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Ex-Victoria’s Secret mogul Les Wexner’s lawyer was caught on a hot mic jokingly threatening to “kill” him if he continued giving long answers to questions during his deposition on Jeffrey Epstein by the House Oversight Committee.

The moment was caught after the committee released its full, nearly five-hour deposition of 88-year-old Wexner as part of its ongoing probe into Jeffrey Epstein’s network.

Several hours into the deposition, while Wexner was giving a particularly long-winded answer, Wexner’s attorney leaned over to him and whispered in his ear, “I’m going to f—ing kill you if you answer another question with more than five words, okay?”

Both Wexner and his attorney laughed after this statement, indicating Wexner understood it as a joke. The lawyer proceeded to instruct Wexner to “answer the question,” laughing more.

Shortly before this exchange, the attorney had urged Wexner to “answer the question,” saying, “I’m sure we all appreciate the stories, we’re just trying to answer questions that they actually want answered,” referring to the House committee.

EPSTEIN PROBE LEADER COMER SAYS ‘NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW’ AFTER EX-PRINCE ANDREW ARREST

The Oversight Committee heard from Wexner, a billionaire fashion mogul best known for his work in revolutionizing the Victoria’s Secret store chain, about his involvement with Epstein, whom Wexner characterized as strictly a business associate rather than a close friend.

Despite being named a co-conspirator in a recently uncovered FBI document from 2019, Wexner said that he has never been directly contacted by either the FBI or the Department of Justice. He maintained his total innocence during the deposition, saying, “I was naïve, foolish, and gullible to put any trust in Jeffrey Epstein. He was a con man. And while I was conned, I have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide. I completely and irrevocably cut ties with Epstein nearly twenty years ago when I learned that he was an abuser, a crook, and a liar.”

The committee stated it was releasing the full deposition with “no spin,” saying, “The American people deserve to see the testimony for themselves—transparency matters.”

Wexner is the founder of L Brands, formerly called The Limited, through which he acquired well-known companies Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, Express, and Abercrombie & Fitch, among others. He is no longer associated with Victoria’s Secret. He was one of Epstein’s first major clients as a financial advisor, with Epstein being granted power of attorney over Wexner’s vast wealth. Wexner also sold his Manhattan townhouse to Epstein, which was later discovered to be one of the locations where federal authorities accused Epstein of abusing young women and girls under 18.

Despite this, Wexner stated that he always kept his relationship with Epstein as strictly professional, saying, “I don’t think I ever went to lunch, or dinner, a movie or had a cup of coffee with Jeffrey,” adding, “My focus was on my business and on community.”

EXCLUSIVE: EPSTEIN EMAILS RELEASED AS DOJ SAYS NO CRIMINAL OR INAPPROPRIATE CONDUCT BY TRUMP

Wexner said he severed ties with Epstein in 2007 after learning of an investigation and discovering that Epstein had misappropriated funds from him and his family. He said a substantial amount of the money was returned.

Wexner also testified that he was not aware of Epstein ever staying at a guesthouse on his New Albany, Ohio, estate, where Maria Farmer is said to have been abused by Epstein and associate Ghislaine Maxwell. He maintained that he only had knowledge of Epstein staying at a nearby neighbor’s residence. Pressed on whether he denies Farmer’s testimony that she was abused on his property, he stated, “I never met her, didn’t know she was here, didn’t know she was abused.”

He categorically denied any knowledge of either Epstein or Maxwell arranging women for prominent individuals. He also categorically denied ever having a sexual encounter with anyone introduced by Maxwell and Epstein or having any sexual relationship with Epstein himself.

He further denied any sexual contact or knowledge of another prominent Epstein victim, Virginia Giuffre.

AG PAM BONDI ANNOUNCES ‘ALL’ EPSTEIN FILES HAVE BEEN RELEASED, LISTING OVER 300 HIGH-PROFILE NAMES

Wexner was also asked about his knowledge of Epstein and President Donald Trump’s relationship. He said that he does not think they were friends, but said Epstein “held him out as a friend.”

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Committee members also questioned Wexner on a note he wrote in a birthday book to Epstein in which he drew breasts with the caption, “Dear Jeffrey, I wanted to get you what you want, so here it is … Your friend, Leslie.”

Wexner confirmed that he wrote the note but dismissed it, saying, “He was a bachelor, so I drew a pair of boobs as kind of a joke, offhandedly, I would say.”

Wexner is the fourth person appearing before the House Oversight Committee in its Epstein probe.

Fox News Digital’s Liz Elkind contributed to this report.

See where U.S. homeowners pay the highest property taxes by county and state

February 20, 2026 / 5:00 AM EST / CBS News

Property taxes around the U.S. have long been a lightning rod for debate, with political leaders perpetually balancing the need to fund their budget priorities against the risk of alienating homeowners and businesses. This week, for example, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani sparked an uproar by proposing to close a budget hole by sharply raising property taxes.

Although the move was widely interpreted as a political gambit aimed at spurring state lawmakers to hike taxes on wealthy New Yorkers and corporations, the backlash highlights the sensitivities around property taxes at a time many Americans already feel financially strapped.

Such taxes — levied mostly by local governments to raise revenue for services including public schools, road construction, and police and fire departments — account for 70 cents of every $1 in local tax collections, according to the nonpartisan Tax Foundation.

But as home values surge nationwide, tax assessments also have risen, leading to higher property taxes in many parts of the U.S. At the same time, states such as Florida, Georgia and North Dakota are taking the opposite tack by proposing to eliminate property taxes for homeowners.

Read on to see how property taxes compare across U.S. states and counties.

“Surging home values have amplified calls to cut or even abolish the property tax,” wrote Tax Policy Center senior research associate Thomas Brosy in a September blog post. “Because property taxes rise with home values, homeowners may fear being squeezed by larger tax bills.”

The median property tax bill in the U.S. jumped 30% between 2019 and 2024, he added. Across the U.S., Illinois has the highest effective property tax rate, while Hawaii has the lowest, according to the Tax Foundation.

Mamdani’s proposal in New York City stems from a $5.4 billion budget shortfall, with the mayor seeking to plug it by either hiking taxes on high-earning residents or raising taxes on homeowners.

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That strategem is considered unlikely to succeed. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has previously rejected a wealth tax and also opposes a higher property tax, while New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin called the plan a non-starter.

New York County, home to Manhattan, is already one of the 16 U.S. counties with the highest median property tax payments, with the typical homeowner paying more than $10,000 per year in property taxes, according to the Tax Foundation.

The other U.S. counties with the highest property taxes include eight in New Jersey, five additional New York counties, Falls Church City in Virginia and Marin County in California.

Edited by Alain Sherter

Taylor Johnston contributed to this report.

Exclusive: US tariff revenue at risk in Supreme Court ruling tops $175 billion, Penn-Wharton estimates

February 20, 2026 11:02 AM UTC / Reuters

By David Lawder

节点运行失败

Shipping containers are seen at the port of Oakland, as trade tensions continued over U.S. tariffs with China, in Oakland, California, U.S., May 12, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary

• U.S. Supreme Court could rule as early as Friday on Trump’s emergency tariffs
• Penn-Wharton estimate based on forecasting model using tariff rates by country, product import data
• Refunds of $175 billion could top annual outlays of Transportation, Justice departments

WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) – More than $175 billion in U.S. tariff collections are at risk of having to be refunded if the U.S. Supreme Court rules against President Donald Trump’s broad emergency tariffs, Penn-Wharton Budget Model economists said on Friday.

Their estimate, produced at a request from Reuters, was derived from a ground-up forecasting model that uses tariff rates by product and country for specific duties imposed by Trump, including those under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), said Lysle Boller, senior economist for Penn-Wharton Budget Model (PWBM), a non-partisan fiscal research group at the University of Pennsylvania.

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The U.S. Supreme Court could rule on the legality of the IEEPA-based tariffs as early as Friday. If they are struck down, importers are expected to scramble for refunds from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency on import duties paid over the past year.

Trump has touted the revenue generated by all of his tariffs, estimated by the Congressional Budget Office at about $300 billion annually over the next decade, but the estimates show that a substantial amount may need to be refunded if the court rules against Trump.

Refunds of $175 billion would exceed the combined fiscal 2025 outlays from the Department of Transportation at $127.6 billion and the Department of Justice at $44.9 billion.

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ALTERNATIVE CALCULATIONS

Boller said the PWBM model, built for long-term revenue forecasts, cross-references U.S. Census Bureau import data on around 11,000 product import categories based on eight-digit tariff codes across 233 countries, and applies statistical forecasting methods to come up with about $500 million in IEEPA-based revenue collected daily. As of Thursday, that model estimated $179 billion in total receipts under IEEPA since Trump began imposing tariffs under that law in February 2025.

PWBM also extrapolated past CBP IEEPA customs duty assessment data, opens new tab as a share of continuing U.S. Treasury customs receipts and came up with a similar estimate of $175 billion to $176 billion, he added.

CBP last published its customs assessments under IEEPA-based tariffs and other trade remedy duties on December 14, at that time showing an at-risk total of $133.5 billion since the first duties under the law were imposed. Net duty collections are typically slightly lower because the tariff assessments are subject to adjustments and corrections that result in refunds.

The PWBM model also makes quick adjustments for sometimes-abrupt tariff changes by Trump, including from trade deals that cut import duty rates for goods from certain countries. South Korea, for example, saw its U.S. tariff rate drop to 15% from 25% in November.

It also has captured changes in punitive duties under IEEPA, such as the imposition last August of a 40% tariff to punish Brazil over the prosecution of Trump ally and former President Jair Bolsonaro, and the removal of duties on Brazilian coffee, beef and cocoa in November.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters in January that the Treasury can easily cover any tariff refunds, though he is confident that the Supreme Court will uphold the IEEPA tariffs. The Treasury is continuing to plan for large cash balances in its borrowing plans, $850 billion at the end of March and $900 billion at the end of June.

The Treasury has been reporting large gains in customs receipts in recent months, up roughly $20 billion a month from prior-year periods before Trump imposed the duties, with about $27.7 billion in total customs receipts in January. Trump administration officials say they will switch to alternative tariff authorities to restore tariffs if the court declares IEEPA tariffs illegal.

Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Stephen Coates

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印度正式加入美国主导的供应链安全协定 | 联合早报

发布时间 / 来源：2026-02-20T08:34:30.000Z | 联合早报

印度正式加入美国主导的供应链安全协定

2025年12月6日，美国驻印度大使塞尔戈尔（左）出席在白宫椭圆形办公室举行的肯尼迪中心荣誉奖章颁奖典礼，他身旁为肯尼迪中心董事会主席格雷内尔。 （法新社）

印度正式加入一个由美国主导、旨在保障包括关键矿产在内的供应链安全的倡议，这进一步显示在经历了动荡的一年后，印美双方正在重置两国关系。

两国星期五（2月20日）在新德里举行的仪式上签署《硅和平宣言》(Pax Silica Declaration)。声明称，签署仪式后还举行了一场炉边对话，参与者包括美国驻印度大使戈尔（Sergio Gor）以及美国国务院负责经济事务副国务卿赫尔伯格（Jacob Helberg）。

彭博社引述戈尔在签署前的致辞说：“印度加入硅和平联盟，这个联盟将定义21世纪经济与技术秩序。”

戈尔是美国总统特朗普的亲密盟友，上个月以大使身份抵达新德里。他履新后发布的首批声明之一，就是邀请印度加入硅和平倡议。

硅和平联盟成员包括日本、韩国、英国和以色列等国，目标是强化关键矿产供应链，并深化在人工智能领域的合作。

印度正式加入美国主导的供应链安全协定

2026年2月20日 16:34 / 联合早报

印度正式加入一个由美国主导、旨在保障包括关键矿产在内的供应链安全的倡议，这进一步显示在经历了动荡的一年后，印美双方正在重置两国关系。

两国星期五（2月20日）在新德里举行的仪式上签署《硅和平宣言》(Pax Silica Declaration)。声明称，签署仪式后还举行了一场炉边对话，参与者包括美国驻印度大使戈尔（Sergio Gor）以及美国国务院负责经济事务副国务卿赫尔伯格（Jacob Helberg）。

彭博社引述戈尔在签署前的致辞说：“印度加入硅和平联盟，这个联盟将定义21世纪经济与技术秩序。”

戈尔是美国总统特朗普的亲密盟友，上个月以大使身份抵达新德里。他履新后发布的首批声明之一，就是邀请印度加入硅和平倡议。

硅和平联盟成员包括日本、韩国、英国和以色列等国，目标是强化关键矿产供应链，并深化在人工智能领域的合作。

Lawmakers say they’ve been stonewalled by DHS, undercutting attempts to hold Trump officials accountable

Published Feb 20, 2026, 5:00 AM ET / Source: CNN

By

[Annie Grayer]
,

[Gabe Cohen]
,

[Evan Perez]

2 hr ago

Federal immigration agents conduct immigration operations in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on February 5.

Seth Herald/Reuters

Lawmakers who oversee the Department of Homeland Security say the agency has repeatedly stymied their requests for information in recent months, with even some Republicans alleging they’ve had phone calls go unanswered and data requests left to languish.

As the Department of Homeland Security has found itself embroiled in controversies across the country over high-profile killings by immigration agents and the resulting bitter policy disputes, lawmakers say they’ve stepped up their efforts to try to get answers for the public. But they’ve often been met with resistance, they said — thwarting their ability to hold anyone accountable.

“I’m not going to sit here on bended knee hoping to God that somebody returns the call,” GOP Rep. Mark Amodei, the Republican who oversees the DHS budget in the House told CNN, after his request to speak with White House Border Czar Tom Homan went unanswered for days.

One Republican staffer told CNN that the stonewalling extends beyond just thorny policy questions about immigration enforcement. Requests to the Federal Emergency Management Agency on the status of federal disaster funding and questions over potential crimes committed by those detained by federal officers have also been met with silence or evasiveness, the staffer said.

The result, the staffer said, is not only that GOP lawmakers can’t properly oversee the agency, they can’t help blunt possibly unfair attacks from their Democratic counterparts.

“It’s really a shame that DHS has taken such an adversarial posture on sharing data. In some areas, like on immigration and the border they have a great story to tell, and we could be helping them tell that story,” the staffer explained. “In other areas where the story is not so good, like FEMA, we could also help. But they choose to go at it alone, so it’s on them to defend, which is hard to do when no one believes a word they say or a number they put out. There is no trust and there is no way to verify.”

Democrats, meanwhile, say they have received virtually no response from their inquiries to DHS. At least 15 letters sent by members of the party to the department have either been ghosted, received a cursory acknowledgement or were given a non-answer, a Homeland Security Committee Democratic aide told CNN. Another Democratic staffer told CNN that when they’ve asked for specific FEMA updates, whether it’s on mitigation projects, staffing plans or briefings on various press releases, they’ve gotten no response.

A DHS spokesperson told CNN the department works through “official channels” and would “not be litigating our relationship” with Capitol Hill through the press. But they also dismissed claims they’ve not engaged with members of Congress.

“Any suggestion that DHS has ‘refused’ to engage with lawmakers is simply false,” the spokesperson said in part, adding that “this administration has been the most transparent administration in history and has spent the last year clearing out congressional correspondence that went unanswered under the last administration.”

Some Republicans told CNN they’ve been able to leverage their personal relationships with Trump administration officials to get their questions answered and others said they had no issues getting quick responses from DHS – “I communicate with them all the time,” GOP Rep. Andy Ogles said. But two top Republican congressman specifically tasked with overseeing DHS are among those who say they’ve run into issues.

Amodei, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, sought to speak directly with Homan about the operation in Minneapolis shortly after federal officers’ fatal encounter with Alex Pretti there, as well as to receive a broader status update on the administration’s deportation efforts.

Tom Homan speaks during a press conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on February 4.

Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images

Amodei’s office put in the request in January and was redirected to White House Office of Legislative Affairs Director James Braid to coordinate the conversation. The request went unanswered for 10 days, prompting the Nevada Republican to eventually withdraw the request, Amodei said.

The administration was focused on executing the mission in Minneapolis at the time of Amodei’s request, an official said when asked by CNN about the request, adding that it could now be arranged.

“At the time, we were prioritizing the actual execution of the mission in Minneapolis,” the administration official said. “Now going forward, we’re happy to offer Chairman Amodei a briefing as well as other congressional committees.”

But Amodei, who projected confidence he’ll get the information another way, suggested it was a question of respect. “I wish they were more professional with how they dealt with the people who handled their budget,” he told CNN from his Capitol Hill office.

After withdrawing his initial request, Amodei has recently spoken with Braid about arranging a call with Homan, the congressman’s office told CNN.

Another Republican chairman — Rep. Andrew Garbarino of the House Homeland Security Committee — tried for weeks to schedule DHS Secretary Kristi Noem for testimony for the annual worldwide threats hearing before his panel, and eventually resorted to asking the White House in December to lean on her to agree on a date, according to a US official familiar with the discussions.

Noem finally agreed to a hearing, where she was excoriated by Democrats for her handling of immigration, FEMA and other issues. The administration official declined to comment on any coordination with Garbarino, saying they don’t discuss private conversations with members.

Garbarino said at the eventual December hearing that he made “numerous accommodations” for Noem’s appearance.

From left: Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Joseph Kent, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Operations Director of the National Security Branch at the Federal Bureau of Investigation Michael Glasheen testify on December 11, 2025.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

“This is why this hearing is so important. Congress must hear from the Executive. Oversight is not unfair. And asking questions is not unwarranted. We must ensure the people’s representatives are informed,” the New York Republican said at the time.

CNN has reached out to Garbarino’s office for comment.

According to a data analysis compiled by ProQuest Congressional Data and shared with CNN, there has been a 28.7% decline in appearances of DHS officials before congressional committees in 2025, compared to the first year of previous administrations.

Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, said he’s never seen it this bad.

“I’ve never met Secretary Noem other than the two times she came before the committee last year. I’ve met every secretary since the department was created in my office or in a number of occasions,” Thompson said.

The Mississippi Democrat said that for a year, he had not had any direct interaction with an ICE official until he met the director the day before his scheduled hearing before the committee earlier this month. Witnesses before a hearing are required to submit their written testimony to Congress the day before a hearing, but Thompson said the ICE director came to his meeting with his prepared testimony in hand and said he was still working on it.

“If the legislative is to function, then the executive branch has to be forthcoming with the information. If they’re not forthcoming with the information, then it’s almost impossible for the legislative branch to basically provide any road maps for future success because we don’t have access to the data,” Thompson said.

韩国强烈抗议日本涉独岛主权言论

发布时间 / 来源：2026年2月20日 18:00 / 联合早报

1月12日，在首尔总统府青瓦台附近举行的反日抗议活动中，韩国抗议者手持日本首相高市早苗的纸板照片和写有“谴责高市关于独岛的荒谬言论！”的标语牌。 （法新社）

韩国外交部发表声明，就日本外长茂木敏充声称独岛（日本称竹岛）属于日本一事表示强烈抗议，敦促其撤回相关言论。

新华社引述韩国外交部星期五（2月20日）的声明说，针对日本政府通过茂木敏充在国会外交演说中再次提出对独岛主权的不当主张，韩国政府表示强烈抗议，并敦促日方立即撤回相关言论。

声明强调，“独岛明确属于韩国固有领土”，“日方反复提出不当主张，对构建面向未来的韩日关系毫无益处”。对于日方的任何挑衅行为，韩方都将坚决予以应对。

当天，韩国外交部亚太局局长金相勋召见日本驻韩国大使馆总括公使松尾裕敬，表达韩方抗议立场。

由两个岛屿和礁岩群组成的独岛（Dokdo，日本称竹岛 Takeshima）位于朝鲜半岛东部海域，面积约0.18平方公里，韩国、朝鲜、日本都宣称拥有主权。目前，韩国实际控制这一岛屿。

韩国强烈抗议日本涉独岛主权言论

发布/2026年2月20日 18:00

韩国外交部发表声明，就日本外长茂木敏充声称独岛（日本称竹岛）属于日本一事表示强烈抗议，敦促其撤回相关言论。

新华社引述韩国外交部星期五（2月20日）的声明说，针对日本政府通过茂木敏充在国会外交演说中再次提出对独岛主权的不当主张，韩国政府表示强烈抗议，并敦促日方立即撤回相关言论。

声明强调，“独岛明确属于韩国固有领土”，“日方反复提出不当主张，对构建面向未来的韩日关系毫无益处”。对于日方的任何挑衅行为，韩方都将坚决予以应对。

当天，韩国外交部亚太局局长金相勋召见日本驻韩国大使馆总括公使松尾裕敬，表达韩方抗议立场。

由两个岛屿和礁岩群组成的独岛（Dokdo，日本称竹岛 Takeshima）位于朝鲜半岛东部海域，面积约0.18平方公里，韩国、朝鲜、日本都宣称拥有主权。目前，韩国实际控制这一岛屿。

Trump administration plans to take Homan’s Minneapolis immigration playbook nationwide

By Priscilla Alvarez | 29 min ago | PUBLISHED Feb 20, 2026, 6:00 AM ET

The Trump administration plans to double down on targeted immigration enforcement, taking Tom Homan’s playbook in Minneapolis and applying it to multiple cities nationwide, according to current and former Homeland Security officials.

It’s a marked departure from the highly visible and aggressive tactics employed by top Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino. That approach, documented in Hollywood-style social media videos and touted by senior Trump officials at the time, is being tabled, for now, following the scenes that unfolded in Minneapolis, including the shooting deaths of two American citizens.

“No more Bovino bullsh*t. That show is shut down,” a Homeland Security official told CNN.

The return to ICE’s typical immigration enforcement tactics, which include identifying targets ahead of time, instead of broad sweeps in areas trafficked by immigrants, comes amid waning public support for how the administration has been conducting immigration arrests.

The protests and images coming out of Minneapolis late last month prompted concerns from some Trump administration officials over the optics of the immigration crackdown. That included President Donald Trump, who privately expressed frustration that his immigration messaging was getting lost. The debate over federal immigration enforcement has also sparked a partial government shutdown affecting portions of DHS, as Democrats have pushed for ICE reforms in exchange for supporting funding for the department.

“Targeting public safety threats is nothing new. … Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, nearly 70% of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S.,” a Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement, citing more than 700,000 deportations under the Trump administration.

While the administration has said it is prioritizing people with serious criminal records, many of those detained over the last year do not fall in that category. DHS also issued a recent memo stating that immigration authorities should detain refugees who have not yet obtained a green card and detain them for additional screening.

Sources told CNN that late last year, agents had been more focused on developing targets rather than only relying on street encounters. But that changed with an unprecedented surge of thousands of federal agents to Minneapolis over a welfare-fraud scandal that ensnared the Somali community.

Two Americans — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — were shot and killed by federal agents. And two other officers are under investigation over their accounts about what unfolded in an operation where one of the officers shot a Venezuelan man in the leg.

Homan announced a federal drawdown in Minneapolis last week, citing agreements with local officials allowing additional cooperation.

Current and former Homeland Security officials stressed that the latest move toward a more targeted enforcement approach doesn’t mean that the crackdown is softening, as some cities may still see larger footprints of ICE agents. The turbocharged sweeps are less likely, though officials cautioned that plans are subject to change. The administration has also escalated efforts to expand immigration detention — an indicator of plans to continue ramped up arrests.

“What they were doing was hoping that high visibility enforcement operations would scare enough illegal aliens to increase self-deportation. I think that’s part of what they were thinking,” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for limited immigration.

“What they didn’t take into account is that people, even though they still back deportation of illegal aliens, they want to see less of the militarized type of action,” he added.

After Trump dispatched Homan to Minneapolis, Bovino was sidelined and returned to his post as chief patrol agent of the El Centro sector. He’s since confirmed on X that he was recently at Mammoth Mountain, the California ski resort, saying in a reply to a user: “Katie, the powder was excellent, and some shredding did take place!! Mammoth is an excellent mountain and looking forward to going back!!!! In the meantime, on the lookout for illegal aliens!!”

Bovino’s bravado and heavy-handed arrest tactics in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, New Orleans and Minneapolis captured the administration’s aggressive approach to its mass deportation pledge — and penchant for public sparring with critics over controversial actions.

It also marked a pivot from the way enforcement responsibilities are generally divided between Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with the latter charged with interior immigration arrests.

Bovino’s enforcement style had been backed by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The pivot to Homan’s approach is a rebuke of that style and reveals the ongoing tensions between different factions in the administration over how to tackle the president’s immigration agenda, officials said.

Homan has generally taken a more stringent approach to immigration enforcement, wanting to focus on public safety and national security threats, as well as so-called “collaterals,” meaning undocumented immigrants that may be in the vicinity of a targeted operation.

“ICE has been doing interior enforcement before Bovino got involved. They prefer to conduct their ops without the optics,” another Homeland Security official told CNN. “(Border Patrol) never wanted anything to do with these interior ops and will go back to focusing on the border.”

The change also means “there’s less characters in this play and less storylines,” a former Trump official told CNN. “That’s where they think they’ve set the course,” the official added, referring to the White House.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told CNN in a statement, “The President’s entire team is working together to implement his immigration enforcement agenda – which has always focused on prioritizing the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens. The successful deportations, dropping crime rates, and historically secure border prove that. As always, anyone in the country illegally is eligible to be deported.”

Homan acknowledged the issues on the ground in Minneapolis, including officer misconduct, almost immediately after arriving and since then.

In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union,” Homan said he increased the presence of internal affairs officers in Minnesota since arriving in the Twin Cities to address misconduct allegations among immigration enforcement officers.

“In any instance where there have been allegations of misconduct or working outside the policy, it has been referred to internal affairs,” he said.

Within the Trump administration, there has been infighting between factions who back Homan and those who back Noem. Homan and Noem have rarely spoken to each other in recent months, according to US officials.

Homan said Sunday he doesn’t agree with Noem “on everything,” but added that the pair regularly have discussions, and he described the administration’s efforts as “one team one fight.”

“We have discussions and different opinions. That’s what makes it a strong team. We bring different ideas to the table and then agree on a mission,” Homan said.

日本下关市古寺院发生火灾 五人死亡

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据日本媒体报道，日本山口县下关市一寺院发生火灾，致五人死亡。

新华社引述据日本放送协会的报道说，当地时间星期五（2月20日）2时30分左右，当地消防部门接到寺院起火的报告。大火在约三个小时后扑灭，包括主殿和住宅在内的三栋建筑物完全烧毁。

另据日本共同社消息，寺院内住有五人。火灾现场已发现五具遗体。当地警方和消防部门正对火灾详情和遗体身份展开调查。

《星岛日报》引述消防部门称，五名死者分别是寺院住持、他的妻子，两名小学子女及一名老人。

据日媒报道，烧毁的寺院为当地的正琳寺，始建于1594年，已有432年历史。

日前，山口县全境发布“干燥注意预警”，气象部门提醒民众注意用火安全。