and Border Patrol tactics to please do so. Three American citizens, Marimar Martinez, Aliya Rahman and Daniel Rascon, testified before this joint session and spoke about abuses ICE and Border Patrol used on them. It was chilling.
Martinez and Rascon were immediately castigated as being “domestic terrorists.” Sound familiar? Yes, the same lies spread by this administration.
Martinez was shot five times by a Border Patrol agent and had “7 holes” in her body. The agent who shot her texted his buddies, “I fired five rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys.” The other two “holes” in her body were from ricocheted bullets.
If anyone thinks it is the lack of cooperation from state and local police that is causing this abuse, they are sorely mistaken. It’s the agents themselves.
Lisa Rigge Pleasanton
Redirecting FBI agents is cause for concern
All Americans should be concerned about the Trump administration’s cuts and change of focus in the FBI. An area of major concern is the rapidly growing increase in cybercrime.
Donald Trump has changed much of the FBI’s traditional focus to immigration. Over 20% of the FBI workforce has been taken away from priorities such as cybercrime, terrorism and drug trafficking. This has left blind spots in our digital defenses while cybercrime is on the rise, reaching a record $16 billion loss and growing annually.
Last year, Trump dropped one-third of pending enforcement actions against tech companies. In the largest field offices, up to 40% of agents assigned to cybercrime, financial fraud and public corruption have been reassigned to immigration. This action seems to be misguided and dangerous.
Kit Miller Walnut Creek
Strengthen vet rule for rodeos, charreadas
California boasts the nation’s most comprehensive rodeo law, Penal Code 596.7, the result of 1999 legislation carried by state Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland. The law was amended in 2007 to include the Mexican charreadas.
Current law requires either an on-site or on-call veterinarian at every rodeo and/or charreada, and bans the use of electric prods in the holding chutes; it also requires that animal injury reports be submitted to the State Veterinary Medical Board.
Current law needs amending to require on-site veterinarians — dropping the woefully inadequate “on-call” veterinarian option. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, racetracks, horse shows and endurance rides all require on-site vets — so should all rodeos and charreadas.
The charreada’s brutal “steer tailing” event has been outlawed in two California counties (Alameda and Contra Costa). Steers’ tails are routinely stripped to the bone (“degloved”), broken, even torn off. A state-wide ban is in order. Feb. 20 is the deadline in the state Legislature for introduction of new bills. Let your reps hear from you.
DAVID, WHAT CAN YOU SEE? BEN I’VE NOW BEEN SENT A LONGER VERSION OF THE VIDEO THAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER. AGAIN, THIS IS NOT VIDEO THAT WE CAN SHARE ON TV AT THIS POINT, BUT I CAN TELL YOU, I CAN DESCRIBE IT. THE GAME IS GOING ON. THERE ARE GUNSHOTS THAT ARE HEARD, THE PLAYERS AND THE BENCHES START CLIMBING OVER ONE ANOTHER. THEN SOME OF THEM START TO RUN FOR THE EXITS. A BUNCH OF THEM JUMP OUT ONTO THE ICE RINK AND SKATE ACROSS TO THE OTHER SIDE, AND THEN THE CAMERA PANS OVER TO SOME STANDS WHERE APPARENTLY SOME PARENTS OR FAMILIES ARE. SPECTATORS WERE WERE GATHERED WATCHING IT, AND THAT THERE’S SOME ACTIVITY OVER THERE THAT SUGGESTS THAT THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN WHERE THE SHOOTING TOOK PLACE. IT’S NOT EXACTLY CLEAR. YOU CAN’T SEE THE SHOOTER IN THIS VIDEO, BUT YOU CAN CERTAINLY SEE THE REACTION. AND YOU GET A SENSE OF OF HOW TERRIFYING IT MUST HAVE BEEN INSIDE THAT ARENA. OUTSIDE THE ARENA, WE SAW AN ATF AGENT ARRIVE A SHORT TIME AGO TO JOIN THE OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT THAT HAS GATHERED AROUND HERE. PEOPLE HAVE SLOWLY BEEN LEAVING THE SCENE UNDER POLICE ESCORT. AT THIS POINT, WE HAVE
Hockey players raced across ice after shots fired in Rhode Island rink
Video reviewed by sister station WCVB shows hockey players rushing across the ice or out into the stands after shots were fired inside a Rhode Island ice rink. David Bienick, with Boston sister station WCVB, reviewed a copy of the video. “This is not video that we can share on TV at this point, but I can tell you, I can describe it,” Bienick said. “The game is going on. There are gunshots that are heard. The players clear the benches, start climbing over one another, and then some of them start to run for the exits.”Several players from both teams jump out onto the ice and skate across to the far side. The shooting happened at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena on Andrew D. Ferland Way in Pawtucket, just before 3 p.m. Monday.A high school hockey game was scheduled at the arena for 2 p.m.
David Bienick, with Boston sister station WCVB, reviewed a copy of the video.
“This is not video that we can share on TV at this point, but I can tell you, I can describe it,” Bienick said. “The game is going on. There are gunshots that are heard. The players clear the benches, start climbing over one another, and then some of them start to run for the exits.”
Several players from both teams jump out onto the ice and skate across to the far side.
The shooting happened at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena on Andrew D. Ferland Way in Pawtucket, just before 3 p.m. Monday.
A high school hockey game was scheduled at the arena for 2 p.m.
RE: “Trump plans to host governors at White House, but only Republicans,” Feb. 8 news story
President Trump’s initial ban on Democratic governors from the National Governors Association meeting at the White House was bad enough. Worse, for Colorado, Trump personally uninvited Gov. Jared Polis from the bipartisan dinner (with gubernatorial spouses) that follows. It’s obvious Trump is royally enraged at our state.
Why? Recall: Tina Peters, former Mesa County clerk and current MAGA martyr, is sitting in state prison, beyond the reach of Trump’s presidential pardon. And Congresswoman Lauren Boebert was a key Republican vote in forcing the release of the Epstein files — in revenge, Trump cancelled a big water project in her district.
But Trump is never really done with revenge, is he?
Don’t be surprised if Trump targets Colorado as the next stop on the ICE circus tour. Aside from his pre-existing grievances against us, we’re a natural target. Deep blue state. A “sanctuary city” as the state capital, run (like Minneapolis) by another young, earnest, progressive mayor. Tons of undocumented immigrants, easily swept up in the dragnet.
Coloradans need to start preparing.
Marty Rush, Salida
Political Armageddon could really be on the horizon
Re: “The problem with making every election an existential threat for the U.S.,” Feb. 8 commentary
While I appreciate David M. Drucker’s notion that we need not declare that the sky is falling before and after each election, I do believe this administration and its Republican cohorts in the House and Senate have crossed some governance red lines that contradict the basic principles this country was founded on.
Shooting and beating American citizens in the streets, demolishing history, covering up obvious crimes, threatening our allies, targeting political adversaries and using the office for personal enrichment are just a few things that have occurred and gone unchecked by powers that control Congress.
Most recently, they have been trying their absolute hardest to preserve power or at least limit the damage in the upcoming elections with their calls for gerrymandered districts, laws that will restrict voting and a needless investigation into a settled election.
While Drucker points out the pendulum frequently swings back in our politics, I fear this time the damage left behind by the lack of checks and balances will exist for many election cycles to come. For these reasons, the next election and certainly the following could be political Armageddon, resulting in the sky actually falling on this republic.
Tony Hillas, Centennial
George Washington’s fears are our realities
Re: “One of Trump’s most destructive moves,” Feb. 8 commentary
I enjoyed Martin Schram’s article, which reminded me of a passage in a Nathaniel Philbrick book about George Washington. Philbrick said what worried Washington most was what might happen if a president’s chief priority was to divide rather than unite the people. Washington said: “It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another.”
Sadly, it seems we are currently experiencing much of what Washington feared.
Joseph Heard, Denver
More people preparing for less water?
Re: “The world is in water bankruptcy,” Feb. 8 commentary
As I read this, I said to myself, “Here we go again, trying to divvy up water that doesn’t exist.”
Comparing a resource necessary to sustain life to money, essentially a made-up “resource,” is laughable. So, the “solution” proposed is “plan for less water.” That might work now, but what about the two billion additional people projected in the next 20 years or so? I guess we’ll “plan” on even less water then.
It all comes down to simple math.
Greg Albrecht, Aurora
‘Wolf reintroduction ‘based on the best and current science practices’
Krista Kafa got things wrong when comparing wolf reintroduction to wolverine reintroduction.
First, a law is a law. After Prop 114 was codified as Statute 33-2-105.8 in 2020, the reintroduction was in the “hands of the agency’s wildlife experts.” CPW convened two groups to develop the Colorado Wolf Reintroduction Management Plan. The Technical Working Group (TWG) and the Stakeholder Advisory Group (SAG) worked tirelessly for two years.
The TWG was composed of wildlife management professionals, biologists, ecologists, and other scientists who provided expertise on management strategies. The SAG group consisted of a diverse group of representatives, including those from the livestock industry, hunters, outfitters, and conservationists. All stakeholders were represented and given opportunities to express concerns. This process was not “dismissive of ranchers’ concerns,” and public meetings guaranteed transparency.
Second, what project have you initiated that didn’t run over time and over budget? Yes, $800,000 a year was estimated, but the $8 million Kafer refers to is over a 5-year period. In the beginning, depredation expenses were high because some ranchers refused to implement recommended deterrence methods. Some openly expressed that they wanted this experiment to fail.
Colorado wolf reintroduction is based on the best and current science practices. Kafer continues the bias against wolves by insinuating that the state has reintroduced lynx, elk, moose, turkeys, grouse, ferrets, and now wolverines based on science, but not wolves. CPW decisions and the works of experts tell a different story. The science of ecology and biodiversity has been the driving force in reintroducing wolves to Colorado.
Kathy Webster, Littleton
You shouldn’t dismiss the value of ballot-box biology
Whenever I read complaints about “ballot-box biology” regarding wolves in Colorado, I can be sure I’m hearing the perspective of someone trying to protect a privileged position regarding wildlife management.
Any discussion of the matter should start with the understanding that wildlife is a public resource. It belongs to all of us. Despite that, effective control over such management priorities has long rested with agriculturalists and hunters, whose interests are not always shared by the vast majority of Coloradans. In the face of what then might be called “feedlot biology” and “game-farm biology,” the ballot box can be the only method available to have their values recognized.
But the public is “uneducated” on the issues, detractors cry, as if stringing barbed wire, trapping bobcats, and poisoning prairie dogs were a litmus test of ecological literacy. While there are clearly varying degrees of understanding of wildlife among all stakeholders, I would argue that a wiser, science-based focus is more likely to come from the public sector than from those who profit from the decision-making.
Clint McKnight, Durango
The right to choose includes fighting to continue a pregnancy
Re: “Medication abortion is safe and effective, reversal efforts are untested and not recommended by doctors,” Feb. 8 commentary
As an Ob-Gyn physician who also incorporated abortion into my practice, my review of the science conflicts with Dr. Donald W. Aptekar’s opinion piece regarding the use of natural progesterone for abortion pill reversal (APR). How confusing this must be for people! Doctors should not simply parrot unsubstantiated talking points.
The legal opinion on the case, which Denver Post columnist Krista Kafer warned would cost the state millions of dollars in legal fees, reviewed the evidence. The plaintiffs prevailed because the evidence supports APR as a safe option for desperate women who change their minds after taking the first abortion pill, mifepristone. The decision noted that natural progesterone is used off-label for many conditions in women’s health, but the state outlawed only the choice of women to use it for APR.
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) and American Medical Association (AMA) refuse to endorse APR, but not, in fact, based on the breadth of current scientific literature, but rather on ideology.
The safety of progesterone during pregnancy is not in question. The FDA and Society of Reproductive Medicine both affirm that its use is safe. Doctors have prescribed it for more than 50 years for many off-label indications, including in women with threatened miscarriage, as well as in protocols to prevent preterm birth. It is used regularly for infertility and IVF. What is different when used to prevent miscarriage versus to reverse abortion from mifepristone is that mifepristone is associated with hemorrhage. This is not a safety issue of progesterone, but of mifepristone.
Colorado’s law affirms a woman’s “right to choose,” including the choice to continue a pregnancy. This lawsuit returned that option to Colorado women.
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration spent at least $40 million to deport roughly 300 migrants to countries other than their own as immigration officials expanded the practice over the last year to carry out President Donald Trump’s goals of quickly removing immigrants from the U.S., according to a report compiled by the Democratic staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The Democrats on the Foreign Relations panel, led by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, criticize the practice of third country deportations as “costly, wasteful and poorly monitored” in the report and call for “serious scrutiny of a policy that now operates largely in the dark.”
The State Department, which oversees the negotiations to implement the programs, has stood behind the practice of third country deportations and defended it as a part of Trump’s campaign to end illegal immigration.
“We’ve arrested people that are members of gangs and we’ve deported them. We don’t want gang members in our country,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded when asked about some of the third country deportations at a Senate hearing last month.
The report, which is the first congressional review of the agreements, found lump sum payments ranging between $4.7 million and $7.5 million to five countries – Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, El Salvador, Eswatini and Palau – to deport migrants to those nations. El Salvador has received about 250 Venezuelan nationals in March last year, while the other nations received far fewer deportees, ranging from 29 sent to Equatorial Guinea to none sent to Palau so far, according to the report.
The nations examined in the report are just a fraction of the Trump administration’s overall work to deport migrants to third countries. According to internal administration documents reviewed by The Associated Press, there are 47 third-country agreements at various stages of negotiation. Of those, 15 have been concluded and 10 are at or near conclusion.
The administration is also negotiating agreements with countries that will accept U.S. asylum seekers while their asylum claims are processed, according to the internal documents. There are 17 that are at various stages of negotiation, including 9 that have formally taken effect, although the administration claims that the agreements do not necessarily need to be concluded for people to be sent there.
Immigration advocacy groups have criticized the “third country” policy as a reckless tactic that violates due process rights and can strand deportees in countries with long histories of human rights violations and corruption.
During a visit to South Sudan, Democratic committee staff found a gated house with armed guards where deportees were held, including migrants from Vietnam and Mexico.
The Democrats also largely take aim at how wasteful and ineffective the policy may be. It details several instances of migrants being deported to a third country, only for the U.S. to later pay for another flight to return the migrant to their home country.
“In many cases, migrants could have been returned directly to their countries of origin, avoiding unnecessary flights and additional costs,” said Shaheen in a statement also signed by Democratic Sens. Chris Coons, Tammy Duckworth, Tim Kaine, Jack Rosen and Chris Van Hollen.
It also remains unclear what benefits the countries may receive – or expect – in return for accepting third-country nationals.
After an agreement was in place last year, South Sudan sent a list of requests to Washington that included American support for the prosecution of an opposition leader and sanctions relief for a senior official accused of diverting over a billion dollars in public funds, according to diplomatic communications made public by the State Department in January.
Shaheen has also questioned a $7.5 million payment sent to Equatorial Guinea that came at the same time the Trump administration was developing ties with the country’s vice president, Teodoro “Teddy” Nguema Obiang. He is notorious among world leaders accused of corruption for a lavish lifestyle that has attracted the attention of prosecutors in several countries.
Aurora students walked out of school on Friday in protest of the Trump administration’s continued mass deportation campaign, the second walkout staged by the city’s students this week and the third in two weeks.
The Aurora Police Department estimates that 500 to 600 students from up to 11 schools participated in the walkouts. Between around 10:30 a.m. and noon, the students left their schools, marched downtown and gathered in front of City Hall, police said.
East Aurora High School students were seen walking out and marching towards City Hall with flags and signs at around noon.
At City Hall, students were chanting things like “ICE out,” in reference to one of the federal agencies spearheading the mass deportations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Some blew whistles, which have become a symbol of resistance to ICE. Others held signs saying things like “Liberty and justice for all,” “Love melts ICE,” “Hate will not make us great” and “Families belong together.”
Between the protesters’ signs, Mexican and other flags flapped in the wind.
Meanwhile, cars driving by honked in apparent support as adults in high-visibility vests stood between the protestors and the road to encourage them to stay on the sidewalk.
For the most part, students remained on sidewalks, did not significantly impact traffic and complied with verbal directions, according to a police spokesperson.
No arrests were made during Friday’s walkouts, but police officers did address several reported disturbances, the spokesperson said.
Multiple drivers were issued traffic-related citations, including a vehicle that was driving recklessly with the driver issued multiple citations, a statement from the police department said.
At one point, a counter-protester holding a Trump flag stood on the opposite side of the street from the student protesters until he was chased away by a group of the students. Officers responded to a report of this incident, police said.
That group of protesters was then seen marching down Broadway before turning on Galena Boulevard and rejoining the rest of the student protesters through the Water Street Mall.
Around 1:30 p.m., groups began leaving the downtown area, separating into smaller groups and traveling to different locations throughout the city, according to a police spokesperson. Most activity was over by around 3 p.m.
But, after the downtown crowd had dispersed, an aggravated battery was reported in the 300 block of North Lincoln Avenue following a fight involving several young people, police said. The incident is still under investigation.
State Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, attended the students’ protest. Speaking with reporters before the walkout at East Aurora High School, she said that she was there because she believes in the right to peacefully assemble.
“The students are our future,” she told The Beacon-News. “They are why I do the work that I do every single day, so I’m here to stand with them.”
Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor ICE immediately responded to a request for comment about recent student walkouts in Aurora.
Many students at the protest in downtown Aurora on Feb. 13, 2026, held signs with messages of unity. (R. Christian Smith/The Beacon-News)
West Aurora School District 129 saw 50 students from its middle schools and 200 students from its high school walk out of class Friday, a district spokesperson said. Students from Indian Prairie School District 204 also participated in the walkouts, according to a district spokesperson.
East Aurora School District 131 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Thursday, East Aurora School District 131 and West Aurora School District 129 posted on Facebook a joint message from the districts’ two superintendents that discouraged students from walking out, asking students’ family and community members to encourage them to stay in school.
“When we discourage student walkouts, it’s a result of safety and a desire to protect the children placed in our care during the school day,” West Aurora Superintendent Michael Smith said in the video.
East Aurora, West Aurora and Indian Prairie school districts all said that students who walked out of class Friday would be marked as having an unexcused absence from class.
Both a Facebook post from East Aurora and the video message from the two districts’ superintendents included safety guidelines for students to follow if they did decide to walk out, including walking only on the sidewalk, not throwing items at others, having respectful interactions and following traffic laws.
“Videos from Monday’s walkout showed students not following these protocols — this is unacceptable and puts everyone at risk,” said East Aurora’s Facebook post. “We value student voice and encourage expression through safe, respectful means while remaining engaged in learning.”
In their video message, the two school districts’ superintendents said they were committed to finding a time outside of the school day for students and their families to make their voices heard in a way that is safe and respectful.
The Aurora Police Department, also in a post on Facebook, said Friday morning it was aware of several student walkouts planned for that day. Like the posts from the school districts, it also encouraged students to stay in school.
“For those who choose to participate, we ask that they do so peacefully, follow the law and help ensure the situation does not escalate,” the police’s Facebook post said.
The Aurora Police Department increased staffing and worked with community leaders, event marshals and organizers to have open lines of communication, to monitor conditions and to encourage peaceful participation, according to the post. It also warned residents of traffic disruptions near where gatherings would take place and encouraged travelers to find alternative routes.
On Monday, around 1,500 students from area schools walked out of school toward downtown Aurora. Three students were arrested during that protest and later charged with multiple crimes, which drew criticism from local officials and sparked a protest at the Aurora Police Department on Tuesday evening.
Specifically, the three students were charged with improper walking in the roadway, obstructing and resisting a peace officer, officials said. One of the three was also charged with aggravated battery to a police officer.
In a Facebook post, police said that two of the students were “contributing to the unsafe conditions” and were taken into custody after they resisted officers’ attempts to detain and identify them. The third student then “intervened and punched an officer in the head, causing a laceration,” according to the post.
Students were given many opportunities to move out of traffic and continue their demonstration safely, Aurora Chief of Police Matt Thomas said in a separate Facebook post.
As the situation continued, officers saw rocks and water bottles being thrown at police vehicles, physical fights breaking out among students, intimidation of passing drivers and reckless driving close to the crowd, Thomas said in his post.
An officer then approached two protesters who police believed were the main contributors to the ongoing unsafe and unlawful behavior, according to Thomas. He said that, despite clear direction, the encounter quickly escalated when the two pulled away and actively attempted to evade the officer, so several additional officers came to that officer’s assistance.
Videos circulating online seem to show what Thomas describes in his post: police officers tackling and wrestling protesters to the ground, and a protester punching an officer in the head. He said that the video shared online shows an officer tackling someone who appeared to be compliant, but said that the brief clips do not capture the full sequence of events.
The use of force is now under investigation by the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office, which has received all body-worn camera footage, reports and related evidence from the Aurora Police Department, the office said in a news release Thursday.
A comprehensive review of all available information will be done to see whether the actions were consistent with department policy, established training and applicable law, according to the release. Officials said that, once the review is complete, the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office will publish a full report with its findings to the police department and to the public.
Villa, in a statement made following Monday’s protest, said that the videos circulating online are “deeply disturbing and unacceptable” and show young people being “restrained and handled like criminals in front of their peers,” she said.
“Young people from our community peacefully exercised their constitutional right to protest the harmful actions of ICE and were met with force and violence by the institution entrusted with their safety,” she said. “Police officers are responsible for protecting every member of our community, especially children.”
A protest was held on Tuesday evening in response to the actions of police at the Monday event and the arrest of three students during the walkout. Those protesters, standing in front of the Aurora Police Department, chanted and held signs against both ICE and the police department, called for the charges to be dropped against the students and called for Police Chief Thomas to be fired.
George Gutierrez, who was one of many speakers at the Tuesday evening protest and last year was awarded $1 million in a lawsuit against an Aurora police officer for excessive force, said he attended to hold the Aurora Police Department accountable.
There’s a right way to protest that’s respectful, according to Gutierrez. But even if the students did something wrong, he said, that doesn’t make it right for the police to use excessive force.
“They need to be held accountable, because they always talk about holding us accountable, but they never hold themselves accountable,” Gutierrez said.
Aurora Mayor John Laesch, at a meeting of the Aurora City Council on Tuesday evening, said he admired the students’ efforts to take a stand and make their voices heard but encouraged them to take an “alternative and equally-effective course of action” by getting involved in local community watch and rapid response groups or by forming their own groups to “strengthen the community response” to federal immigration enforcement agents.
If students are going to protest, Aurora wants to work with them to make sure their voices are heard in a safe way, according to Laesch. At Monday’s protest, many stuck to sidewalks but a small number insisted on walking in the street and antagonized the police by throwing water bottles at their vehicles, he said.
“I’m disturbed that children feel compelled to leave school in the first place and march in the streets over an issue that adults should be dealing with in Washington, D.C., but that’s the times that we’re living in,” he said.
After Friday’s protest, Laesch told The Beacon-News that students may not have been the most coordinated, but they seemed to hear the message about staying on the sidewalks. Plus many adults from local groups came out to marshal the protest, he said.
“The community stepped up. The police hung back,” Laesch said of the protest on Friday. “We didn’t have any interactions between protesters and police, which is what I wanted, and no kids got hurt.
“So overall, I think it was a success,” he said.
Student walkouts to protest ICE have been happening in the Chicago area since at least October, when hundreds of students in Little Village walked out of class after several people were taken into custody in their neighborhood the week before. But this month has seen a high number of these types of protests, including in Chicago’s North Side,Elgin, Naperville, Waukegan and Hammond, Indiana.
For three weeks, the District’s snow removal crews have been trucking most of D.C.’s excess snow and ice to one of the former RFK Stadium parking lots.
For three weeks, the District’s snow removal crews have been trucking most of the city’s excess snow and ice to one of the parking lots at the former RFK Stadium site.
By Friday, the 15-foot-tall snow and ice mound covered a 320,000 square-foot area, D.C. Department of Transportation spokesman German Vigil said. That’s the equivalent of five and a half football fields.
And it could be there well into May.
“To figure out how long will it actually take for some massive pile of snow or ice to melt, there’s only two numbers you need,” Jonathan Boreyko, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech, told WTOP. “One number is how much total heat is going into the snow from the sun or the warm air, and then the other number is how much mass of ice do you actually have to melt.”
Based on DDOT’s numbers, he estimated the RFK pile’s mass at a massive 33 million kilograms. The sun alone, he said, would melt a snow pile of that size and density in around 200 days, assuming no changes in air temperature.
“If the air can get dramatically above freezing, it’s a much more complex analysis,” Boreyko said.
But the warming air should help get the job done in “tens of days, not hundreds,” he said.
The high end of that estimate would leave remnants of the pile at RFK until Memorial Day weekend.
Boreyko has published two papers on melting snow and ice, but he spends more time on other research.
“Something my group is doing that I’m very excited about, for these winter seasons, is we’re trying to use electric fields to rip ice and frost off of surfaces like cars and airplanes electrically,” Boreyko said.
They call it electrostatic de-icing: “It’s something we’re trying to make more effective, and we’re excited about its prospects long term,” he said.
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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Multiple residents of an affordable housing complex in Portland, Oregon, have bought gas masks to wear in their own homes, to protect themselves from tear gas fired by federal agents outside the immigration building across the street. Others have taped their windows or stuffed wet towels under their doors, while children have sought security by sleeping in closets.
Some are now telling their stories to a federal judge Friday, as they testify in a lawsuit seeking to limit federal officers’ use of tear gas during protests at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building following months of repeated exposure.
The property manager of the apartment building and several tenants filed the suit against the federal government in December, arguing that the use of chemical munitions has violated residents’ rights to life, liberty and property by sickening them, contaminating their apartments and confining them inside. They have asked the court to limit federal agents’ use of such munitions unless needed to respond to an imminent threat.
“They’re simply trying to live their lives in peace in their homes,” Daniel Jacobson, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said during the hearing. “Yet our federal government is knowingly putting them through hell, and for no good reason at all.”
The defendants, which include ICE and the Department of Homeland Security and their respective heads, say officers have deployed crowd-control devices in response to violent protests at the building, which has been the site of demonstrations for months.
”The conduct at issue, law enforcement’s use of crowd control tactics to disperse unlawful crowds, does not even come close to shocking the conscience,” Samuel Holt, an attorney for the federal government, said during the hearing.
The case comes amid growing concern over federal officers using aggressive crowd-control tactics, as cities across the country have seen demonstrations against the immigration enforcement surge spearheaded by President Donald Trump’s administration.
In testimony, tenants of the Gray’s Landing apartment complex described experiencing difficulty breathing, coughing, dizziness and other symptoms following exposure to chemicals from tear gas, smoke grenades and pepper balls.
“I have a gas mask in my bedroom. I have one in my living room. And I have one in my backpack,” said a plaintiff using a pseudonym due to being a domestic violence survivor. “I’ve slept with it on.”
She described how the chemical munitions triggered her post-traumatic stress and entered into her apartment. ”I could feel it, I could see it, I could taste it, I could smell it,” she said of the gas.
Gas canisters have hit apartments and been found in the building’s courtyard and parking garage, according to the complaint.
Another plaintiff, Susan Dooley, a 72-year-old Air Force veteran with diabetes and high blood pressure, was sent by a doctor to the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with shortness of breath and mild heart failure, the complaint said. Whitfield Taylor, who has placed wet towels around his window air conditioning unit in a bid to block the gas from entering his home, had to take his two daughters, 7 and 9, to urgent care for respiratory symptoms. The girls sometimes sleep in his closet to feel safe, according to the complaint.
Of the affordable housing complex’s 237 residents, nearly a third are age 63 or older, according to court filings. Twenty percent of units are reserved for low-income veterans and 16% of tenants identify as disabled.
The plaintiffs filed an updated request for a preliminary injunction limiting federal officers’ use of tear gas late last month, after agents launched gas at a crowd of demonstrators including young children that local officials described as peaceful.
“As this brief is being filed, tear gas is once again inside the homes of Plaintiffs and other residents of Gray’s Landing,” the filing says, adding that it was launched by officers “despite facing no violence or imminent threats at all.”
The government said in court filings that federal officers have at times used crowd control devices in response to crowds that are “violent, obstructive or trespassing” or do not comply with dispersal orders.
It has also pushed back against the claims of tenants’ constitutional rights being violated, saying that under such an argument, “federal and state law enforcement officers would violate the Constitution whenever they deploy airborne crowd-control devices that inadvertently drift into someone’s home or business, even if the use of such devices is otherwise entirely lawful.”
The hearing comes after a federal judge in a separate Oregon lawsuit temporarily restricted agents’ use of tear gas during protests at the building. The temporary restraining order in that case, filed by the ACLU of Oregon on behalf of protesters and freelance journalists, is set to expire next week.
Explore why cannabis is becoming part of a modern Valentine’s Day, helping couples, polyamorous groups, or solo celebrations.
Valentine’s Day is often framed as a celebration for couples, but modern relationships and lifestyles tell a broader story. Today, love can mean two partners, polyamorous relationships with three or more people, close-knit friend groups, or even a meaningful night spent solo. As social norms evolve, many adults are exploring new ways to relax, connect, and enhance their experiences. In all this, here is why cannabis is becoming part of a modern Valentine’s Day. It has emerged as one option people use to reduce anxiety, deepen intimacy, and create a more enjoyable Valentine’s Day—no matter how many people are involved.
For couples, cannabis is often associated with stress relief and improved communication. Low doses of THC or CBD may help some individuals feel more at ease, making it easier to have meaningful conversations or simply unwind together after a long workweek. By helping wash away lingering work anxiety, cannabis can allow partners to be more present with one another rather than distracted by deadlines, emails, or daily pressures. When stress and performance anxiety are reduced, partners may find it easier to focus on emotional connection rather than expectations.
Shared experiences can also feel more vivid and engaging. Many users report cannabis enhances sensory perception, which can make listening to music together more immersive, turning a simple playlist into a deeply felt, shared moment. Whether it is dancing in the living room, attending a live performance, or enjoying a favorite album, music can become a powerful bonding experience when both partners feel relaxed and tuned in to the moment. Likewise, simple activities such as cooking, giving a massage, or watching a romantic film may feel more enjoyable and intentional.
Polyamorous and multi-partner relationships, which emphasize communication and consent, may also benefit from the calming effects cannabis can provide. Navigating multiple emotional dynamics can sometimes bring added pressure. In these contexts, cannabis is sometimes used to promote relaxation and help participants remain present and attentive. When used responsibly and with clear boundaries, it may support a comfortable atmosphere where everyone feels included and valued.
Valentine’s Day is not only for those in relationships. Many people spend the holiday alone by choice or circumstance, and cannabis can play a role in transforming solitude into self-care. A relaxing evening with a favorite movie, a warm bath, creative pursuits, or a reflective journaling session may feel more restorative when paired with a product helping quiet racing thoughts. For individuals who experience social anxiety or holiday-related loneliness, cannabis may offer temporary relief and a gentler emotional landscape, though it is not a substitute for professional care when needed.
Cannabis is also frequently discussed in relation to intimacy. Some users report increased body awareness and a heightened sense of touch, which may enhance affectionate experiences. Others note reduced anxiety allows them to feel more confident and connected with their partners. Some couples also choose cannabis as an alternative to alcohol, seeking a clearer, more present experience without the potential downsides of overconsumption. For some, this substitution supports better communication, improved comfort, and more satisfying shared moments.
Preparation can begin even before Valentine’s Day arrives. A restful night’s sleep the evening before can set the stage for a more enjoyable and energetic celebration, and certain cannabis products—particularly those formulated for relaxation—may help some individuals unwind and fall asleep more easily. Waking up refreshed can make it easier to approach the day with enthusiasm, patience, and a positive mindset.
As with any substance, responsible use is essential. Adults should be aware of local laws, avoid driving under the influence, and consider potential interactions with medications or health conditions. Valentine’s Day is ultimately about connection—whether with partners, friends, or oneself. For some, cannabis can be a tool supporting relaxation, eases anxiety, enhances sensory experiences like music, promotes restful sleep, and fosters a more mindful and intimate celebration. By approaching the holiday with openness and care, people can redefine what makes the day meaningful and create a celebration reflecting the diverse ways love is experienced today.
