年度归档： 2026 年

EEOC investigating Nike over alleged discrimination against White workers

February 4, 2026 / 4:52 PM EST / CBS News

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal agency that enforces laws against workplace discrimination,said Wednesday that it is investigating Nike over allegations that the athletic apparel manufacturer discriminated against White workers.

The EEOC alleges in a court filing on Wednesday that Nike may have engaged in “a pattern or practice of disparate treatment against White employees, applicants and training program participants” with respect to hiring, promotion, workplace development and layoffs.

“Unusual escalation”

A Nike spokesperson said the company has provided the agency with information in an effort to “engage constructively” with the EEOC, calling the probe a “surprising and unusual escalation.”

“We are committed to fair and lawful employment practices and follow all applicable laws, including those that prohibit discrimination,” the spokesperson said. “We believe our programs and practices are consistent with those obligations and take these matters seriously. We will continue our attempt to cooperate with the EEOC and will respond to the petition.”

The EEOC, which filed the subpoena enforcement action in federal court in Missouri, said it is looking into allegations of discrimination tied to Nike’s diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, objectives for 2025. The agency said in astatement Wednesday that it filed the legal action after the company failed to provide information it had subpoenaed.

The agency said it has asked Nike for information dating back to 2018, including the criteria it used to select employees for layoffs and information on how the company tracks workers’ race and ethnicity data.

The EEOC was created under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination.

“Thanks to President Trump’s commitment to enforcing our nation’s civil rights laws, the EEOC has renewed its focus on evenhanded enforcement of Title VII,” said Andrea Lucas, whom President Trump nominated as chair in November 2025.

DEI probes

The EEOC’s investigation follows a series of other probeslaunched by the U.S. Department of Justice under the Trump administration into organizations and state governments that relied on DEI programs.

Several former DOJ employeestold CBS News last monththat the department’s focus is shifting toward efforts to protect White people against alleged “reverse discrimination.”

A spokesperson for the Justice Department defended the probes, telling CBS News that DEI initiatives have led to “blatant, widespread race and sex discrimination in violation of federal law.”

Edited by Aimee Picchi

Ryan Routh sentenced to life in prison for attempted assassination of Trump in 2024 at Florida golf course | CNN Politics

By Margaret Given, CNN

Published 3:58 PM EST, Wed February 4, 2026

Video Ad Feedback

Ryan Routh sentenced to life in prison for attempted assassination of Trump in 2024 at Florida golf course

CNN’s Randi Kaye speaks with Brianna Keilar about the sentencing of Ryan Routh. Kaye was in the courtroom and watched Routh’s reaction to the sentence.

2:58 • Source: CNN

Politics of the Day 12 videos

Video Ad Feedback

Ryan Routh sentenced to life in prison for attempted assassination of Trump in 2024 at Florida golf course

2:58

Now playing

• Source: CNN

Video Ad Feedback

NPR host on her ‘surprising’ conversation with Melinda French Gates and what to expect from the full interview

8:01

Now playing

• Source: CNN

Video Ad Feedback

Bill Gates denies Epstein claims

1:55

Now playing

• Source: CNN

Video Ad Feedback

One GOP Senator facing a tough reelection fight weighs in on Trump’s push to ‘nationalize’ elections

4:24

Now playing

• Source: CNN

Video Ad Feedback

‘They want to fix the election that they think they are going to lose,’ says Nevada reporter on Trump election takeover push

5:06

Now playing

• Source: CNN

Video Ad Feedback

The odds of a blue wave for the November midterms

3:44

Now playing

• Source: CNN

Video Ad Feedback

Homan: DHS to withdraw 700 personnel from Minneapolis

0:54

Now playing

• Source: CNN

Video Ad Feedback

Attorney for whistleblower who filed complaint against Gabbard speaks to CNN

6:57

Now playing

• Source: CNN

Video Ad Feedback

“This is not justice for survivors”: Epstein victims furious about DOJ’s release of files

18:40

Now playing

• Source: CNN

Video Ad Feedback

Trump calls for the GOP to ‘take over the voting’ in 15 places.

2:04

Now playing

• Source: CNN

Video Ad Feedback

Republicans slam Jeanine Pirro’s comment about jailing gun owners

0:54

Now playing

• Source: CNN

Video Ad Feedback

Prominent names attempt to explain their ties to Epstein

5:18

Now playing

• Source: CNN

See more videos

Ad Feedback

SCOOP: Thousands of violent illegal immigrants arrested in Minnesota as admin vows ‘we will not back down’

Operation Metro Surge has targeted murderers, pedophiles, rapists and gang members since launching in late 2025

By Emma Colton
Fox News

Published February 4, 2026 4:00pm EST

EXCLUSIVE:The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday that federal law enforcement officials have arrested more than 4,000 illegal immigrants in Minnesota since launching Operation Metro Surge in late 2025.

“President Trump’s commonsense immigration enforcement policies are delivering the public safety results the American people demanded, with more than 4,000 dangerous criminal illegal aliens already arrested in Minnesota since Operation Metro began,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital on Wednesday in response to DHS’ announcement.

“Democrats opened our borders and allowed vicious criminals, including murderers, rapists, gang members, and terrorists, to invade our communities. President Trump is reversing that horrific damage and removing these threats from our country,” she continued.

Operation Metro Surge is an ongoing immigration crackdown operation that focused on the Twin Cities, as well as Minnesota at large, as part of the administration’s ongoing mission to deport illegal immigrants, most notably violent offenders.

GUN-WIELDING ICE AGENTS BRUSH BACK MINNEAPOLIS AGITATORS

A man in handcuffs runs to avoid being detained by federal immigration agents on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis.(Adam Gray/AP Photo)

DHS shared a handful of arrests made on Tuesday alone, including: a criminal illegal alien from Ecuador with a criminal history of sexual conduct with a minor and domestic assault; a criminal illegal alien from Honduras convicted of domestic abuse, disorderly conduct and driving while intoxicated; a criminal illegal alien from Mexico arrested for assault/domestic battery, larceny,driving under the influence and possession of drugs; and a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador convicted of trespassing.

“Despite coordinated attacks of violence against our law enforcement, our officers have made more than 4,000 arrests of illegal aliens including murderers, pedophiles, rapists, gang members, and terrorists in Minnesota since Operation Metro Surge began,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.

“We need sanctuary politicians to cooperate with us by notifying us before releasing public safety threats back onto the streets to commit more crimes and create more victims. We will not back down from our mission to remove criminal illegal aliens from American neighborhoods.”

Federal officers stand outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building during a protest on Jan. 17, 2026, in Minneapolis.(AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Federal law enforcement converged on Minnesota in late 2025 and early 2026 as massive welfare and social services fraud schemes came to light. The schemes have led to dozens of arrests, most of whom are from the state’s large Somali population.

CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ALLEGEDLY RAMS ICE VEHICLE IN MINNESOTA AS ATTACKS ON AGENTS SURGE

The immigration crackdown in the state sparked agitators and protesters to take to the streets, which included chaotic confrontations, including agitators storming into a church in the Twin Cities and disturbing Sunday services. Two Americans have been fatally shot amid protests by federal law enforcement in two separate cases in the Twin Cities, heightening criticisms against the Trump administration that the federal government allegedly had blood on its hands.

DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin(dhs.gov)

President Donald Trump deployed border czar Tom Homan to the Twin Cities in January, following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents, to continue the operation.

The border czar announced Wednesday that 700 law enforcement officers would depart the city as he works for a “complete drawdown” of federal presence while local officials increasingly work with the administration. Most notably, local jails are communicating with federal officials regarding illegal immigrants currently in custody, allowing for speedy arrests at the jail as opposed to within communities.

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: CONVICTED MURDERERS, CHILD SEX ABUSERS AMONG ILLEGAL ALIENS NABBED BY ICE ACROSS US

“We currently have an unprecedented number of counties communicating with us now and allowing ICE to take custody of illegal aliens before they hit the streets. Unprecedented cooperation,” Homan said Wednesday. “I’ll say it again: This is efficient, and it requires only one or two officers to assume custody of a criminal alien target, rather than eight or 10 officers going into the community and arresting that public safety threat.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Leavitt told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that Homan’s drawdown plan follows the operation’s success in arresting the more than 4,000 illegal aliens from Minnesota.

“At President Trump’s direction, Tom Homan’s commitment to draw down forces in Minneapolis today follows these achievements and the new, unprecedented cooperation from state and local officials in Minnesota. Commitments like these from elected officials to work with the president and federal law enforcement produce tremendous outcomes that help keep Americans safe,” Leavitt said.

How bad was Alex Pretti’s killing for the Trump administration? New data tells us

2026-02-04T21:06:37.429Z / CNN Politics

Analysis by

Aaron Blake

Updated 44 min ago

Updated Feb 4, 2026, 4:56 PM ET

PUBLISHED Feb 4, 2026, 4:06 PM ET

Immigration Election polls

[See all topics]

Facebook TweetEmailLink

Link Copied!

A federal agent aims his pepper spray during an immigration raid in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Tuesday.

Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images

The Trump administration on Wednesday delivered its surest sign yet that it’s de-escalating its highly controversial immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.

Tom Homan, the White House border czar who recently took over the operation, said the administration is “immediately” drawing down 700 federal officers — a huge chunk of the 3,000 agents that have been sent. Homan cited more cooperation from local authorities in apprehending undocumented immigrants from jails, but those local authorities have disputed the claims about their supposed lack of cooperation.

Indeed, the more likely reason for the drawdown appears to be politics — the killing of Alex Pretti a week and a half ago in an encounter with federal agents made the situation untenable for the administration — and now it’s backing off, at least somewhat.

Ad Feedback

Trump said Wednesday he’d learned his administration could possibly use a “softer touch.”

“I learned that maybe we can use a little bit of a softer touch, but you still have to be tough. These are criminals, we’re dealing with really hard criminals,” he told NBC News in an interview.

And for the first time since Pretti’s death, we have hard data to back that up.

Two new polls from Ipsos and Quinnipiac University are the first high-quality surveys conducted completely after Pretti’s death. The first shows Americans overwhelmingly view his killing as involving “excessive force,” while the second shows voters overwhelmingly see the shooting as “not justified” — with those responses even more pronounced than after Renee Good’s killing by an ICE agent earlier in January.

And importantly: It was actually Republicans who shifted the most against the federal government’s actions between those two events.

The Ipsos poll showed 55% of Americans said Pretti’s killing involved “excessive force,” compared to just 16% who said the use of force was “necessary.” That’s a roughly 3-to-1 verdict against the federal agents involved.

That’s even more lopsided than the already-lopsided verdict on Good’s killing. Back in mid-January, an Ipsos poll showed Americans said 52%-25% that the force used in Good’s killing was “excessive” rather than “necessary.”

(A CNN poll, similarly, showed US adults said 56%-26% that the agent’s use of force in Good’s killing was “inappropriate.”)

As those numbers show, the big difference in reactions to Good’s and Pretti’s killings seems to be the percentage of people willing to vouch for the force used by the federal agents involved.

And the reason that percentage has dropped is almost wholly due to Republicans.

A woman holds a

DHS fires back after Dem billionaire David Trone claims ICE is ‘executing people’

Former State Del Neil Parrott, a Republican considering running against David Trone, said the Democrat’s comments are no way to represent a moderate district

By Charles Creitz
Fox News

Published February 4, 2026 6:00am EST | Updated February 4, 2026 2:41pm EST

FIRST ON FOX: DHS threw cold water on a snowy video of Total Wine billionaire David Trone — who is seeking to recapture his Maryland congressional district from fellow Democrat Rep. April McClain-Delaney — standing outside a warehouse in Washington County while ridiculing ICE’s operations.

The former Democratic congressman, who gave up the seat last term to mount an ultimately unsuccessful bid against now-Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., for that open Senate seat, stood outside a Hagerstown-area warehouse and lambasted ICE’s immigration enforcement operations.

“Today we’re just outside the city limit of Hagerstown, stopping by what’s going be a future ICE facility. We know one thing, we don’t need another ICE prison here or anywhere else in America,” Trone said, standing beside the snowy site in Williamsport.

Trone said that “since day one,” ICE has been taking prisoners, “literally executing people on the streets” in “not just Minneapolis… all over the United States.”

TOP DEM LAMBASTED FOR DEMANDING CONGRESS BAN ICE FROM POLLING PLACES: ‘WAIT, WHY…?’

Total Wine co-founder David Trone is running for his old congressional seat in the Maryland panhandle.(Robb Hill/Getty Images)

“ICE has to go and we sure don’t want them in Washington County.”

The Cheverly-born billionaire founded the liquor superstore chain Total Wine & More with his brother in 1991 and would be the wealthiest member of Congress if he returned to Washington.

In response to Trone’s video, a DHS official told Fox News Digital exclusively that DHS had indeed purchased land and a facility near Hagerstown, but that they will not be simply warehousing anyone.

“[These] will be very well-structured [detention facilities] meeting our regular detention standards,” the DHS official said.

“Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe. It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space.”

The official added that ICE is targeting the most “vicious” of illegal immigrants, as Trone’s Maryland was also ground zero for the Kilmar Abrego-Garcia saga.

DEMS BLASTED FOR TRYING TO ‘DEPORT’ ICE FROM SWING COUNTY, REFERENCING ‘BLOOD MONEY’ RENT

“Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE has new funding to expand detention space to keep these criminals off American streets before they are removed for good from our communities,” the official said, in apparent reference to the newest purchase.

It reportedly sold for $102 million.

DHS also purchased another massive property in Shartlesville, Pennsylvania, across Interstate 78 from the former Roadside America tourist attraction for reportedly similar reasons.

DEM SENATOR WARNER ADMITS BIDEN ‘SCREWED UP’ THE BORDER, BUT CLAIMS ICE NOW TARGETING NON-CRIMINALS

Del. Neil Parrott, left., former Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., right.(Tom Williams/Getty Images)

While Trone said that Hagerstown does not need ICE’s intervention, the agency disagreed.

The official pointed to two recent captures of violent illegal immigrants in the city, which is sandwiched between the Mason-Dixon Line and Potomac River.

Jose Antonio Rodas-Ortes, a criminal illegal immigrant, was recently detained in the Washington County seat, with a rap sheet including sex offenses.

MINNESOTA SHAKEUP SHIFTS LEADERSHIP NOT STRATEGY, WHITE HOUSE SAYS, PUSHING BACK ON ‘RETREAT’ CLAIM

Another illegal immigrant, Mohamed Bah, was captured with a record including aggravated assault with a gun, cocaine-related charges, assault, and illegally possessing a weapon – while Allan Garcia-Pinto was picked up by ICE with a prior drug trafficking conviction.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Trone said that in the past year, the Trump administration has gone “much further” than just targeting criminals.

“They’ve detained children as young as 5 years old, American citizens, and military veterans. ICE only needs to expand its detention space because reprehensible legislation was passed by Congress—with the support of Rep. April McClain Delaney—that strips due process rights and expands this Administration’s ability to carry out this cruel agenda,’ Trone said.

“After DHS has repeatedly lied to the public about its actions,including the lawless killing of Alex Pretti, every American has the responsibility to question these authorities and hold them accountable for what is happening in our communities,” he added.

[Trone’s election] this year is a complex contest, as he faces McClain-Delaney in the primary while Republicans have a slightly stronger hand amid redistricting.

For decades, the seat ran throughout the “Mountain Maryland” and the panhandle and into relatively rural Carroll County north of Washington.

MIKE DAVIS: WHY SURRENDER IS NOT AN OPTION FOR ICE’S MINNESOTA MISSION

Then-Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., lost his 2010 contest after Carroll was removed, and the district was adjusted to include a slice of dense, liberal Montgomery County – going from a 28-point Bartlett win to a 20-point Bartlett loss in one cycle.

The 2014 race was the closest Republicans have come to taking back the seat, when former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino lost to McClain-Delaney’s husband John by one point.

Since 2022’s latest map, some of the district’s less-Washingtonian confines have been returned, but it still is rated as Democrat-favored.

FAR-LEFT DC SUBURB TELLS RESIDENTS TO CALL 911 IF THEY SEE ICE

Former state Del. Neil Parrott, R-Hagerstown, formed an exploratory committee and is considering a fourth attempt to win the seat. Marine veteran and small business owner Chris Burnett of Gaithersburg is currently declared.

Parrott told Fox News Digital that Trone’s rhetoric is “very disappointing” as he runs to represent what is geographically a moderate district.

“This is not the way to bring our country together or represent District 6. You have very conservative Garrett and Allegany counties, moderate Frederick and liberal Montgomery.”

Citing Maryland’s failure to secure FEMA funds after Potomac tributaries ravaged Westernport and Luke last year, Parrott said it is “no surprise” given how Democrats in the district go “over the top attacking the president and [showing] no intention to work with Republicans at all.”

In December, Trone told Politico that opposition to President Donald Trump will be key to his campaign, saying that the president and his party are committing an “assault on democracy” and weaponizing government.

“Our fundamental freedoms are being dismantled piece by piece,” he said.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

Judge to Trump lawyers trying to move hush money appeal to federal court: ‘You sought two bites at the apple’

2 hr ago | PUBLISHED Feb 4, 2026, 4:00 PM ET | CNN Politics

By

[Kara Scannell]

President Donald Trump arrives for the world premiere of “MELANIA” at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026.

Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg/Getty Images

A federal judge was skeptical of President Donald Trump’s argument to try to move the appeal of his hush money conviction to federal court — after lawyers already took their shot in two other courts.

Judge Alvin Hellerstein suggested Trump’s attorneys missed their chance by first taking the US Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity to the state court judge who oversaw the criminal trial and not to a federal judge until almost two months later.

“You made a choice. You sought two bites at the apple,” Hellerstein told Trump’s lawyers Wednesday.

He also quizzed Trump’s lawyer over the argument that the case should move to federal court because Trump could claim as a defense that he has immunity. Calling the arguments “provocative,” he said he would issue a ruling later.

Trump’s attorneys are trying to get the appeal of his hush money conviction moved into federal court where the judges could interpret challenges involving federal preemption and presidential immunity. Removal would also plow a quicker path to have the appeal heard by the US Supreme Court.

Trump was convicted in 2024 of 34 state charges of falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

During oral arguments on Wednesday, Hellerstein said Trump’s attorneys appeared to make a strategic decision to bring the Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity first to Judge Juan Merchan, the state judge who oversaw the trial, before trying to move the case to federal court which it did 58 days after the decision came down.

Jeffrey Wall, an attorney for Trump, pushed back against Hellerstein’s comment that he was trying to get another bite at the apple.

“It would have been disrespectful in spades” to Judge Merchan if they bypassed him, Wall said. He said they had to move quickly before the state judge because Trump was set to be sentenced by him 10 days later.

Hellerstein said Trump’s attorneys missed the 30-day window allowed under the statute to move the case into federal court and their burden now was whether there was “good cause” to allow them to try again.

“All your doing is saying your good cause is you’re afraid to anger the state court and you want to give the state court the first chance” to rule on the Supreme Court decision before trying the argument in federal court, the judge said.

“You’ve made a strategic decision. You’re seeing where you can get a better decision and that is indicative of the intent,” the judge said.

“My thesis is that was fatal to you,” Hellerstein said.

[Related article U.S. President Donald Trump sits in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., on June 10, 2025. Nathan Howard/Reuters Federal appeals court wrestles with Trump effort to fight hush money conviction 4 min read]

Trump is simultaneously appealing his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records to influence the 2016 presidential election in state court. That appeal can ultimately be brought to the US Supreme Court but it has additional layers of review.

Hellerstein had previously rejected Trump’s effort to move the case into federal court, finding the argument that Trump had presidential immunity didn’t apply. Trump later tried again after the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity. He argued the use of evidence, including testimony from Trump’s former White House advisor Hope Hicks and his tweets while in office, were improperly used and his conviction should be overturned.

At the time Hellerstein denied that motion for removal, writing, “Private schemes with private actors, unconnected to any statutory or constitutional authority or function of the executive, are considered unofficial acts.”

Trump appealed and in November the Second Circuit Court of Appeals sent it back to Hellerstein to conduct further analysis considering the Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.

On Wednesday, Wall, the attorney for Trump, argued when the Manhattan district attorney’s office introduced evidence of what they argued were official acts — such as Trump’s tweets, trial testimony from his former White House aide Hope Hicks, and testimony about conversations Trump had with his attorney general — it changed the case and now it should be moved into federal court.

“The district attorney held those keys in his hand. He didn’t have to introduce that evidence at trial to prove up his case. Once he did this became a prosecution relating to those official acts,” Wall argued.

“Is that enough to make it a federal case? I think the answer to that is obviously yes,” Wall said.

The attorney added, “I don’t think you have to get to the bottom of this. It’s all for the Second Circuit.”

Wall said that the judge doesn’t have to decide the merits of the argument on immunity, only that they have what is called a “colorable defense” to move the case into federal court.

Steven Wu, an attorney for the district attorney’s office, argued that a fight over evidence is not a defense to criminal charges.

“The defendant seems to assume that because evidence of official acts is introduced that somehow transforms the nature of the criminal action. That’s just not true. The charges arise out of conduct that is wholly unofficial and private,” Wu said.

During Wednesday’s argument, while the judge was skeptical of many of Trump’s legal arguments, he acknowledged a technical maneuver that appealed to him.

“That’s a delicious thought because I then dump the whole problem on the Court of Appeals,” Hellerstein said.

Trump-signed shutdown bill sends $4M to children’s hospitals under federal probe for transgender care

Published February 4, 2026 3:15pm EST | Updated February 4, 2026 2:22pm EST

In passing the $1.2 trillion megabill to end the government shutdown Tuesday, lawmakers sent $4 million in funding to two children’s hospitals under investigation by President Donald Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for their track record of providing transgender healthcare to minors.

The allocations to Seattle Children’s Hospital in Washington state and the Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago can be found in the $1.2 trillion package that funds several agencies, including HHS, that Trump signed into law Tuesday, ending the latest partial government shutdown.

The hospitals are among several the administration has put under a spotlight with HHS probes in Trump’s bid to halt “chemical and surgical mutilation” against minors.

CHILDREN’S NATIONAL HOSPITAL IN DC TO END GENDER TRANSITION MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS

President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., Dec. 15, 2025.(Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The $4 million in congressionally directed spending, Capitol Hill jargon for earmarks, was requested by Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, secured $3 million for Seattle Children’s Hospital, which did not respond to a request for comment on how the funding might be used.

Murray told Fox News Digital the funding was meant “to provide a safe and comfortable space for kids in crisis, kids who may seriously harm themselves or take their own life.”

“It has nothing to do with President Trump’s hateful crusade against transgender children,” Murray said. “It’s disgusting to see a witch hunt against funding for a project that enjoys broad support from across the community — all Americans, regardless of political affiliation, understand that we need more investments to tackle the mental health crisis in this country.”

The remaining $1 million is slated for Lurie Children’s Hospital, which paused its transgender care for minors amid the Trump administration’s ongoing investigation.

Durbin’s office told Fox News Digital, “Senator Durbin is proud to have secured $1 million for the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago to support the expansion of the new hospital-based violence recovery program, serving pediatric victims of violence with trauma-informed mental health and recovery services.

“We are fortunate to have the expertise of the professionals at Lurie Children’s applied to the complex challenges that too many children in Chicago are exposed to from community violence, child abuse, and mental health needs.”

When asked for Trump’s reaction to the $4 million in earmarks to the hospitals, White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital, “The American people gave President Trump a resounding mandate to restore common sense in America, and the Trump administration is exploring other tools to crack down on child mutilation procedures.”

President Donald Trump speaks during the launch of a program known as Trump Accounts at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium Jan. 28, 2026, in Washington.(Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)

Earmark spending — pork barrel spending as it’s often known — has long been a heated debate on Capitol Hill. The practice was banned for roughly a decade but reinstated a handful of years ago, with limits.

The earmarks for the hospitals are among several that fiscal hawks like Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, blasted from the Senate floor last week.

“They do a lot, including spending on woke, wasteful and unjustified spending: puberty blockers for kids,” Lee said as he listed his opposition to a number of earmarks in the bill.

“We don’t need this; we don’t want this. It’s unacceptable. It must end.”

Some Senate Republicans have for years railed against earmarks, going so far as to permanently ban them within their own conference in 2019. Still, that ban does not encompass the entire Senate, and, ultimately, is more of an honor system among individual members.

Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, who oversees the process of putting together spending bills before they hit the floor, argued that earmarks, known as congressionally directed spending (CDS), are mostly requests made by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle tailor-made for a lawmakers’ state.

“Members of Congress understand the needs of our constituents far better than any well-intentioned federal employee located here in Washington,” Collins said on the Senate floor. “The CDS projects provide funding for states, communities and nonprofit organizations. The process is completely open and transparent.”

Seattle Children’s Hospital and Lurie Children’s Hospital have both drawn scrutiny from health officials as the Trump administration has taken a more critical stance against sex-change procedures and their effects on children.

After announcing that HHS would bar hospitals from performing sex-reassignment procedures on children, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. targeted Seattle Children’s Hospital’s access to Medicare and Medicaid programs.

201 HOUSE DEMOCRATS VOTE AGAINST BLOCKING MEDICAID DOLLARS FOR KIDS’ TRANSGENDER SURGERIES

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Jan. 29, 2025.(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

“Under my leadership, and answering President Trump’s call to action, the federal government will do everything in its power to stop unsafe, irreversible practices that put our children at risk,” Kennedy said in a press release in December.

A number of states, including Washington, have sued the Trump administration for its decision, arguing that HHS lacked the power to “substantively alter the standards of care and effectively ban, by fiat, an entire category of healthcare.”

Despite the ongoing litigation, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) opened a probe into Seattle Children’s activities in December.

The Lurie Children’s Hospital scaled back its transgender services in response to pressure from HHS earlier this year but has still come under recent scrutiny from the department.

HHS General Counsel Mike Stuart announced in a post on X last month that he had referred Lurie Children’s Hospital to OIG alongside four other hospitals for failing to protect “children from sex-rejecting procedures.”

In response, Lurie Children’s Hospital said it had paused its transgender care services for those under 18, according to statements made to local news outlets.

Health and Human Services Department Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a Senate Finance Committee hearing in Washington, Sept. 4, 2025.(Wi McNamee/Getty Images)

As listed on the earmarks, the $3 million in funding for Seattle Children’s Hospital would go toward “facilities and equipment to construct a behavioral health stabilization unit.”

The $1 million in funding for Lurie Children’s would go toward “health and trauma services for pediatric patients.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Neither hospital responded to a request for comment for more information on how that funding might be used or about their relationships with HHS.

Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.

Trump says the lesson from Minneapolis is to use a “softer touch” in federal immigration enforcement

February 4, 2026 / 4:19 PM EST / CBS News

Washington — After two Americans were fatally shot by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis last month, President Trump said the lesson he’s learned from the federal operation in Minnesota is to use a “little bit of a softer touch.”

“I learned that maybe we can use a little bit of a softer touch,” the president said in an interview with NBC News airing Wednesday. “But you still have to be tough.”

Investigations continue into the deaths of Renée Good on Jan. 7 and Alex Pretti on Jan. 24 amid a surge of immigration agents to the Twin Cities that began more than two months ago. Trump border czar Tom Homan on Wednesday announced he will cut the number of federal immigration and border patrol agents in Minneapolis by 700. Homan cited an “unprecedented” level of cooperation between counties and federal immigration enforcement officials, saying some counties have agreed to let Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents take custody of migrants directly from their jails.

Mr. Trump told NBC News he made the call to cut down the federal immigration enforcement presence.

“Yes, it did,” the president said when asked if that decision came from him. “But it didn’t come from me because I just wanted to do it. We have— we are waiting for them to release prisoners. Give us the murderers that they’re holding, and all of the bad people, drug dealers, all of the bad people.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have been critical of the administration’s immigration crackdown in the city. Last month, CBS News reported the Justice Department was investigating them both over an alleged conspiracy to impede federal immigration agents, multiple sources familiar with the matter said, a significant escalation in the clash.

“I’ve called the governor, I’ve called the mayor, spoke to him, had great conversations with him, and then I see them ranting and raving out there, literally as though a call wasn’t made,” Mr. Trump told NBC News on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Good’s brothers, Luke and Brent Ganger, testified on Capitol Hill in their first public comments after their sister was shot and killed by an ICE agent while driving her car.

“The deep distress our family feels because of Nay’s loss in such a violent and unnecessary way is complicated by feelings of disbelief, distress and desperation for change,” Luke Ganger said. “In the last few weeks, our family took some consolation thinking that perhaps Nay’s death would bring about change in our country. And it has not.”

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/details-on-homan-plan-to-withdraw-of-700-immigration-agents-from-minneapolis/

Supreme Court lets California use new Democrat-friendly congressional map

Published Feb 4, 2026, 2:24 PM ET / Source: CNN

By

[John Fritze]

3 hr ago

Supreme Court Congressional news Donald Trump Race & ethnicity

Facebook Tweet[Email]Link

Link Copied!

A bird lifts off from the top of the US Supreme Court building on January 9.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed California to use a new congressional map that will undermine President Donald Trump’s effort to keep control of the House of Representatives, marking a defeat for Republicans who claimed one of the new districts was redesigned based on race rather than politics.

There were no noted dissents, and the court did not explain its reasoning.

The emergency appeal from state Republicans was the latest to reach the high court tied to an ongoing arms-race-style mid-decade redistricting that Trump initiated to keep the House after the midterm elections.

Ad Feedback

California redrew its map, which puts five GOP-held seats in play, as a response to a partisan redistricting in Texas that benefited Republicans.

Federal courts, including the Supreme Court, don’t get involved in cases dealing with partisan gerrymanders. But state Republicans had argued that racial considerations motivated the redrawing of one district that covers portions of the Central Valley between San Francisco and Fresno. Those allegations were based largely on comments by a mapmaking consultant, Paul Mitchell, who said publicly that he intended to “ensure that Latino districts” were “bolstered” in the 13th Congressional District.

The state’s “professed purpose was to pick up five seats in Congress for the Democratic Party to offset the five seats the Republican Party gained in Texas,” California Republicans told the Supreme Court in their emergency appeal. “But those officials harbored another purpose as well: maximizing Latino voting strength to shore up Latino support for the Democratic Party.”

The map was ultimately approved by state residents in a referendum in which 64% of voters backed the plan.

But the Republicans challenging the map faced a seemingly insurmountable hurdle. Just weeks ago, the Supreme Court rejected a strikingly similar argument made by civil rights and other groups challenging Texas’ map. In early December, the court sided with Texas in that challenge, permitting the state’s map to be used in this year’s election.

Justice Samuel Alito, a member of the court’s conservative wing, wrote in a concurrence that it was “indisputable” that the “impetus for the adoption of the Texas map (like the map subsequently adopted in California) was partisan advantage pure and simple.” His opinion was joined by two other conservatives, Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch.

[Related article California Gov. Gavin Newsom arrives at a rally alongside Democratic lawmakers in Houston, Texas, on November 8, just days after the passage of California’s Proposition 50 to counter Texas Republicans’ redistricting efforts. Brandon Bell/Getty Images/File How the Supreme Court emboldened Democrats in California and elsewhere redrawing US House maps 4 min read]

State GOP officials and the state Republican Party sued to block the map’s use and the Trump administration joined that litigation. But the administration declined to bring its own emergency appeal to the Supreme Court and instead filed a brief supporting the state officials’ appeal.

California Republicans had asked the Supreme Court for a decision by February 9 – the start of the state’s candidate filing period. But Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democratic opponents noted that the justices have long admonished courts not to change state voting rules close to an election. The state’s primary is set for June 2 and election officials told the court they would begin processing mail-in ballots in May.

States generally redraw their House districts once a decade to correspond with a new census. Trump has pushed GOP states to try to eke an advantage out of those maps now so that Democrats will have a harder time capturing control of the House during his final two years in the White House.

Under a 2019 Supreme Court precedent, federal courts no longer review cases alleging partisan gerrymanders. However, courts do still review claims of racial gerrymanders. And because race and politics are often so closely intertwined in mapmaking, several suits have required judges to decide whether disputed maps were drawn based on racial discrimination or partisan advantage.

In a 2-1 ruling, a three-judge panel in California concluded that the redrawing was a political effort and declined to block the new map’s use.

“We conclude that it was exactly as one would think: it was partisan,” the court wrote. “The record contains a mountain of statements reflecting the partisan goals of Proposition 50.”

The two judges in the majority were appointed by Democratic presidents. A third judge, who was appointed by Trump, dissented. That judge called attention to public statements from the mapmaker about efforts to ensure Latino districts are “bolstered.”

“We know race likely played a predominant role in drawing at least one district because the smoking gun is in the hands of Paul Mitchell, the mapmaker who drew the congressional redistricting map adopted by the California state legislature,” wrote US Circuit Judge Kenneth Lee.

Supreme Court Congressional news Donald Trump Race & ethnicity

Facebook Tweet[Email]Link

Link Copied!

Ad Feedback

With latest Minnesota fraud case looming, the lead prosecutors have quit

February 4, 2026 / 4:25 PM EST / CBS News

The four prosecutors who spearheaded a $250 million Minnesota fraud case will not be in court at the next trial because they’ve all left the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota in recent days, along with more than a dozen others in a growing wave of resignations.

The departures have left the already-diminished office with as few as 17 assistant U.S. attorneys, according to sources inside the office — down from 70 during the Biden administration.

Former prosecutors Joe Thompson, Harry Jacobs, Daniel Bobier and Matthew Ebert — the four attorneys who had been leading the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud case, which was the first shoe to drop in the massive Minnesota fraud scandal — have handed off the prosecution to relative newcomers to the office.

Harry Jacobs, who was recently named head of the office’s criminal division, was also involved in the prosecution of Vance Boelter, the man accused of assassinating former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark.

Sources close to the attorneys who left have cited a variety of factors for the staff shakeup, including caseload management, structural issues within the office, the Trump administration’s influence on the office, and concerns related to Operation Metro Surge — the ongoing immigration enforcement operation in the Twin Cities that has led to thousands of arrests as well as repeated clashes with protesters, two of whom were killed by federal agents.

“The mass exodus we’re seeing in Minnesota is alarming,” said Stacey Young, founder of Justice Connection, a Washington, D.C.-based organization of former Justice Department employees.

“We should all pay attention to why some of the state’s top federal prosecutors chose to leave — it had nothing to do with political disagreement; rather, this administration asked them to violate their legal and ethical responsibilities, and they believed the exit was their only option,” Young said. “The loss of institutional knowledge and expertise will destabilize the U.S. Attorney’s office, leaving Minnesotans’ safety and rights less protected.”

Prosecutor Joe Thompson speaks at a press conference in Minneapolis regarding Medicaid fraud in the state of Minnesota, on Dec. 18, 2025. Christopher Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images

The office’s ranks were depleted even before Operation Metro Surge. By the time Daniel Rosen was sworn in as U.S. attorney in October 2025, the number of prosecutors had already dropped to less than 40, former and current officials tell CBS News. They cited retirements and changes made by the Trump administration, including cuts related to the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE.

The Justice Department has sought to buttress Minnesota’s prosecutorial ranks with prosecutors from neighboring districts, including from Michigan, as well as the Department of Homeland Security and military attorneys. But that has not always worked out well. A DHS attorney working in Minnesota on Tuesday told a judge “this job sucks” and asked to be held in contempt “so that I can have a full 24 hours of sleep.” She was removed from the Minnesota assignment on Wednesday.

The Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit declined to comment when asked how many attorneys had been dispatched from the Eastern District of Michigan.

So far, federal prosecutors in Minnesota have convicted 62 people in connection to the scandal, which tops the list of the nation’s most costly COVID-era fraud sprees. Federal prosecutors estimate taxpayer losses exceed $1 billion.

Feeding Our Future was the initial scheme: a nonprofit organization that tricked state and federal officials into paying them to serve food to thousands of hungry children but never provided the meals. That group allegedly raked in $250 million.

The final trial of those charged in the scheme is scheduled for April. Ikram Yusuf Mohamed, Suleman Yusuf Mohamed, Aisha Hassan Hussein, Sahra Sharif Osman, Shakur Abdinur Abdisalam, Fadumo Mohamed Yusuf and Gandi Yusuf Mohamed face charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and bribery.

The two prosecutors now leading the case are Rebecca Kline and Matthew Murphy. Both prosecutors joined the office in January 2024, after working in private practice, according to their LinkedIn pages.

Additional fraud cases have since come into focus. In August, state officials shut down a housing program designed to help seniors and people with disabilities, citing “large-scale fraud.” In September, prosecutors charged eight people with defrauding the program by enrolling as providers and submitting millions in “fake and inflated bills.”

Joe Thompson, the former first Assistant U.S. Attorney who became the public face announcing the indictments, made news before his departure when he said in December that federal prosecutors were investigating roughly $18 billion spent on social programs in Minnesota since 2018. CBS News asked how much they believe was fraud, and they said they’ve “seen more red flags than legitimate providers.” Thompson suggested half of the $18 billion or more could be fraudulent.