Open Newswire

WASHINGTON — The partial government shutdown that began this weekend ended Tuesday when President Donald Trump signed the funding package that both chambers of Congress approved within the last week.  “We’ve succeeded in passing a fiscally reasonable package that actually cuts wasteful federal spending while supporting critical programs for the safety, security and prosperity for […]

The Department of Homeland Security secretary calls leakers a threat to national security and wants to prosecute them. But much of what the public knows about DHS, which includes its agencies Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, is thanks to whistleblowers and leakers who have exposed the government’s increasingly unlawful conduct as it aggressively enforces immigration law across the country. In recent months, a series of major investigations into DHS, ICE, and CBP have relied on insiders who provided documents and information to journalists. Journalists, in turn, published what the public would otherwise never see. Here are just a few recent examples of the journalism that leaks have made possible: ICE claims the power to enter homes without a judge’s warrant In January, The Associated Press reported on an internal ICE memo instructing officers that they could forcibly enter people’s homes to make arrests without a warrant signed by a judge. Instead, the memo claimed that an administrative warrant — issued by the executive branch and never reviewed by a court — is sufficient. The news story was based on a whistleblower complaint sent to Congress and shared with the AP by an anonymous congressional official. The complaint and memo were later made public. Because of this reporting, based on a leak, the public learned of a major constitutional violation. ICE is reversing its own past practices and training materials, which had long instructed officers that a judicial warrant was required to enter a home. Yet, as one legal expert noted, challenging ICE’s new interpretation of the law in court could be difficult, because courts have made it so hard to sue federal officers for violating constitutional rights. That makes public scrutiny one of the few tools available to challenge ICE’s claim that it can knock down your door without a warrant. And that scrutiny is possible only because of a leak. DHS is labeling protesters “domestic terrorists.” Journalist Ken Klippenstein has repeatedly exposed internal DHS activities using leaked government documents. One of his most recent revelations shows that DHS has labeled American citizens who protest against ICE as “domestic terrorists.” According to documents leaked to Klippenstein, ICE branded a Portland, Oregon, man, Chandler Patey, and “countless other American protesters” as domestic terrorists based on minimal and dubious evidence. (The unsubstantiated rumor that Patey is the leader of antifa — whatever that even means — was started by a right-wing influencer, for instance.) The leaks also revealed a DHS-wide portal that aggregates personal information about alleged terrorists, including protesters, allowing authorities to centralize surveillance of them. Without sources willing to leak these documents, the public would have no idea that DHS is transforming constitutionally protected activity into domestic terrorism. ICE’s expanding surveillance state, built with big tech Some of the most detailed reporting on ICE’s surveillance infrastructure has come from leaks and information via confidential sources provided to outlets like 404 Media and Wired, which have exposed how major tech firms are helping build ICE’s spy tools. Next time DHS talks about cracking down on leaks, think about all you wouldn’t know without leakers. 404 Media, for instance, recently relied on internal ICE materials to report about a tool developed by Palantir for ICE called “Elite.” Elite helps ICE decide what neighborhoods to raid by mapping the addresses of people targeted for deportation, using sensitive personal information from agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services. 404 Media even published a copy of an internal Elite user guide. Similarly, Wired relied on confidential sources to report that the Department of Government Efficiency was working on a “master database” in April 2025 to help DHS track and surveil undocumented immigrants, built on Palantir software and stitched together from vast pools of government data. Experts warned of sweeping privacy violations affecting not only those who are undocumented, but citizens, too. ICE’s propaganda machine In addition to exposing DHS’s tactics and surveillance, leaks have also revealed how the government is working to shape public perception. In December 2025, The Washington Post reported on ICE’s internal “media machine” using leaked chats and other documents from within the agency. Those messages showed ICE officials coordinating with the White House to push propaganda celebrating immigration arrests, mocking immigrants in private chats, and selectively curating videos and images to fit a political narrative. They illustrated how ICE is manufacturing and distributing content to flood the internet with its own propaganda and overwhelm independent sources of information. While many believed, based on what they could see online, that the government was pumping out propaganda, these leaks confirmed it and gave the public inside information about how it operates. Protect the whistleblowers who make this possible These are just four examples of journalism — based on leaks — that have been essential to informing the public about America’s growing surveillance state. These stories share a common thread: Without whistleblowers and leakers, the public would never know how DHS is breaking the law and abusing our civil rights and civil liberties. So the next time DHS talks about cracking down on leaks, or the government actually prosecutes a whistleblower, think about all you wouldn’t know without leakers. If the government succeeds in silencing leakers and whistleblowers, it won’t make us safer. It will only help the powerful operate in the dark, without accountability.

President Donald Trump restated a call Tuesday for federal control over election administration across the country, undermining the structure outlined in the Constitution that empowers states to run elections. For the second time in as many days, Trump indicated he wanted the federal government more involved in elections. The issue renews concerns over Trump’s expansion […]

President Donald Trump restated a call Tuesday for federal control over election administration across the country, undermining the structure outlined in the Constitution that empowers states to run elections. For the second time in as many days, Trump indicated he wanted the federal government more involved in elections. The issue renews concerns over Trump’s expansion […]

WASHINGTON — Dozens of U.S. House Democrats and leaders of several caucuses rallied on a chilly Tuesday morning outside U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in the nation’s capital, demanding the resignation, firing or impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Democrats criticized Noem for the monthslong immigration operation in Minnesota in which federal immigration agents […]

This rabbit show can draw well over 50 different breeds. The rabbits compete for best in breed and best overall.

Психолог-педагог мәктәпкә һөҗүм иткән укучының мондый адымга баруы бер генә сәбәпкә бәйле түгел дип саный.

'Teachers work hard, and it’s key that we compensate them for the work that they do,' said Rep. Jansen Owen

President Donald Trump restated a call Tuesday for federal control over election administration across the country, undermining the structure outlined in the Constitution that empowers states to run elections. For the second time in as many days, Trump indicated he wanted the federal government more involved in elections. The issue renews concerns over Trump’s expansion […]

President Donald Trump restated a call Tuesday for federal control over election administration across the country, undermining the structure outlined in the Constitution that empowers states to run elections. For the second time in as many days, Trump indicated he wanted the federal government more involved in elections. The issue renews concerns over Trump’s expansion […]

TOPEKA — An ongoing battle between the attorney general and Kansas governor about releasing Kansans’ personal data to the federal government made its way to a Tuesday committee hearing on a bill intended to force the governor’s hand. Senate Bill 428 requires the secretary of the Department for Children and Families to respond to federal […]

Mississippi is one of 15 states that received a federal grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services last year to reduce costs and improve outcomes around maternal health. One pillar of that grant involves expanding access to midwives.

(The Center Square) – Taxes on skill games and recreational marijuana could bring $2 billion into the state’s bank account to help fund Gov. Josh Shapiro’s latest spending plan. Except that a deal to implement either has yet to be reached, leaving a multi-billion-dollar gap to fill for his fourth and most expensive proposal yet. It’s a familiar dynamic. One that Shapiro came prepared for in his 90-minute speech delivered to a joint session of the General Assembly on Tuesday. “This budget doesn't raise taxes. In fact, it continues to cut taxes,” he said on the House floor. “And it doesn't require a broad-based tax increase today, tomorrow, or at any point in the next five years. “Listen, I know some of you try to score political points by saying that it does,” he added, surrounded by a raucous round of applause from Democrats. “But that doesn’t make it true.” What could make it true – aside from Republicans’ deeper scrutiny of the administration’s accounting – would be a collapse in negotiations that have yet to start. After three straight years of late budgets, including the latest four-month impasse that ended in November, the chance for failure is more likely than not. “I don’t want to sound like a broken record,” said Sen. Scott Martin, Republican chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “The position that we find ourselves in now is exactly where we said we’d be.” “It’s no secret whatsoever what our structural deficit is,” he added. “We are spending about $4.5 billion more than what we are taking in.” The $53.3 billion proposal comes in roughly 5% higher than the state’s current spending plan. It asks for $565 million more for struggling public schools, $300 million for mass transit, $1 billion for a four-year infrastructure fund that could support affordable housing and energy projects, and $100 million to backstop federal government cuts. But it also requires a $4.5 billion transfer from the state’s emergency savings account, which has been stockpiled with pandemic reserves, to complete Shapiro’s vision. House Democratic leadership framed it as part of a surplus that should go back to taxpayers. “Budgets are about choices, but it's also about the actions of the other chamber,” said Majority Leader Rep. Matt Bradford, D-Lansdale. “At some point someone needs to start asking real questions about what the Senate can do and what it can pass.” And for the upper chamber, agreements to tax skill games and legalize recreational cannabis have stayed out of reach. For the former, Shapiro wants to collect 52% from skill games, which are similar to slot machines but require more than a lever pull, while Senate Republican proposals range from 16% to 35%. Recreational cannabis plans are even sketchier. While the governor envisions $730 million in one-time licensing fees and $2 billion in annual taxes, there’s no legislation on the table to make it happen. Last year, House Democrats passed a bill that would sell products through a state-run store, which was unpopular on both sides of the Senate aisle. House Appropriations Chairman Jordan Harris, D-Philadelphia, said “the people” want action. “Time is out for excuses. If you don’t like this proposal, fine, show us yours,” he said. “Cause the people don’t want to hear what you don’t like, the people don’t want to hear what you’re not in favor of, they want to hear what you’re going to do.” Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Greensburg, said a conservative approach to the administration’s proposals over the last three years has kept taxpayers’ wallets intact. “This is the fourth time, this is our fourth budget from the governor that spends way too much,” she said. “We plan to be as fiscally, fiscally responsible to the people of Pennsylvania that we are able to be.”

Federal agents at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland are temporarily barred from deploying less-lethal munitions and chemicals at protesters unless the agents are in “imminent threat of physical harm,” a federal judge ruled Tuesday. The order comes after agents used excessive force and heavily gassed crowds of nonviolent protesters during the weekend […]

The Idaho House of Representatives in a party-line vote Tuesday approved a bill to adopt most of the tax cuts in the federal “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”  Debate on House Bill 559 lasted about 45 minutes, with Democrats arguing that the hit to the current fiscal year budget would result in harm to important […]

Survivors of domestic violence will be able to receive free Ring door cameras through a partnership with the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Amazon, the Iowa Attorney General’s office announced Tuesday. Ring, owned by Amazon, has donated 1,000 Ring X Line Devices with lifetime subscriptions, in addition to a $25,000 monetary donation, to the […]

The Chicago woman who federal immigration agents shot five times last October testified on agents’ use of force at a forum in D.C.

The Legislature’s powerful budget committee voted on party lines Tuesday to endorse a bill repealing Gov. Tony Evers’ 2023 partial veto that enables Wisconsin public school districts to raise their revenue limits by $325 per pupil per  year for the next four centuries. The measure was the only legislation to get any significant debate during […]

Plantación de plántulas de árboles de acacia en Yangambi, provincia de Tshopo, República Democrática del Congo. Foto: Axel Fassio/CIFOR-ICRAF The post ¿Árboles nativos o exóticos? Un dilema central para la biodiversidad y los medios de vida appeared first on CIFOR-ICRAF Forests News.