Stories

Browse major news stories and see what officials have said.

Aug 25, 2026· Updated

ICE Arrests a 5-Year-Old on His Way to a Soccer Game and Sends Him to the Country’s Only Family Detention Camp — a Federal Judge Appoints Outside Monitors, and ICE Blocks a Congressman From Visiting the Boy

On August 16, 2026, federal immigration agents stopped Victor Martinez Nieto in Austin, Texas, as he drove his five-year-old son, Liam Tadeo, to a soccer game. Video of the stop shows the crying child holding his handcuffed father's hand. Both were taken to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley — the only family detention facility in the United States, run under contract by the private prison company CoreCivic. Liam was supposed to start kindergarten that week. It was the second time in 2026 that a five-year-old named Liam was taken to Dilley. In January, ICE agents detained Liam Conejo Ramos on his walk home from preschool in Columbia Heights, Minnesota; a federal judge ordered him and his father released at the end of that month. The August arrest landed in the middle of a widening fight over the facility. The Texas Tribune reported on August 12 that federal data showed many children at Dilley had been held 100 days or longer, far past the 20-day limit set by the Flores settlement, and that in the first year after the camp reopened in March 2025 the administration held roughly 3,000 children there, more than half of them beyond 20 days. On August 18, Chief U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee appointed a special master, Andrea Sheridan Ordin, and an independent monitor, Dr. Paul Wise, with authority to inspect facilities, review records and interview detainees — citing minors confined for 50, 91 and even 323 days. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), who had led 111 House Democrats in a late-July letter demanding DHS shut Dilley down and terminate the CoreCivic contract, tried to visit Liam Tadeo and was turned away: ICE said the boy's father had not given permission, though Castro's office said it had obtained the mother's. Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, demanded the release of Liam and of at least 112 children then held at the camp. DHS and CoreCivic have said Dilley meets federal detention standards and undergoes regular audits.

“ICE arrested 5-year-old Liam and refused to safely return him to his mother.”
Gregorio Casar (D-TX) · Aug 25, 2026

Aug 25, 2026· Updated

The Navy Moves to Strip Doris Miller’s Name From the Aircraft Carrier It Named for Him During Trump’s First Term — and Internally Discusses Putting the Sitting President’s Name on It Instead

CNN reported on August 20, 2026 that the Navy is working to rename the Ford-class aircraft carrier CVN-81, which since January 2020 has been designated the future USS Doris Miller. Two of the three sources familiar with the internal discussions said there have been conversations about renaming it for President Trump — a step with no precedent, because no U.S. aircraft carrier has ever been named for a sitting president. Doris "Dorie" Miller was a mess attendant aboard the USS West Virginia at Pearl Harbor. He carried wounded sailors to safety and then manned a .50-caliber anti-aircraft gun he had never been trained to use, firing until the ammunition ran out. Admiral Chester Nimitz awarded him the Navy Cross in 1942, making him the first Black American to receive it. Miller was killed in 1943 when the escort carrier Liscome Bay was torpedoed. The decision to name CVN-81 for him was made during Trump's first term and made the ship the first U.S. carrier named for an enlisted sailor and the first named for an African American. According to the reporting, the effort has been under way since earlier this year; Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao's office has also been rewriting the official guidance on how ships are named and who may be named, including presidents. The Navy has effectively stopped using the name internally and refers to the ship only by its hull number. One source said the Navy intends to name a different, smaller warship for Miller and is recommending him for the Medal of Honor. The Navy is under time pressure: the keel-laying ceremony is expected at the end of 2026. A Pentagon official said there was "nothing official to announce at this time." Miller's family said they learned of it from the press. His great-nephew Thomas Bledsoe told ABC News that "for our family, it was quite a shock to hear that there was conversation about the possibility of renaming the Doris Miller carrier, and so not only was it a shock but it was a shock in that we found out from a news outlet." The two members of Congress who responded most directly are both combat veterans: Sen. Mark Kelly, a former Navy pilot who flew 39 combat missions, and Rep. Jason Crow, a former Army Ranger. NAACP President Derrick Johnson called the reported plan "a slap in the face to every war hero and every service member who has worn the uniform," and tied it to the conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which had just returned from a record deployment.

“The audacity to even suggest that we replace the name of Doris Miller, a hero whose courage shined on one of our nation’s darkest days, with draft-dodging Donald Trump is disgusting.”
Donald Norcross (D-NJ) · Aug 25, 2026

Aug 25, 2026· Updated

Lindsey Graham's Sister Appointed to His Senate Seat on Trump's Recommendation

On Monday, July 13, 2026, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham Nordone — the late Sen. Lindsey Graham's sister — to fill his Senate seat, after President Trump publicly recommended her for the post. Nordone, who had held no prior elected office, was sworn in by Senate Majority Leader John Thune the following afternoon and will serve until at least January 3, 2027, when the new Congress convenes. A special Republican primary was set for August 11 to choose a nominee for the November ballot. The appointment preserved a narrow Senate Republican majority. It was initially presented as a placeholder arrangement, and drew criticism as nepotism from across the spectrum — sharpening considerably when Nordone later said she would seek a full term, with Trump's endorsement, after South Carolina Republicans had been promised an open primary with no incumbent.

“I continue to miss Lindsey every day, and there is still a big hole in my heart. But I know he's looking down right now, very proud of everyone in this room.”
Darline Graham Nordone (R-SC) · Aug 25, 2026

Aug 25, 2026· Updated

Federal Judge Strikes Down Trump's $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee as Unlawful Tax

U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston struck down Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee on June 8, 2026, ruling it an unlawful tax that only Congress has the power to impose. The fee — announced in September 2025 and raising costs from roughly $2,000–$5,000 to $100,000 per application — was challenged by 20 Democratic state attorneys general. The ruling drew bipartisan praise from lawmakers citing impacts on healthcare and education staffing; the White House vowed to appeal.

“The United States is not an economic free-trade zone. We are a sovereign nation, and citizens have rights and privileges.”
Riley Moore (R-WV) · Aug 25, 2026

After 47 Years, the United States Takes Syria Off the State Sponsors of Terrorism List — and Also Delists the Islamist Coalition That Toppled Assad

On August 24, 2026 Secretary of State Marco Rubio formally rescinded Syria's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, ending a listing that had been in place since 1979. The same action removed Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham — the Sunni Islamist coalition that led the campaign that toppled Bashar al-Assad in late 2024 and whose leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, now governs Syria — from the Specially Designated Global Terrorist list. The rescission followed the statutory sequence: Trump notified Congress of his intent on July 8, 2026, and the required 45-day congressional review period ran out without a resolution of disapproval. That is because the underlying policy had bipartisan backing. On July 2, Senate Foreign Relations ranking member Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) — an unusual trio — wrote to Rubio urging him to delist, arguing the legal grounds for the designation no longer existed and that it had become the single biggest obstacle to Syrian reconstruction and to keeping Russia, China and Iran out. Rubio framed the move as a reward for al-Sharaa's counterterrorism cooperation. Outside analysts, including at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, warned that the designation had rested on Syria's ties to Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran-backed groups and that those ties are not resolved by a paperwork change. No member of Congress went on record opposing the delisting.

“These actions were all taken in recognition of the positive actions taken and further commitments by the Syrian government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa to fully distance Syria from acts of international terrorism.”
Marco Rubio (R-FL) · Aug 24, 2026

Ten Weeks Before the Midterms, Hakeem Jeffries Met Privately With Jared Kushner — and Told the Left That "No One From the Trump Cartel Is Getting a Pass"

The New York Times reported on Sunday, August 23, 2026 that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries had met privately with Jared Kushner in New York, in space lent by a mutual acquaintance, to look for common ground with the White House on housing, immigration and the cost of living. Kushner requested the meeting and suggested Jeffries follow up with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. The reaction inside the Democratic Party was immediate and split. Members and aides questioned why the man who would be Speaker if Democrats take the House in November was sitting down with a presidential son-in-law who holds no formal position in the administration and whom House Democrats have said they intend to investigate. Jeffries answered in a video posted Monday evening and in a written statement to TIME, insisting the affordability crisis "is not a hoax" and that "no one is going to get a pass." Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) waved the meeting off on Fox News, saying Kushner is "not really directly involved" in the administration day to day. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said on Meet the Press he had no objection to the meeting itself but wanted to see something come of it. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, asked at a Monday press conference whether the meeting changed his view, kept his backing for Jeffries — and drew criticism from progressives for it. The episode is the latest flashpoint between Jeffries and his party's left flank ahead of a November election that could hand him the Speaker's gavel and, with it, the decision on whether to impeach Trump.

“In every conversation that we have with the Trump administration, we will continue to make it explicitly clear that the affordability crisis is not a hoax and nothing short of transformational policy change is acceptable.”
Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) · Aug 24, 2026

ICE Has Detained More Than 50 Spouses and Parents of Active-Duty Troops — an Army Sergeant’s Wife Was Deported to Honduras Days After the Sailor on the USS Lincoln Learned His Father Was Taken in Key West

An Associated Press investigation published August 5, 2026 found that more than 50 immediate family members of active-duty U.S. troops — spouses and parents — have been placed in federal immigration detention since January 2025. At least six had been deported, one self-deported, and eight remained in custody when the AP published. Separately, DHS data obtained by Congress showed that between January 20, 2025 and January 26, 2026, ICE arrested 125 military veterans, nearly two-thirds of whom had no active criminal warrant, and moved to deport at least 282 veterans and family members. The through-line is a policy change: in April, ICE rescinded its long-standing guidance treating military service as a "significant mitigating factor" in whether to pursue enforcement, replacing it with a far less protective policy. Processing time for military parole in place — the discretionary protection recruiters have long cited to non-citizen family members — has more than doubled, to about 12 months. On August 9, 2026, a bicameral group of Democrats sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin demanding an accounting. It was led by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Duckworth and Richard Blumenthal and Reps. Chrissy Houlahan, Maggie Goodlander, Delia Ramirez and Lizzie Fletcher, and signed by roughly 55 members in all, including Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Nancy Pelosi. The letter argues the Pentagon's new coordination with DHS — detaining people on military property and handing them to ICE — turns bases into "traps" and creates a chilling effect on service members and their families, who "may avoid accessing bases, medical care, housing offices, or support services — or leave the military entirely." The signers set an August 23 deadline for answers. The Pentagon declined to comment and said it would reply directly to the authors. Two cases put faces on the numbers in the last week of August. On Monday, August 24, Cristy Maryori Villafranca-Trejo — wife of Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez, stationed at Fort Bliss — was deported to Honduras, at least the seventh military spouse or parent removed under the crackdown. She was detained July 11 outside a Walmart near the base; she had no known criminal record, and her appeal and military parole-in-place application were still pending. Rep. Veronica Escobar, who represents El Paso, had opened a congressional inquiry into her case and visited her in detention. Two days earlier, in Key West, Border Patrol arrested Luis Manuel Aviles Roa, a Nicaraguan handyman of nearly 20 years' residence whose son Joshua is a sailor in his ninth month aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln — the carrier already at the center of a Senate inquiry over its record 250-day deployment. DHS has not disputed the pattern; it has defended it. "Having a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate our nation's laws," the department said of the Aviles arrest, adding that "U.S. military service alone does not automatically grant lawful immigration status, or exempt aliens from the consequences of violating U.S. immigration laws." Republican chairmen of the Armed Services and Veterans' Affairs committees, Roger Wicker and Jerry Moran, did not respond to press requests for comment.

“My heart breaks for her, her children and the soldier who must feel so betrayed by the country he is sacrificing for. There are far too many families like theirs who are being targeted instead of supported.”
Veronica Escobar (D-TX) · Aug 24, 2026

Aug 24, 2026· Updated

ICE Immigration Crackdown in Minnesota

Federal immigration enforcement operation "Metro Surge" in Minneapolis-St. Paul has sparked protests, economic boycotts, and political backlash after two fatal shootings by federal agents. The crackdown has led to hundreds of businesses closing in solidarity, state legislators nationwide proposing limits on ICE cooperation, and a growing constitutional clash between state and federal authorities. In August 2026 the operation produced a second scandal. Court filings in the Minneapolis conspiracy prosecution — reported by the Minnesota Reformer on August 13 and detailed further in documents covered by NPR on August 25 — showed that DHS ran a parallel covert surveillance campaign, codenamed in part "Operation Puppet Master," against labor unions, environmental groups, churches and community organizations that had protested the crackdown. Undercover agents attended a meeting at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church and a public library gathering, photographed license plates, built dossiers on attendees including their families and jobs, and subpoenaed the financial records of unions including the Communications Workers of America and SEIU. None of the organizations was accused of criminal wrongdoing. On August 24, House Oversight Ranking Member Robert Garcia (D-CA) sent records demands to Attorney General Todd Blanche and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. The Justice Department defended the operation in a court filing, calling undercover membership in the groups it was investigating "a standard law enforcement practice."

“Instead of investigating the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, DHS sought to criminalize U.S. citizens exercising their constitutional rights.”
Robert Garcia (D-CA) · Aug 24, 2026

Tyson Shuts Its Joslin Beef Plant With No Warning and 2,500 Union Workers Find Out at the Start of Their Shift — Illinois Democrats Call It Devastating While Republicans Blame the State

On August 13, 2026, Tyson Foods announced it was ending beef operations at its plant in Joslin, Illinois, and closing its case-ready facility in Eagle Mountain, Utah, while putting its Pasco, Washington beef plant up for sale. About 2,500 workers in Joslin and 723 in Eagle Mountain lost their jobs — roughly 3,200 in all. Joslin workers said they learned the plant was closing when they arrived for their shift the next day and were handed letters; the facility had operated for 43 years. Pay continues into the fall, but health insurance does not. Tyson attributed the closures to "one of the most historic cattle shortages the country has ever experienced." The U.S. cattle herd has fallen to its lowest level since the 1950s after years of drought, high input costs, and the northward spread of New World screwworm, which has restricted imports from Mexico. Retail ground beef hit record highs in 2026. CEO Donnie King is consolidating beef into three plants — Dakota City, Nebraska; Holcomb, Kansas; and Amarillo, Texas. The closure landed a week before President Trump waived tariffs on 300,000 metric tons of imported ground beef, and it became a proxy fight over who is responsible. Illinois's two Democratic senators and the Democrat who represents Joslin called the shutdown devastating for union workers facing a rising cost of living. Gov. J.B. Pritzker called it a tragedy driven by the national cost of beef and said the state was in talks with Tyson about repurposing or selling the site. Illinois Senate Republicans used the closure to attack the state's business climate, with one senator arguing Tyson was simply moving production to friendlier states. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), citing the Joslin closure, said he was worried about cattle markets even before Trump's beef import decision.

“Tyson’s not closing their doors. They are simply redistributing their production to other states that are more business friendly than we are.”
Chris Balkema (R-IL) · Aug 23, 2026

IndyCars Race Past the Capitol at 160 MPH: Trump Closes the National Mall for a Grand Prix He Ordered by Executive Order — and the Speaker Says He Will Push to Make It Annual

On August 23, 2026, IndyCar drivers ran 147 laps on a 1.66-mile temporary street circuit looping the National Mall and running down Pennsylvania and Independence avenues, reaching about 160 mph past the Capitol, the Smithsonian museums and the National Gallery of Art. Kyle Kirkwood won. President Trump, accompanied by the first lady, led a slow lap in the presidential limousine and waved the green flag. Organizers put attendance at up to 150,000 over the weekend. The race exists because Trump ordered it. He floated it in an AI-generated video on Truth Social in January 2026 and signed an executive order on January 30 authorizing it as part of the country's 250th-anniversary celebrations, directing Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to designate a route and secure permits "as expeditiously as possible." When the original route ran into congressional jurisdiction over Capitol grounds, Duffy called organizers and proposed proceeding under the executive order with an adjusted course. The event was run by Freedom 250, a Trump-backed nonprofit lodged inside the National Park Foundation, which the White House built as a parallel to America250 — the bipartisan commission Congress chartered to organize the anniversary. On July 2, 2026, Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee, led by Ranking Member Jared Huffman, released an interim report alleging that donors who intended to give to the congressionally chartered America250 were instead handed wire instructions routing their money to Freedom 250's bank account, conduct the report said could constitute wire fraud. Race weekend brought three hours of flight suspensions at Reagan National, extensive downtown road and parking closures, and a vibration study by the National Gallery of Art, which implemented protective measures for its collection. Trump administration officials and the House Speaker spent the weekend arguing the event should be repeated; the race's own organizers were more cautious, with Penske Corporation president Bud Denker calling it "the first ever. It might be the only," and IndyCar president Doug Boles calling it likely a one-year event.

“The track is wonderful. You know, we’re going around the Capitol, but this turned out to be a better track, and so now we see the Capitol.”
Donald Trump (R-FL) · Aug 23, 2026

Trump’s Own Envoy Publicly Breaks With Israel Over Its Strike on a Syrian Airbase — Says U.S. Intelligence Found No Turkish Buildup and Floats That Israel Was "Baiting" a NATO Ally Ahead of Its Election

On the night of August 17–18, 2026, Israeli aircraft dropped at least eight bombs on the runway and hangars of the disused Abu al-Duhur airbase in northwestern Syria, roughly 45 miles from the Turkish border. Israel's justification was that Syria was on the verge of breaching a security understanding by allowing Turkish troops to deploy there. What followed was a rare, sustained public break between the Trump administration's own envoy and the Israeli government. Tom Barrack — U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria, and the official Trump has credited with brokering the first direct Syrian–Israeli talks — said on August 18 that Washington was deeply concerned the strike was "an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability." The next day he went further, warning that because Turkish forces had no idea Israeli jets were inbound or what they were targeting, they "could potentially have been inclined to scramble their own jets in the belief that they themselves were under attack" — a scenario he said "carried a real risk of rapid escalation into a direct military confrontation between Israel and Turkey as well as Syria." Barrack then said the U.S. had checked Israel's central factual claim and could not confirm it: "We went back to our respective intelligence agencies. The answer we got is, no, that's not happening." On August 22 he offered a theory for why the strike happened anyway — that with Israel's election set for October, "one theory is they were just baiting Turkey, and it's a very aggressive, but maybe well-received, pre-election concept." In the same interview he also said Israel still occupies the Golan Heights "against the UN resolutions," a position at odds with stated U.S. policy. Israel pushed back hard. Defense Minister Israel Katz called Barrack's account "full of inaccuracies" and said it contained "positions that contradict the position of US President Trump," insisting Israel had clear intelligence about Turkish intentions at the base. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani told Axios he had told Israel directly that his government was not working with Turkey to build up a military presence there, and that Israel struck anyway. The episode matters because Turkey is a NATO ally whose Article 5 protections the alliance has never had to weigh against an Israeli strike, because the Trump administration has treated the new Syrian government as a foreign policy win it does not want destabilized, and because a sitting U.S. ambassador publicly questioning an Israeli government's motives — and floating an electoral one — is not something Washington usually does out loud.

“President Trump has been CLEAR about Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights for years! It seems the Ambassador forgot that or failed to do his research, so here’s a refresher for him.”
Rick Scott (R-FL) · Aug 23, 2026

Aug 23, 2026· Updated

Four Democrats Who Just Won Senate Primaries Say They Will Not Vote for Chuck Schumer as Leader, Turning the Leadership Question Into a 2026 Litmus Test

By the middle of August 2026, opposition to Chuck Schumer's leadership had stopped being a matter of grumbling inside the caucus and become a condition of entry to it. Four Democrats who won Senate nominations this cycle — Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, Maine's Troy Jackson, Michigan's Abdul El-Sayed and Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan — have all said they will not vote for Schumer as Senate Democratic leader if they are elected in November. The pattern tracks a run of insurgent primary wins over establishment-backed candidates. El-Sayed won Michigan on August 4. A week later, on August 11, Flanagan beat Rep. Angie Craig — whom Schumer had backed — by roughly 20 points. Jackson was nominated at a Maine party convention on July 25 after Schumer declined to endorse him. Stratton won the primary to succeed retiring Democratic Whip Dick Durbin. Their common argument is that the party has grown too close to corporate interests and is not fighting hard enough on taxes and the safety net; several have named Sen. Chris Van Hollen or Sen. Bernie Sanders as who they would prefer instead. Schumer, who has led Senate Democrats since 2017, has not conceded any ground, arguing that a big-tent party is a strength and that his focus is the map. A Politico poll in June found 47 percent of likely Democratic voters thought he should not stay in leadership and 28 percent thought he should. No sitting Senate Democrat has yet called on him to step down.

“Right now, it’s desperately needed... this is just a time when we do desperately need to challenge party leadership.”
Seth Moulton (D-MA) · Aug 23, 2026

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