2,049 events on record Subscribe September 10, 2026
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Timeline

Every entry in the archive, ordered by event date. Page 8 of 41, showing July 9, 2026 to July 16, 2026. Pages contain 50 entries each; entries for a given date may continue on the next or previous page.

2026 Events (1,250)

July(241)

Reynoldsburg, Ohio officer searched same plate 53 times without case numbers, resigned before misconduct interview

On July 16, 2026, Reynoldsburg, Ohio police officer Alissa Birkhimer resigned one day before she was scheduled to be interviewed by Internal Affairs investigators about her use of the department's Flock Safety license-plate-reader system. A department audit found she had searched the same Ohio license plate 53 times between January and June 2026, mostly without the case number her searches were supposed to be tied to, and that a case number she eventually cited in June belonged to an unrelated missing-person investigation with no established connection to the plate. Unlike a fellow officer caught in a parallel audit, Reynoldsburg police released no internal-affairs finding on whether Birkhimer's searches violated policy before she left.

North Carolina elections board lowered bar for rejecting provisional ballots over photo ID

The North Carolina State Board of Elections voted 3-2 along party lines on July 16, 2026, to adopt a rule making it easier to reject provisional ballots cast by voters who lack a photo ID. The new rule lets a simple majority of a county board's members disqualify such a ballot, replacing a prior requirement that all five members agree. Board Democrats warned the change helps legitimize unsubstantiated fraud claims, while the state elections director said it merely aligns the rule with existing law.

National Park Service replaced the President's House slavery exhibit in Philadelphia overnight, softening Washington's role as enslaver

On July 15, 2026, the National Park Service completed an overnight swap of the interpretive exhibit at the federally owned President's House Site in Philadelphia, installing Trump administration-proposed panels that historians say soften George Washington's role as an enslaver of nine people at the site. Workers replaced the displays "under the cover of darkness," in the mayor's words, days after the Third Circuit ruled that Philadelphia had no legal authority over interpretive content at the federally owned memorial. The new panels devote more space to the early presidency and recast Washington's views on slavery, drawing condemnation from Philadelphia's mayor and civil-rights advocates.

Federal Bureau of Prisons held transferred ICE detainees in Miami facility with failed air conditioning and water

On July 15, 2026, wives of men held at the Federal Bureau of Prisons' Federal Detention Center in downtown Miami publicly alleged inhumane conditions — failed air conditioning, unreliable drinking water, denied medications, and one detainee held in solitary confinement — after their husbands were transferred there from the wildfire-evacuated Krome Detention Center. The Bureau of Prisons acknowledged a July 1 water-pressure problem and a July 6 air-conditioning chiller malfunction but said both were repaired, while families said conditions had not meaningfully improved.

Justice Department activated the 30-year-dormant Alien Terrorist Removal Court for the first time

On July 15, 2026, the Justice Department filed the first application in the 30-year history of the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, a specialized tribunal Congress created in 1996 as part of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act but which had never previously been used. The identity of the respondent and the nature of the allegations remain sealed; the presiding judge questioned the government's legal theory and requested further briefing. Legal experts noted the ATRC structure significantly curtails due process relative to standard immigration removal proceedings by permitting the government to keep its classified evidence secret from the respondent.

Trump's DNI nominee Jay Clayton repeatedly refused to affirm Biden won the 2020 election at Senate hearing

Jay Clayton, President Trump's nominee for Director of National Intelligence, repeatedly declined to say that Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 presidential election during his July 15, 2026 Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing, despite direct and repeated questioning from Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.). Clayton said he was "not an election denier" and acknowledged Biden "was certified as the president of the United States," but would not affirm the outcome when pressed. The exchange became one of the most contentious moments of his confirmation hearing.

Trump ordered a fifth day of Iran strikes as CENTCOM reimposed the Strait of Hormuz blockade, again defying the war-powers resolution

On July 15, 2026, U.S. forces struck Iranian targets for a fifth consecutive day and U.S. Central Command reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, in a round Iran's Health Ministry said wounded more than 260 people, the highest single-day toll reported since the campaign resumed. Iran's Revolutionary Guard threatened to halt all Middle East energy exports in response and launched retaliatory missiles and drones at U.S.-hosting states including Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan. The strikes and blockade continued a campaign Congress had directed the administration to end through a bicameral War Powers Resolution passed in June 2026, without new congressional authorization.

White House fired court-appointed Seattle U.S. Attorney Roger Rogoff within an hour of his swearing-in

On July 15, 2026, the judges of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington unanimously invoked 28 U.S.C. § 546 to appoint veteran Seattle prosecutor and former state judge Roger Rogoff as U.S. Attorney after the seat had sat vacant past the statutory limit, and he was sworn in before 8 a.m. in downtown Seattle. Less than an hour later, the White House emailed Rogoff a termination notice from the presidential personnel office removing him, and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche posted that "District court judges can appoint a temporary U.S. Attorney, and POTUS can fire them." Rogoff called the dismissal "most likely unlawful" and said he was consulting lawyers about challenging it.

U.S. aircraft fired Hellfire missiles to disable oil tanker M/T Belma, first vessel struck under reimposed Iran blockade

On July 15, 2026, a U.S. aircraft fired Hellfire missiles into the smokestack of the Curaçao-flagged oil tanker M/T Belma as it transited international waters in the Persian Gulf toward Iran's Kharg Island oil terminal, disabling the unladen vessel after U.S. Central Command said it ignored repeated warnings to stop. CENTCOM said it was the first vessel U.S. forces disabled since reimposing the naval blockade of Iranian ports the day before, and that two other commercial vessels that complied were redirected the same day. The strike enforced a blockade continuing without new congressional authorization after Congress's June 2026 War Powers Resolution directed the president to end hostilities with Iran.

GEO Group blocked a legally required tuberculosis investigation at the Aurora ICE detention facility

On July 15, 2026, Adams County, Colorado health officials reported that the GEO Group, the private operator of the Aurora ICE Processing Center, had failed to provide the legally required access needed to complete a public-health investigation into an active tuberculosis case at the facility. Investigators said they were denied access to the infected patient, medical records, and detainee-movement information despite a June 25 public health order requiring compliance. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement denied that the facility had any confirmed active cases or had violated any laws.

ProPublica investigation reveals FBI explored using AI to review signatures on seized Fulton County 2020 mail-in ballots

On July 15, 2026, ProPublica reported that the FBI had explored using artificial intelligence to assess the validity of signatures on tens of thousands of mail-in ballot envelopes seized from Fulton County, Georgia, as part of the Trump administration's reinvestigation of the 2020 election. Internal communications reviewed by the outlet showed the effort compared ballot-envelope signatures against other election documents using tooling an agency technology specialist described as questionable, while experts have long doubted the accuracy of signature matching. The initiative was under discussion as recently as late June, its status uncertain, and came as the bureau redirected 260 analysts nationwide to focus on the Fulton County probe.

NPS rangers cited 72-year-old protester Sandra Shachar $305 for taping a news clipping at Philadelphia's President's House Site

On July 15, 2026, National Park Service rangers issued 72-year-old Philadelphia psychologist Sandra Shachar a $305 vandalism citation after she taped a news clipping to a glass panel at the President's House Site in Philadelphia, where she had been posting articles almost daily since January to protest the federal government's handling of the site's slavery exhibit. Rangers stopped her mid-act, cited her under federal vandalism rules, and warned that a repeat could result in arrest.

Human Rights Watch and ACLU report found 90% of interviewed Camp East Montana detainees beaten or witnessed beatings by guards

On July 15, 2026, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union jointly released an 84-page report finding that 64 of 71 detainees interviewed said they had been beaten by guards or witnessed others being beaten at Camp East Montana, the ICE detention facility at the U.S. Army's Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. The report also documented denial of necessary medical care, filthy living conditions, inedible food, coercive pressure to accept deportation, and circumstances that in some cases could amount to enforced disappearance. Researchers found the abuses persisted even after ICE replaced the facility's prime contractor in March 2026.

LAPD officers repeatedly restrained a hooded, handcuffed jail inmate who died minutes later

On July 15, 2026, Los Angeles Police Department detention officers at the Valley Jail Section used force on Jose Carlos Hoyos-Munoz three times during booking, including holding him face-down on a bunk with a spit hood over his head after removing his handcuffs. Roughly 20 minutes after the last use of force, officers found him unconscious and not breathing, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. LAPD released video of the incident in late August 2026, after Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass ordered an independent review of police-involved deaths.

CFTC ordered Kalshi to defy Michigan court's trade-cancellation order, invoking emergency power unused in 46 years

On July 14, 2026, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission stayed a proposed rule change by prediction-market platform Kalshi that would have brought it into compliance with a Michigan state court order, and separately invoked emergency authority to order Kalshi to fulfill the disputed trades instead. CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig said the commission would not let states "bully" federally regulated exchanges, the first time the agency has used this power against a state court ruling in 46 years.

Trump extended federal National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C. through January 2029

On July 14, 2026, the Trump administration extended the federalized National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C. through Inauguration Day in January 2029, the Pentagon confirmed. The deployment, begun in August 2025 under a since-lapsed "crime emergency," had recently doubled to nearly 5,000 troops and now ranks as the longest such domestic deployment in U.S. history.

Trump ordered a fourth day of Iran strikes as CENTCOM reinstated the Strait of Hormuz blockade, again defying the war-powers resolution

On July 14, 2026, U.S. forces struck Iranian targets for a fourth consecutive day and U.S. Central Command reinstated a naval blockade on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, backed by more than 20 Navy warships. President Trump the same day dropped a 20 percent cargo toll he had imposed on Hormuz shipping a day earlier, saying Gulf-state leaders had offered to invest in the United States instead. The strikes and blockade continued a campaign Congress had directed the administration to end through a bicameral War Powers Resolution passed in June 2026, without new congressional authorization.

ICE moved to renew $25M-a-year Thomson Reuters data-broker contract to identify unaccompanied minors and flag alleged fraud

On July 14, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement published a federal contract-register document disclosing plans to renew its data-broker agreement with Thomson Reuters Special Services (TRSS) at up to $25 million per year for five years, more than five times the value of the prior contract. The filing states the data -- drawn from TRSS's Consolidated Lead Evaluation and Reporting (CLEAR), Continuous Alerting Batch Solution (CABS), and Westlaw databases, which include license-plate-reader and court records -- would be used to identify "unaccompanied minors" and flag "voters fraud" and immigration fraud, tasks ICE has not previously performed for the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Thomson Reuters said the work supports vetting sponsors of migrant children, but immigration attorneys said DHS's expanding role has already narrowed the pool of eligible sponsors and prolonged children's time in custody.

Trump personally received $2 million from a South Korean company facing a U.S. trade investigation

A financial disclosure that President Trump filed in late June 2026, reported by the New York Times on July 14, showed he was personally paid $2 million by South Korea's Base Group, an aluminum company whose affiliate Korea Aluminum was found by the U.S. Commerce Department in 2023 to have skirted trade duties on Chinese-made aluminum. The payment was listed as a nonrefundable development fee tied to a letter of intent, which the Trump Organization said related to an unannounced golf project. The arrangement gave the president a direct personal financial tie to a foreign business subject to his own administration's trade enforcement.

U.S. 5th Circuit ended 1965 Concordia Parish school desegregation order, backing DOJ campaign to lift decrees

On July 14, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, sitting in New Orleans, upheld the lifting of a 1965 federal desegregation consent decree governing Louisiana's Concordia Parish schools. The ruling backed a Justice Department campaign, carried out with Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill through "joint stipulated dismissals" that require no proof segregation has ended, to terminate Civil Rights-era school desegregation orders. The decree, in place for more than 60 years, ended without an evidentiary finding that segregation had been eradicated.

New York Times: Hegseth blocked promotions of seven senior Navy officers, five of them women or people of color, to two-star admiral

The New York Times reported on July 14, 2026, that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had blocked the promotions of seven senior Navy officers — five of them women or people of color — to two-star admiral rank, overriding a promotion board of senior admirals that had recommended 22 officers. Among those removed was Rear Adm. Amy Bauernschmidt, the first woman to command a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Officials said the move means that, for the first time in more than a decade, no active-duty female Navy officer is likely to be promoted to admiral this year.

ICE and HSI encounter in St. Augustine drove Mexican tourist Juan Jairo Coronilla Duran into traffic; he died

On July 14, 2026, Juan Jairo Coronilla Duran, a 28-year-old Mexican national visiting the United States on a valid tourist visa, was struck and killed by a semi-truck on State Road 16 near St. Augustine, Florida, after fleeing a traffic stop conducted by ICE and Homeland Security Investigations agents. He had been in the United States for three weeks, in Florida for only two days, and had already purchased a return flight to Mexico for that weekend. His wife and Mexican state officials confirmed his valid visa status; his death was reported as the third fatality arising from ICE encounters in a single week.

American Oversight records showed Deputy AG Blanche personally directed the DOJ's 'Weaponization Working Group'

On July 14, 2026, the watchdog group American Oversight published records — first reported by the New York Times — showing that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche personally oversaw the Justice Department's "Weaponization Working Group," convening recurring meetings in his conference room and assigning senior officials from the Office of the Deputy Attorney General to politically charged investigations. Calendar entries and emails tied those assignments to inquiries involving former Special Counsel Jack Smith, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, January 6 prosecutions, and the 2020 election. The disclosure was released on the eve of Blanche's Senate confirmation hearing to become Attorney General.

Greer, S.C. police corporal repeatedly searched Flock cameras to track a fellow officer, falsified justifications

Greer, South Carolina Police Department Corporal Kareem Lynch repeatedly used the department's Flock Safety license-plate-reader system to search for the license plate of a fellow officer with whom he had a prior relationship, between December 2025 and January 2026, logging the queries under false justifications such as "welfare checks" or "city planning." The city of Greer disclosed on July 14, 2026 that Lynch had been terminated on June 26, 2026 after a Flock AI audit corroborated the allegations.

Greer, S.C. police officer searched Flock cameras to track his ex-girlfriend and other citizens, falsified justifications

Greer, South Carolina Police Department Officer Sebastian Echeverry used the department's Flock Safety license-plate-reader system to search the plates of several citizens, including his ex-girlfriend, between December 13, 2025 and May 25, 2026, entering "Alcohol Offense Non-DUI" as his justification even though that was not the true reason for the searches. The city of Greer disclosed on July 14, 2026 that Echeverry had been terminated on June 29, 2026 after a Flock AI audit corroborated the allegations.

Trump reinstated the Strait of Hormuz blockade with a 20% cargo toll and resumed Iran strikes, again defying the war-powers resolution

On July 13, 2026, President Trump announced he was reinstating a U.S. naval blockade of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, proposed a 20 percent toll on cargo transiting the strait, and directed U.S. forces to launch a fresh wave of strikes on Iran, declaring that fighting with Iran had resumed. He also pressed Gulf states to help fund the strait's "protection." The action continued a pattern begun in June 2026 in which the administration has repeatedly ordered strikes and blockade-enforcement measures against Iran despite a bicameral War Powers Resolution directing an end to hostilities absent a declaration of war or specific congressional authorization.

ICE detained Russian national with pending accepted green card petition at Burbank Airport

ICE agents detained Galina Bobreneva, a Russian national married to a U.S. citizen, at Burbank Airport on July 13, 2026, despite her marriage-based green card petition having already been accepted for processing with fingerprinting completed; DHS characterized her as having overstayed her visa, while her attorney maintains she was never out of lawful status. She was held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Facility for over two weeks before being released on July 29 on a $35,000 bond with an ankle monitor, with her immigration case still pending.

Trump reduced Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by roughly 90%

On July 13, 2026, President Trump signed two executive orders cutting Bears Ears National Monument from about 1.36 million acres to roughly 121,100 acres and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument from about 1.87 million acres to roughly 181,500 acres, each a reduction of about 90%. He invoked the Antiquities Act's "smallest area compatible" clause as authority, though the Supreme Court has never ruled that presidents may shrink existing monuments. Native American tribes and conservation groups condemned the move as unlawful.

Fourth Circuit rules border agents may manually search phones without suspicion, joining all other circuits

On July 13, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held in United States v. Belmonte Cardozo (No. 25-4239) that border agents may manually inspect travelers' cell phones without individualized suspicion of wrongdoing, classifying manual device searches as "routine" border searches exempt from the Fourth Amendment's warrant and probable cause requirements. Writing for a unanimous three-judge panel, Judge Marvin Quattlebaum joined the court in holding that the border search exception applies to manual phone inspections, while forensic searches still require at least reasonable suspicion. The ruling makes the Fourth Circuit the latest federal appeals court to adopt this position.

Defense Secretary Hegseth announced a joint Defense-Justice Department task force to investigate and prosecute leaks to news media

On July 13, 2026, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the creation of a joint Department of Defense and Department of Justice task force to identify and prosecute unauthorized disclosures of sensitive information to news media. Hegseth delegated authority to the Defense Department's Office of General Counsel to request and receive all departmental records concerning media-leak investigations, and warned that those who leak would be met with "the full force of the law." Press-freedom advocates, including a New York Times attorney, condemned the effort as a threat to constitutionally protected newsgathering.

FBI fired two analysts who objected to DOJ's 2020 Fulton County election probe as thin on evidence

The FBI fired two intelligence analysts after they raised concerns that the Justice Department's investigation into the 2020 election in Fulton County, Georgia, was thin on evidence and politically motivated, and refused to join the probe, according to sources cited by CBS News on July 13, 2026. The analysts were among roughly 260 ordered to review seized ballots, voting-machine records, and voter rolls in the inquiry directed by FBI Director Kash Patel. The FBI said its employees are expected to uphold the bureau's mission and standards.

ICE agents tackled, handcuffed, and abandoned arrest of Australian man at Las Vegas airport

Two plainclothes ICE officers attempted to detain Phu Nguyen, a 57-year-old Australian citizen who had overstayed his visa, at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on July 13, 2026, pinning him to the ground. When bystanders began filming and a crowd gathered, the officers abandoned the arrest and walked away, leaving Nguyen handcuffed to one arm; Las Vegas police responded, found no outstanding warrants, and removed the handcuff. ICE arrested Nguyen the next day at Los Angeles International Airport instead.

ICE agent fatally shot Colombian man during Biddeford, Maine enforcement operation; man was not warrant's target

An ICE agent fatally shot a 26-year-old Colombian man during an immigration enforcement operation in Biddeford, Maine, on July 13, 2026. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the man weaponized his vehicle before the agent fired, but Sen. Angus King said the man was not the target of the agents' warrant and that the agents were not wearing body cameras. The Maine Attorney General's Office opened a state investigation and the agent was placed on administrative leave.

Reynoldsburg, Ohio officer Mark Nichols made 46 unauthorized Flock searches on ex-partner's plate, resigned before IA interview

Reynoldsburg, Ohio police officer Mark Nichols resigned on July 13, 2026, the day before he was scheduled to be interviewed in an internal-affairs investigation that found he made 47 unauthorized searches of the department's Flock Safety license-plate-reader system between September 2025 and June 2026. Investigators determined 46 of those searches targeted a vehicle belonging to his former domestic partner, with Nichols logging the reason as "23," the department's code for an errand, rather than a case number; Deputy Chief Mike Binder sustained the finding that Nichols had violated department policy. Because Nichols resigned before his interview he faced no discipline, and the department held off referring the case for criminal prosecution because of a medical diagnosis, though officials said that could change if his health improved.

Trump ordered fifth round of Iran strikes near Strait of Hormuz, again defying war-powers resolution

On July 12, 2026, U.S. Central Command conducted a fifth distinct round of strikes on Iran, hitting drone, missile, and ammunition sites as well as surveillance and naval-operations facilities near the Strait of Hormuz at Sirik, Qeshm Island, Jask, and west of Bandar Abbas. President Trump directed the strikes, which CENTCOM said were meant to hold Iranian forces accountable and continue degrading Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping through the strait, a day after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared the strait closed and Iran reported strikes on Qeshm Island and explosions in Bandar Abbas.

USDA official pressed Forest Service for extra aircraft to fight small fire near his own ranch

Michael Boren, the USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment who oversees the U.S. Forest Service, repeatedly called regional and national Forest Service offices on July 12, 2026 to press for more aircraft on the 7-acre Cabin Creek Fire burning near his own Hell Roaring Ranch in Idaho's Sawtooth National Recreation Area. Six current and former Forest Service officials told the Washington Post the resulting response -- nine aircraft costing over $100,000 -- exceeded what a fire of that size typically draws, during a period of high national fire preparedness when other fires were competing for the same aircraft. USDA said Boren is expected to have regular contact with the agencies he oversees and denied he "pressured leadership or ordered more resources."

Trump ordered a fourth round of Iran strikes after a Hormuz vessel attack, again defying the bicameral war-powers resolution

On July 11, 2026, U.S. Central Command struck roughly 140 targets in Iran — missile and drone launch sites, ammunition depots, and communications facilities near Bandar Abbas and Sirik — after Iran attacked a Cyprus-flagged commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. This is the fourth distinct round of U.S. strikes on Iran since Congress passed the first-ever bicameral War Powers Resolution in June 2026 directing the president to end hostilities absent a declaration of war or specific congressional authorization.

ICE arrested Philadelphia woman mid-status-adjustment at airport checkpoint, part of a wider airport-arrest pattern

On July 11, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Iliana Noeli Lick, a 30-year-old Argentine nanny who was in the process of legally adjusting her immigration status, at a security checkpoint inside Philadelphia International Airport as she attempted to board a flight. Advocates say Lick is one of at least seven people ICE has arrested at the airport since mid-July 2026, part of a broader pattern of ICE using Transportation Security Administration checkpoint screening to detain travelers nationwide. DHS confirmed the shift, stating it reversed a prior policy that had allowed such travel.

ICE officers invoked Kansas's new Halo Act to block a bystander from recording their Olathe detention operation

On July 11, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers surrounded Lenexa, Kansas resident Shana Leacox as she recorded ICE activity from her car in Olathe, blocking her vehicle in while an officer repeatedly shouted "25 feet, 25 feet" and ordered her to move back under Kansas's new Halo Act. Leacox was not arrested, but the video-recorded encounter shows the facially neutral proximity law -- passed to shield officers from disorderly crowds -- being invoked against a bystander documenting ICE conduct rather than the unrest its sponsors described.

Justice Department subpoenaed four New York Times reporters over their Air Force One security reporting

In July 2026, the Justice Department subpoenaed four New York Times reporters — Julian Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager, and Eric Schmitt — over their reporting on security concerns about the Qatari-donated aircraft being prepared as Air Force One. After federal judges froze phone-record enforcement and challenged the DOJ's legal reasoning at a July 24, 2026, court hearing, the government withdrew all grand-jury and phone-record subpoenas. Judge Arun Subramanian called the legal work "slipshod" and threatened sanctions; the Times called the full withdrawal "an important affirmation of our country's commitment to a free press."

LAPD inspector general audit found officers wrongly stopped 161 innocent people flagged by faulty license-plate-reader hot list

A Los Angeles Police Department Office of the Inspector General audit, released July 11, 2026, found that during a two-month review period officers acknowledged 161 automated license-plate-reader "hot list" alerts as accurate stolen-vehicle matches that were in fact wrong, generally because outdated data was never cleared after a vehicle was recovered. Although LAPD policy requires officers to verify an alert's accuracy before stopping a vehicle, the audit found this frequently did not happen, and the false hits routinely triggered "high-risk" stops against people who had done nothing wrong. The findings led LAPD to let its data-sharing contract with Flock Safety expire.

Acting DNI Pulte announced a third round of ODNI staff cuts, again declining to disclose numbers or positions affected

On July 10, 2026, acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte announced on X that ODNI had begun a third round of staff reductions, describing the office as "reducing redundant, or non-critical, personnel." As with the prior rounds, Pulte did not disclose how many employees were affected, which positions were eliminated, or whether staff were fired outright or reassigned. The announcement followed the first round of firings on June 23 and preceded a fourth round on July 27.

DOJ declared Milwaukee's masked-federal-agent ordinance illegal and demanded the city stop enforcing it

In a July 10, 2026 letter to Milwaukee's mayor, common council president, and city attorney, the U.S. Justice Department declared the city's ordinance barring law-enforcement officers from concealing their faces to be unconstitutional and demanded assurances that no city entity would enforce it against federal agents. The letter gave Milwaukee until July 17 to repeal or stop enforcing the measure and asserted that federal officers, including ICE, would not comply. It extended a pattern of federal resistance to state and local requirements that immigration agents identify themselves, following DOJ lawsuits against Philadelphia and New York.

ICE published draft detention contracts declaring state law 'shall not apply' at four facilities

On July 10, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement posted draft contract terms for roughly 5,500 new detention beds at four facilities -- near Denver, Miami, and Seattle, and in central Pennsylvania -- declaring that state and local laws "shall not apply" to the facilities' operations. The filing came one day after a federal judge ordered GEO Group, operator of ICE's Tacoma detention center, to admit Washington state health inspectors, ruling that no contract could override state law. The four locations align with existing GEO Group facilities whose current operating agreements expire in the coming months.

Hegseth reversed the suspension of 8 S.C. National Guard Apache pilots grounded over a July 4 flyover

On July 10, 2026, the suspensions of eight South Carolina Army National Guard Apache pilots — grounded after a low-altitude "Salute from the Shore" flyover of the state's coastline on July 4 — were lifted after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly objected to the discipline and pressed for it to be undone. Hegseth said late on July 9 that officials would "fix this," and Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced the reversal the next morning. It was at least the second time Hegseth intervened to cancel discipline arising from an Apache flyover.

CBP seized journalist Max Blumenthal's phones at Dulles Airport days after Trump ally Loomer called for his arrest

On July 10, 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized journalist Max Blumenthal's two cellphones during a secondary inspection at Washington Dulles International Airport as he returned from reporting on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's funeral in Tehran, days after Trump ally Laura Loomer publicly urged the administration to arrest him. CBP produced no warrant and retained the phones for about a week, telling Blumenthal it intended to forensically extract their data, while leaving his laptop and cameras untouched. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) sued DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Blumenthal's behalf, and a federal judge later found the search raised serious Fourth Amendment concerns.

Trump DOJ obtained court vacatur of Proud Boys leaders' January 6 seditious conspiracy convictions

On July 10, 2026, at the U.S. Department of Justice's request, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly granted a motion to dismiss and vacate the convictions of four Proud Boys members tied to the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, including the seditious-conspiracy convictions of leaders Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, and Zachary Rehl. In a written memorandum Kelly said the government's request was not based on the facts or the law but concluded he was bound to grant it. The vacatur formally erased jury verdicts that the January 2025 presidential clemency had left intact.

Commerce Department eased AI-chip and defense export controls for UAE firms tied to Trump's crypto venture

On July 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a rule easing export controls on the United Arab Emirates, granting the Emirati firms G42 and Core42 license exceptions for advanced AI computing equipment and pledging favorable review of export applications tied to the investment firm MGX. The Emirati royal who controls G42 and MGX had secretly acquired a 49 percent stake in World Liberty Financial, the Trump family's cryptocurrency venture, months earlier. Senator Elizabeth Warren called the arrangement a "corrupt deal" and warned it could divert sensitive technology to China.

New Mexico probation officers referred probationers to ICE in violation of state privacy law, ethics commission alleged

On July 10, 2026, the New Mexico State Ethics Commission sued the state Corrections Department and its secretary, Alisha Tafoya Lucero, alleging that probation officers shared probationers' immigration status and personal information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in violation of the 2025 Nondisclosure of Sensitive Personal Information Act. The Commission said newly unearthed emails showed the coordination was widespread and continued after the privacy law took effect, and that officers lured at least three New Mexico residents to probation offices in Santa Fe and elsewhere where ICE agents arrested them.

Trump removed the remaining members of the bipartisan Election Assistance Commission, leaving it unable to act before the 2026 midterms

On July 9, 2026, President Trump terminated the two remaining Democratic members of the independent, bipartisan Election Assistance Commission — chair Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland — who were notified by email from the White House Presidential Personnel Office, while the sole remaining Republican, Christy McCormick, resigned. The removals left the four-member commission with no commissioners and therefore unable to take official action just months before the 2026 midterm elections. The EAC maintains the national mail voter registration form, certifies voting systems, and provides guidance to state and local election officials.