President Donald Trump's border czar says he is reducing the number of immigration enforcement officers in Minnesota after state and local officials agreed to turn over arrested immigrants. Tom Homan says about 700 federal officers will be immediately withdrawn from the operation in Minnesota. That's about a quarter of the federal officers currently deployed in the state. But he says the immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota isn't ending. Homan didn't give a timeline of when that might happen following weeks of confrontations in Minnesota's Twin Cities and two deadly shootings by federal officers.
The Angel Meloni is no more. A painting of a cherub resembling Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has been painted over at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina. The face, which drew crowds to the church in Rome and sparked scandal, was erased by Wednesday. La Repubblica reported that restorer Bruno Valentinetti covered it at the church's request. Valentinetti said he had styled the painting on Meloni, but didn't say why. The diocese of Rome and the Italian Culture Ministry launched investigations. The original painting, dating from 2000, wasn't historic, but the church insisted political figures have no place in art. Meloni joked about the resemblance on social media.
Trump's border czar announces 700 immigration officers to be immediately removed from Minnesota.
Independent journalist Don Lemon says about a dozen federal agents came to his Los Angeles hotel to arrest him last week. Lemon told ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel on Monday that the arrest happened even though his attorney told authorities he would turn himself in to face federal civil rights charges. Lemon was indicted last week on federal civil rights charges over his coverage of a Minnesota anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a church service. The Department of Justice didn’t respond to messages seeking comment. The FBI’s Minneapolis office said it would be inappropriate to comment because the case has reached “the adjudication phase.”
The appearance in a Roman church of a cherub that bears a striking resemblance to Premier Giorgia Meloni has sparked a minor scandal for both church and state in Italy. The diocese of Rome and the Italian Culture Ministry both announced investigations into the recent renovations at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina. That, after photographs of the Meloni-esque cherub were published in Italian newspapers this weekend. Their swift and harsh reactions indicated little tolerance in Italy for the profane in a sacred place. Meloni, for her part, tried to tamp down the outcry and make light of it. She joked on social media that she doesn't look like an angel.
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from ending temporary protections that have allowed roughly 350,000 Haitians to live and work in the United States. The judge in Washington on Monday granted a request to pause the termination of temporary protected status for Haitians. The TPS designation for Haitians was scheduled to end Tuesday. Without that protection, Haitian TPS holders could face deportation to Haiti. The temporary designation that can be granted by the Homeland Security secretary if conditions in home countries are deemed unsafe for return due to a natural disaster, political instability or other dangers. President Donald Trump has sought to end the protections for migrants from many countries.
As a teenager in India, Susai Jesu led prayer services in his small Catholic village, helped at Mass and soon began training for the priesthood. Little did he know that this dedication would take him halfway around the world on a vast cross-cultural journey — ministering among Canada’s Indigenous Catholics, learning their language, culture and historical traumas. He hosted Pope Francis when the late pontiff visited Canada in 2022 to apologize for the Catholic Church’s collaboration with an often-abusive system of Indigenous residential schools. And as of Jan. 26, Jesu is now an archbishop for northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan. He’ll oversee ministry to about 49,000 Catholics dispersed across a region larger than Texas.
Federal judge blocks the Trump administration from ending legal protections for 350,000 Haitians.
Despite proclaiming last February as National Black History Month, President Donald Trump's second term has been marked by what critics say are attacks on Black history in the United States. The administration has dismantled Black history at national parks, most recently a slavery exhibit in Philadelphia. In the 100th year since the nation's earliest celebrations of Black history, the current political climate has energized civil rights organizations, artists and academics to engage young people on a full telling of America's story. Hundreds of lectures, teach-ins and new books are planned to mark Black History Month, which originated as historian Carter G. Woodson's idea for a Negro History Week in 1926.
A video alleging fraud in Somali-run child care centers in Minneapolis has drawn attention throughout the United States. In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine held a news conference to debunk fraud claims about a Columbus center. In San Diego, a provider was alarmed by suspicious activity outside her day care. In Washington, police were called on right-leaning journalists investigating Somali centers. Providers say these incidents disrupt safe learning environments. The controversy began after a right-wing influencer posted a video accusing Minneapolis Somali centers of fraud. Although inspectors disproved the claims, the video intensified scrutiny and harassment of these centers.