In brief: A winter storm may bring some minor snow accumulations to rather far south latitudes this weekend, including perhaps all the way to northern Florida. That will be followed by some cold and the potential for some healthy cold later next week in the North. In addition, we’re going to see some wild winds in the Plains, and we’re also actually looking at the Eastern Pacific for possible tropical development.
Hello after a bit of a hiatus! Let’s get into some winter.
As this week has progressed, we’ve begun to see the beginnings of a pattern change, starting with a pretty potent upper level trough of low pressure digging into the Eastern U.S., deep into the Southeast. Low temperatures tonight are expected to be in the 20s in the Florida Panhandle and 30s down to Tampa and Orlando.
Morning lows on Friday are forecast to be quite chilly in Florida. (Pivotal Weather)
After a brief push of moderation, the weather will again turn colder this weekend as a very sharp disturbance within the trough carves out near Texas and Louisiana and pushes east off the East Coast. As this happens, a shield of rain is going to develop off the Texas and western Louisiana coasts in the Gulf and rocket east northeast. Because the trough is so deep, the storm track will be somewhat suppressed, meaning any low pressure that forms will be off the South Carolina or Georgia coasts.
A potent disturbance will swing through the Southeast this weekend bringing a chance of rain and mixed rain and snow to places that are not accustomed to seeing much of that! (Pivotal Weather)
With cold air moving back in place on the backside of this storm, it seems possible, if not likely that rain will mix with or change to snow over parts of the Southeast. While this probably won’t be a major snowstorm, the prospect of a few inches of snow in some parts of the Southeast, say from the Florida Panhandle, across south Georgia, into South Carolina is definitely interesting!
(NWS Charleston)
The area most likely to see something on the order of 1 to maybe up to 3 inches of snow is likely from north of Tallahassee through Valdosta into maybe Augusta and Columbia, SC. Current snow forecasts are not exactly major through 7 AM on Sunday, but it’s something! Keep posted to your local forecasts in the South for more over the next couple days.
Current snow forecasts through Sunday morning 7 AM. (NWS Atlanta)
Let’s welcome winter back to the Southeast after what has been a rather lengthy stretch of mostly mild, at times record warm weather.
Winter is likely to stick around a bit. While the South may see more variability at times, the Midwest is likely going to see some legitimate cold coming. The CPC has highlighted the Dakotas, Minnesota, the Wisconsin Northwoods, and the U.P. of Michigan for “much below normal” cold Jan 24-26.
The 8-14 day hazards outlook is now highlighting cold risk in the North beginning late next week. (NOAA CPC)
The pattern does indeed look healthy for cold, legitimate cold in some places, particularly the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes. Meanwhile, how far east and south will it get? That’s more of an open question. The same 8-to-14-day outlook shows high confidence cold in the North and moderate confidence for more warm weather in the South.
Warm South, cold North, same as it ever was? (NOAA CPC)
Over the last 30 days, record highs have outpaced record lows by a 29:1 margin (5,210 to 181). Much of that is due to a very warm South and West late last month and a very warm start to 2026 nationally.
Jan 1-12 temperature anomalies across the country have skewed extremely warm. (NOAA PSL)
The next week or two will erase a good bit of that warmth out of there, but we’ll see if that includes the South.
Windy Plains!
Elsewhere, the main weather story the rest of this week will be winds on Friday in the Plains and northern Rockies, with wind gusts perhaps as high as 75 to 80 mph in parts of South Dakota. This will lead to all sorts of issues in that area, including some higher fire risk.
(NWS Rapid CIty)
Winds peak Friday morning.
Slight chance at an Eastern Pacific tropical system?
Yes, it’s January. Yes, there may actually be a tropical system in the eastern Pacific. Maybe. If you’ve heard about it, it still seems unlikely, but there is some model support for it.
Thunderstorms in the Eastern Pacific may have a very, very slight chance at becoming a tropical system as it moves northwest offshore of Mexico. (Weathernerds.org)
Modeling suggests that as this drifts northwest, it has at least a very, very slight chance at organizing to a point where it could be a weak depression. Water temperatures in this part of the world are much warmer than normal, which won’t hurt. And yes, Google’s Deep Mind model does show a low chance of this happening too. Support is not great by any means, but there’s enough there there that from a purely meteorological curiosity perspective, this will be interesting to monitor.
A few European ensemble and Google Deep Mind ensemble members do show tropical development possibilities in the Eastern Pacific over the next few days. (Google Weather Lab)
The last time we saw a wintertime tropical system in the Central or Eastern Pacific occurred in January of 2016, when Hurricane Pali formed in the Central Pacific, south and west of Hawaii. In the Eastern Pacific, you really need to go back to December of 1983 for this, with Hurricane Winnie that formed south of Mexico, a few hundred miles east of where this disturbance currently is located. Weird? You bet. Not at all normal. In most cases when this happens, it occurs closer to Hawaii or the International Date Line. Another storm in 1922 formed in February somewhere south of here but details are a bit sketchy. Either way, a notable weather item today.
Federal prosecutors secured indictments against 26 individuals they accused of rigging college basketball games, with the defendants facing charges that include bribery in sports, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and aiding and abetting. What do you think?
“Leave this kind of thing to the pros, kids.”
Andy Zorc, Melon Slicer
“Damn, my parlay needed them to get away with it.”
Medical drama The Pitt, which won five Emmys and two Golden Globes in its first season, is back for season two. The Onion shares everything you need to know about the series.
Q: Do I need to watch season one first?
A: No, you can get the gist of it by shooting yourself in the leg and calling an ambulance.
Q: Over what 15-hour period does it take place?
A: This season sees the ER inundated with hundreds of severe brain freeze victims over the course of National Ice Cream Day.
Q: Does Langdon return?
A: Yes, though he is now called “Langdon the White.”
Q: Is anyone new joining the cast?
A: Zendaya is briefly seen wandering in from the Euphoria soundstage to use The Pitt ’s restroom.
Q: How have fans reacted so far?
A: Many viewers were puzzled by Dr. Robby’s decision to commute to work on a motorcycle while holding a loaded gun in his mouth.
MONROE, MI—Citing its ongoing mission to provide customers with the pinnacle of comfort and relaxation, upholstered furniture mainstay La-Z-Boy announced Friday that its latest line of Jasper Rocking Recliners would feature fully adjustable morphine drips. “There’s no better way to relax than with our luxurious recliners and a steady stream of opioids flowing right into your veins,” said La-Z-Boy spokesperson Marie Hampton, showing off a new easy chair’s plush woven chenille IV bag and 10 preprogrammed morphine settings, which according to company marketing materials range from “drowsy numbness” to “metabolic coma.” “Once you’re done, there’s a convenient sharps disposal built into the armrest. So go ahead: Just recline, set your morphine drip to the desired delivery level, and drift away into a deep—possibly endless—sleep.” Hampton added that for an additional fee each recliner could also be outfitted with an Italian leather breathing mask and high-quality mahogany bedpan.
SAN FRANCISCO—In a jarring departure from his usual brash, confrontational on-court behavior, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green reportedly returned from halftime of Thursday night’s game against the Knicks eerily calm, sporting a large scar on his forehead. “Angry noise gone from Draymond head…Draymond good boy now,” said Green, who sat on the bench petting a gerbil after setting a screen and then just standing still drooling as the play moved to the other end of the court. “Draymond make no more basketball problems. Only nice basketball.” Despite his newly tranquil demeanor, sources confirmed Green was still assessed a technical foul late in the third quarter after wandering onto the court during a live ball and smiling serenely at things that weren’t there.
So-called “pink cocaine,” a hazardous polydrug that can contain ketamine, ecstasy, meth, and sometimes fentanyl, is increasingly being found in U.S. nightclubs among users unaware of its dangerous contents. What do you think?
“For a more ladylike nosebleed.”
Sergio Corona, Sand Appraiser
“Our overdose crisis needed a touch more whimsy.”
Gaby Hoover, Warehouse Navigator
“Nice to see drug dealers embrace their feminine side.”
Immigration agents have put civilians’ lives at risk using more than their guns.
An agent in Houston put a teenage citizen into a chokehold, wrapping his arm around the boy’s neck, choking him so hard that his neck had red welts hours later. A black-masked agent in Los Angeles pressed his knee into a woman’s neck while she was handcuffed; she then appeared to pass out. An agent in Massachusetts jabbed his finger and thumb into the neck and arteries of a young father who refused to be separated from his wife and 1-year-old daughter. The man’s eyes rolled back in his head and he started convulsing.
After George Floyd’s murder by a police officer six years ago in Minneapolis — less than a mile from where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed Renee Good last week — police departments and federal agencies banned chokeholds and other moves that can restrict breathing or blood flow.
But those tactics are back, now at the hands of agents conducting President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
Examples are scattered across social media. ProPublica found more than 40 cases over the past year of immigration agents using these life-threatening maneuvers on immigrants, citizens and protesters. The agents are usually masked, their identities secret. The government won’t say if any of them have been punished.
In nearly 20 cases, agents appeared to use chokeholds and other neck restraints that the Department of Homeland Security prohibits “unless deadly force is authorized.”
About two dozen videos show officers kneeling on people’s necks or backs or keeping them face down on the ground while already handcuffed. Such tactics are not prohibited outright but are often discouraged, including by federal trainers, in part because using them for a prolonged time risks asphyxiation.
We reviewed footage with a panel of eight former police officers and law enforcement experts. They were appalled.
This is what bad policing looks like, they said. And it puts everyone at risk.
“I arrested dozens upon dozens of drug traffickers, human smugglers, child molesters — some of them will resist,” said Eric Balliet, who spent more than two decades working at Homeland Security Investigations and Border Patrol, including in the first Trump administration. “I don’t remember putting anybody in a chokehold. Period.”
“If this was one of my officers, he or she would be facing discipline,” said Gil Kerlikowske, a longtime police chief in Seattle who also served as Customs and Border Protection commissioner under President Barack Obama. “You have these guys running around in fatigues, with masks, with ‘Police’ on their uniform,” but they aren’t acting like professional police.
Over the past week, the conduct of agents has come under intense scrutiny after an ICE officer in Minneapolis killed Good, a mother of three. The next day, a Border Patrol agent in Portland, Oregon, shot a man and woman in a hospital parking lot.
Top administration officials rushed to defend the officers. Speaking about the agent who shot Good, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said, “This is an experienced officer who followed his training.”
Officials said the same thing to us after we showed them footage of officers using prohibited chokeholds. Federal agents have “followed their training to use the least amount of force necessary,” department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.
“Officers act heroically to enforce the law and protect American communities,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said.
Both DHS and the White House lauded the “utmost professionalism” of their agents.
Our compilation of incidents is far from complete. Just as the government does not count how often it detains citizens or smashes through vehicle windows during immigration arrests, it does not publicly track how many times agents have choked civilians or otherwise inhibited their breathing or blood flow. We gathered cases by searching legal filings, social media posts and local press reports in English and Spanish.
Given the lack of any count over time, it’s impossible to know for certain how agents’ current use of the banned and dangerous tactics compares with earlier periods.
But former immigration officials told us they rarely heard of such incidents during their long tenures. They also recalled little pushback when DHS formally banned chokeholds and other tactics in 2023; it was merely codifying the norm.
That norm has now been broken.
One of the citizens whom agents put in a chokehold was 16 years old.
American citizen Arnoldo Bazan was hospitalized after being choked and pinned to the ground at a restaurant supply store in Houston during the arrest of his father nearby. Courtesy of the Bazan family
Tenth grader Arnoldo Bazan and his father were getting McDonald’s before school when their car was pulled over by unmarked vehicles. Masked immigration agents started banging on their windows. As Arnoldo’s undocumented father, Arnulfo Bazan Carrillo, drove off, the terrified teenager began filming on his phone. The video shows the agents repeatedly ramming the Bazans’ car during a slow chase through the city.
Bazan Carrillo eventually parked and ran into a restaurant supply store. When Arnoldo saw agents taking his father violently to the ground, Arnoldo went inside too, yelling at the agents to stop.
One agent put Arnoldo in a chokehold while another pressed a knee into his father’s neck. “I was going to school!” the boy pleaded. He said later that when he told the agent he was a citizen and a minor, the agent didn’t stop.
“I started screaming with everything I had, because I couldn’t even breathe,” Arnoldo told ProPublica, showing where the agent’s hands had closed around his throat. “I felt like I was going to pass out and die.”
DHS’ McLaughlin accused Arnoldo’s dad of ramming his car “into a federal law enforcement vehicle,” but he was never charged for that, and the videos we reviewed do not support this claim. Our examination of his criminal history — separate from any immigration violations — found only that Bazan Carrillo pleaded guilty a decade ago to misdemeanor driving while intoxicated.
McLaughlin also said the younger Bazan elbowed an officer in the face as he was detained, which the teen denies. She said that Arnoldo was taken into custody to confirm his identity and make sure he didn’t have any weapons. McLaughlin did not answer whether the agent’s conduct was justified.
Experts who reviewed video of the Bazans’ arrests could make no sense of the agents’ actions.
“Why are you in the middle of a store trying to grab somebody?” said Marc Brown, a former police officer turned instructor who taught ICE and Border Patrol officers at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers. “Your arm underneath the neck, like a choking motion? No! The knee on the neck? Absolutely not.”
DHS revamped its training curriculum after George Floyd’s murder to underscore those tactics were out of bounds, Brown said. “DHS specifically was very big on no choking,” he said. “We don’t teach that. They were, like, hardcore against it. They didn’t want to see anything with the word ‘choke.’”
After agents used another banned neck restraint — a carotid hold — a man started convulsing and passed out.
Officers used a carotid hold on Carlos Sebastian Zapata Rivera while arresting his wife in Massachusetts. Newsflare
In early November, ICE agents in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, stopped a young father, Carlos Sebastian Zapata Rivera, as he drove with his family. They had come for his undocumented wife, whom they targeted after she was charged with assault for allegedly stabbing a co-worker in the hand with scissors.
Body camera footage from the local police, obtained by ProPublica, captured much of what happened. The couple’s 1-year-old daughter began crying. Agents surrounded the car, looking in through open doors.
According to the footage, an agent told Zapata Rivera that if his wife wouldn’t come out, they would have to arrest him, too — and their daughter would be sent into the foster system. The agent recounted the conversation to a local cop: “Technically, I can arrest both of you,” he said. “If you no longer have a child, because the child is now in state custody, you’re both gonna be arrested. Do you want to give your child to the state?”
Zapata Rivera, who has a pending asylum claim, clung to his family. His wife kept saying she wouldn’t go anywhere without her daughter, whom she said was still breastfeeding. Zapata Rivera wouldn’t let go of either of them.
Federal agents seemed conflicted on how to proceed. “I refuse to have us videotaped throwing someone to the ground while they have a child in their hands,” one ICE agent told a police officer at the scene.
But after more than an hour, agents held down Zapata Rivera’s arms. One, who Zapata Rivera’s lawyer says wore a baseball cap reading “Ne Quis Effugiat” — Latin for “So That None Will Escape” — pressed his thumbs into the arteries on Zapata Rivera’s neck. The young man then appeared to pass out as bystanders screamed.
The technique is known as a carotid restraint. The two carotid arteries carry 70% of the brain’s blood flow; block them, and a person can quickly lose consciousness. The tactic can cause strokes, seizures, brain damage — and death.
“Even milliseconds or seconds of interrupted blood flow to the brain can have serious consequences,” Dr. Altaf Saadi, a neurologist and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, told us. Saadi said she couldn’t comment on specific cases, “but there is no amount of training or method of applying pressure on the neck that is foolproof in terms of avoiding neurologic damage.”
In a bystander video of Zapata Rivera’s arrest, his eyes roll back in his head and he suffers an apparent seizure, convulsing so violently that his daughter, seated in his lap, shakes with him.
Video of Zapata Rivera’s arrest shows him shaking violently while suffering an apparent seizure in the front seat of his car, with officers continuing to attempt the arrest. Newsflare
“Carotid restraints are prohibited unless deadly force is authorized,” DHS’ use-of-force policy states. Deadly force is authorized only when an officer believes there’s an “imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury” and there is “no alternative.”
In a social media post after the incident and in its statement to ProPublica, DHS did not cite a deadly threat. Instead, it referenced the charges against Zapata Rivera’s wife and suggested he had only pretended to have a medical crisis while refusing help from paramedics. “Imagine FAKING a seizure to help a criminal escape justice,” the post said.
“These statements were lies,” Zapata Rivera alleges in an ongoing civil rights lawsuit he filed against the ICE agent who used the carotid restraint. His lawyer told ProPublica that Zapata Rivera was disoriented after regaining consciousness; the lawsuit says he was denied medical attention. (Representatives for Zapata Rivera declined our requests for an interview with him. His wife has been released on bond, and her assault case awaits trial.)
A police report and bodycam footage from Fitchburg officers at the scene, obtained via a public records request, back up Zapata Rivera’s account of being denied assistance. “He’s fine,” an agent told paramedics, according to footage. The police report says Zapata Rivera wanted medical attention but “agents continued without stopping.”
Saadi, the Harvard neurologist, said that as a general matter, determining whether someone had a seizure is “not something even neurologists can do accurately just by looking at it.”
DHS policy bars using chokeholds and carotid restraints just because someone is resisting arrest. Agents are doing it anyway.
Federal officers arrested American citizen Luis Hipolito with a chokehold, pinning him to the ground in Los Angeles on June 24. @the_moxie_report
When DHS issued restrictions on chokeholds and carotid restraints, it stated that the moves “must not be used as a means to control non-compliant subjects or persons resisting arrest.” Deadly force “shall not be used solely to prevent the escape of a fleeing subject.”
But videos reviewed by ProPublica show that agents have been using these restraints to do just that.
In Los Angeles in June, masked officers from ICE, Border Patrol and other federal agencies pepper-sprayed and then tackled another citizen, Luis Hipolito. As Hipolito struggled to get away, one of the agents put him in a chokehold. Another pointed a Taser at bystanders filming.
Then Hipolito’s body began to convulse — a possible seizure. An onlooker warned the agents, “You gonna let him die.”
In the video of Hipolito’s arrest, four agents can be seen pulling at his body, choking him and pinning him to the pavement. @the_moxie_report
When officers make a mistake in the heat of the moment, said Danny Murphy, a former deputy commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department, they need to “correct it as quickly as possible.”
That didn’t happen in Hipolito’s case. The footage shows the immigration agent not only wrapping his arm around Hipolito’s neck as he takes him down but also sticking with the chokehold after Hipolito is pinned on the ground.
The agent’s actions are “dangerous and unreasonable,” Murphy said.
Asked about the case, McLaughlin, the DHS spokesperson, said that Hipolito was arrested for assaulting an ICE officer. Hipolito’s lawyers did not respond to ProPublica’s requests for comment.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Hipolito limped into court days after the incident. Another citizen who was with him the day of the incident was also charged, but her case was dropped. Hipolito pleaded not guilty and goes to trial in February.
Some of the conduct in the footage isn’t banned — but it’s discouraged and dangerous.
An officer kneels on the neck of nurse and activist Amanda Trebach, a U.S. citizen, during an arrest in Los Angeles. Courtesy of Union del Barrio
Placing a knee on a prone subject’s neck or weight on their back isn’t banned under DHS’ use-of-force policy, but it can be dangerous — and the longer it goes on, the higher the risk that the person won’t be able to breathe.
“You really don’t want to spend that amount of time just trying to get somebody handcuffed,” said Kerlikowske, the former CPB commissioner, of the video of the arrest in Portland.
Brown, the former federal instructor and now a lead police trainer at the University of South Carolina, echoed that. “Once you get them handcuffed, you get them up, get them out of there,” he said. “If they’re saying they can’t breathe, hurry up.”
DoorDash driver Victor José Brito Vallejo was pinned to the ground by federal agents in Portland, Oregon, on Sept. 11. The Oregonian
Taking a person down to the ground and restraining them there can be an appropriate way to get them in handcuffs, said Seth Stoughton, a former police officer turned law professor who also works at the University of South Carolina. But officers have long known to make it quick. By the mid-1990s, the federal government was advising officers against keeping people prolongedly in a prone position.
When a federal agent kneeled on the neck of an intensive care nurse in August, she said she understood the danger she was in and tried to scream.
“I knew that the amount of pressure being placed on the back of my neck could definitely hurt me,” said Amanda Trebach, a citizen and activist who was arrested in Los Angeles while monitoring immigration agents. “I was having a hard time breathing because my chest was on the ground.”
McLaughlin, the DHS spokesperson, said Trebach impeded agents’ vehicles and struck them with her signs and fists.
Trebach denies this. She was released without any charges.
Protesters have also been choked and strangled.
A Border Patrol agent chokes and then slams down a protester in Chicago on Oct. 7. Storyful
“No, no!” one bystander exclaims. “He’s not doing anything!”
DHS’ McLaughlin did not respond to questions about the incident.
Along with two similarchoking incidents at protests outside of ICE facilities, this is one of the few videos in which the run-up to the violence is clear. And the experts were aghast.
“Without anything I could see as even remotely a deadly force threat, he immediately goes for the throat,” said Ashley Heiberger, a retired police captain from Pennsylvania who frequently testifies in use-of-force cases. Balliet, the former immigration official, said the agent turned the scene into a “pissing contest” that was “explicitly out of control.”
“It’s so clearly excessive and ridiculous,” Murphy said. “That’s the kind of action which should get you fired.”
“How big a threat did you think he was?” Brown said, noting that the officer slung his rifle around his back before grabbing and body-slamming the protester. “You can’t go grab someone just because they say, ‘F the police.’”
Two federal officers arrest a construction worker in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Nov. 19. Ryan Murphy/Getty Images
In November, Border Patrol agents rushed into the construction site of a future Panda Express in Charlotte, North Carolina, to check workers’ papers. When one man tried to run, an officer put him in a chokehold and later marched him out, bloodied, to a waiting SUV.
Freelance photographer Ryan Murphy, who had been following Border Patrol’s convoys around Charlotte, documented the Panda Express arrest.
“Their tactics are less sophisticated than you would think,” he told ProPublica. “They sort of drive along the streets, and if they see somebody who looks to them like they could potentially be undocumented, they pull over.”
Experts told ProPublica that if officers are targeting a specific individual, they can minimize risks by deciding when, where and how to take them into custody. But when they don’t know their target in advance, chaos — and abuse — can follow.
“They are encountering people they don’t know anything about,” said Scott Shuchart, a former assistant director at ICE.
“The stuff that I’ve been seeing in the videos,” Kerlikowske said, “has been just ragtag, random.”
There may be other factors, too, our experts said, including quotas and a lack of consequences amid gutted oversight. With officers wearing masks, Shuchart said, “even if they punch grandma in the face, they won’t be identified.”
As they sweep into American cities, immigration officers are unconstrained — and, the experts said, unprepared. Even well-trained officers may not be trained for the environments where they now operate. Patrolling a little-populated border region takes one set of skills. Working in urban areas, where citizens — and protesters — abound, takes another.
DHS and Bovino did not respond to questions about their agents’ preparation or about the chokehold in Charlotte.
Experts may think there’s abuse. But holding officers to account? That’s another matter.
Arnoldo, 16, and his sister, Maria Bazan, 27, at their home in Houston. Maria brought her brother to the hospital after his detention by federal officers. Danielle Villasana for ProPublica
Back in Houston, immigration officers dropped 16-year-old Arnoldo off at the doorstep of his family home a few hours after the arrest. His neck was bruised, and his new shirt was shredded. Videos taken by his older sisters show the soccer star struggling to speak through sobs.
Uncertain what exactly had happened to him, his sister Maria Bazan took him to Texas Children’s Hospital, where staff identified signs of the chokehold and moved him to the trauma unit. Hospital records show he was given morphine for pain and that doctors ordered a dozen CT scans and X-rays, including of his neck, spine and head.
From the hospital, Maria called the Houston Police Department and tried to file a report, the family said. After several unsuccessful attempts, she took Arnoldo to the department in person, where she says officers were skeptical of the account and their own ability to investigate federal agents.
Arnoldo had filmed much of the incident, but agents had taken his phone. He used Find My to locate the phone — at a vending machine for used electronics miles away, close to an ICE detention center. The footage, which ProPublica has reviewed, backed the family’s account of the chase.
After Arnoldo was choked by a federal officer, his sister took him to the hospital, where doctors quickly moved him to the trauma unit. Courtesy of the Bazan family
The family says Houston police still haven’t interviewed them. A department spokesperson told ProPublica it was not investigating the case, referring questions to DHS. But the police have also not released bodycam footage and case files aside from a top sheet, citing an open investigation.
“We can’t do anything,” Maria said one officer told her. “What can HPD do to federal agents?”
Elsewhere in the country, some officials are trying to hold federal immigration officers to account.
In California, the state Legislature passed bills prohibiting immigration officers from wearing masks and requiring them to display identification during operations.
In Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law that allows residents to sue any officer who violates state or federal constitutional rights. (The Trump administration quickly filed legal challenges against California and Illinois, claiming their new laws are unconstitutional.)
In Minnesota, state and local leaders are collecting evidence in Renee Good’s killing even as the federal government cut the state out of its investigation.
Arnoldo is still waiting for Houston authorities to help him, still terrified that a masked agent will come first. Amid soccer practice and making up schoolwork he missed while recovering, he watches and rewatches the videos from that day. The car chase, the chokehold, his own screams at the officers to leave his dad alone. His father in the driver’s seat, calmly handing Arnoldo his wallet and phone while stopping mid-chase for red lights.
The Bazan family said agents threatened to charge Arnoldo if his dad didn’t agree to be deported. DHS spokesperson McLaughlin did not respond when asked about the alleged threat. Arnoldo’s dad is now in Mexico.
Asked why an officer choked Arnoldo, McLaughlin pointed to the boy’s alleged assault with his elbow, adding, “The federal law enforcement officer graciously chose not to press charges.”
How We Did It
ProPublica journalists Nicole Foy, McKenzie Funk, Joanna Shan, Haley Clark and Cengiz Yar gathered videos via Spanish and English social media posts, local press reports and court records. We then sent a selection of these videos to eight police experts and former immigration officials, along with as much information as we could gather about the lead-up to and context of each incident. The experts analyzed the videos with us, explaining when and how officers used dangerous tactics that appeared to go against their training or that have been banned under the Department of Homeland Security’s use-of-force policy.
We also tried to contact every person we could identify being choked or kneeled on. In some cases, we also reached out to bystanders.
Research reporter Mariam Elba conducted criminal record searches of every person we featured in this story. She also attempted to fact-check the allegations that DHS made about the civilians and their arrests. Our findings are not comprehensive because there is no universal criminal record database.
We also sent every video cited in this story to the White House, DHS, CBP, ICE, border czar Tom Homan and Border Patrol’s Gregory Bovino. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin provided a statement responding to some of the incidents we found but she did not explain why agents used banned tactics or whether any of the agents have been disciplined for doing so.
When should an employer contest an unemployment charge and when should they let it be? I’m an HR department of one, and the managers have me contest almost everything! It’s hard to explain to them when unemployment is supposed to get awarded (poor performance) and when it isn’t (gross misconduct).
Can you help to determine what it should look like? This past year, we had an unprecedented number of firings and it’s been a doozy.
Most of the time, employers should avoid contesting unemployment benefits unless something egregious happened. They definitely shouldn’t be doing it as a reflexive response to any unemployment filing.
First, the basic rules around unemployment benefits: in most states, if someone is fired for not performing well enough, they’re eligible to receive unemployment. If they’re fired for clear misconduct or significant rules violations (which includes things like chronic lateness or absenteeism, cussing out a customer, drinking at work, lying on a timesheet, etc.), they’re not. In overly simplified terms, the idea is that if someone was trying to do their job but just wasn’t good enough at it, they get benefits. If the firing was easily avoidable and their “fault,” they don’t. (You can argue with whether or not it should work this way, but regardless this is how it’s set up.)
Too often, employers view benefits eligibility through a punitive lens — “she shouldn’t get unemployment because she was a screw-up / didn’t try hard enough / messed up the X project / was a pain to manage.” But it’s generally not in companies’ best interests to approach it that way (even putting questions of basic humanity aside). Any employment lawyer will tell you that challenging unemployment makes it vastly more likely that a fired employee will end up suing the company (whether or not they have real cause). For example, say you’ve got someone who was fired and has wondered if their age/disability/pregnancy/whatever played a role but they’re weren’t planning to pursue it … but then you fight her unemployment, which comes across to most people as “they fired me and now they want me to starve and lose my house.” Now she’s bitter and angry, and she decides to talk to a lawyer after all. Even if you ultimately prevail, you’re going to have to spend time and money dealing with it.
In most states, employers pay into the unemployment system based in part on how many of their former employees end up collecting it, so they figure they have a financial incentive to keep those numbers down. But you can’t make that calculation without factoring in the above.
So at a minimum you should tell your managers that contesting unemployment is only for situations where there was gross misconduct, not just where someone wasn’t good enough at the work.
Also: what’s going on in your organization that’s causing an unprecedented number of firings? Maybe that’s legitimate and unavoidable, but are your managers making bad hires? Managing people badly? I’d dig in there as well.
“We looked around for a neutral evil country to trade with, but couldn’t find one.” Luke and the Panel (Ian MacIntyre, Clare Blackwood and Nile Seguin) talk about the horrific ICE shooting of Renee Good, Mark Carney’s trade visit to China, the protests in Iran, and Trump’s obsession with interest rates. Then the Approximately 10 […]
WASHINGTON—In an abrupt termination that surprised many White House observers and raised questions about the fate of her remaining staff, first lady Melania Trump reportedly cast longtime aide Heather Schofield into the Well of Gloom on Thursday.
Shortly after midnight, the 55-year-old Trump was seen upon the blasted, confounding landscape of the Glade of Sorrow, where Schofield, her advisor since 2017, groveled on her hands and knees in the mud, grasping at the hem of her employer’s dark cloak. When a flash of lightning illuminated an ancient cobblestone well that had not been there moments before, the aide is said to have pleaded for compassion, to which Trump replied: “Do not beg for mercy, Heather. There is no such thing on this plane of existence.”
Trump was then heard muttering an incantation that caused fingers of black smoke to rise from the well and drag the screaming aide down into its limitless depths, an account denied by the Office of the First Lady.
“Any assertion that the first lady cast Ms. Schofield into the Well of Gloom as a flock of ravens shrieked overhead and blotted out the moon is a total fabrication,” said East Wing spokesperson Nicholas Clemens, appearing ashen-faced and expressionless as he spoke in a flat monotone and maintained an unblinking gaze into the distance. “Ms. Schofield’s departure from this realm was completely voluntary, and there is no truth to the claim that she faced retaliation at work for failing to procure the Necrostone and unlock the unfathomable powers of azogsoth.”
“The first lady and all of us at the White House wish Ms. Schofield the best in her future within the Well of Gloom,” he added.
Sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of being cast into an otherworldly vortex themselves confirmed that Schofield was not heard hitting the bottom of the well. She is believed to be the first aide Melania Trump has sent down the eldritch structure since a group of White House social media interns went missing in 2020.
According to staffers who claimed to have peered inside the well, its twisting interior is covered with impenetrable runes that spin downward into infinity. Saying their brief glimpse had driven them to the brink of madness, they speculated that Schofield was enduring unspeakable horrors that would permanently shatter her psyche while denying her the mercy of death.
“Tension had been flaring between Heather and Melania, and to be honest, the writing was on the wall,” said one staffer who worked closely with Schofield, stating that Trump had frequently criticized the aide’s job performance. “Once it became clear Heather couldn’t conduct the arcane rites necessary to obtain the Necrostone, the atmosphere at work got really tense. Just last week, Melania rebuked her in a dead tongue in front of everybody, causing our eyes to roll back in our heads and making us lose consciousness. It was pretty awkward—and unprofessional too, I might add.”
The staffer added that since the aide’s ejection from the earthly plane, morale has been low in the first lady’s offices, where an air sour with brimstone fills the halls and at least one staircase is “awash in blood.” In the East Wing, Schofield’s former coworkers can reportedly hear her warped, guttural moans inside their own minds, making it difficult to concentrate.
Many in the White House described Schofield as a person who couldn’t handle the stress of her job. One source noted her hair had suddenly and inexplicably turned pure white. Another stated that she would often come into work in a shirt that was mis- buttoned and drenched in a strange glowing ichor. But few expressed pity for her ceaseless torment.
“Yeah, it’s sad when someone loses their job, but you know the second the tattered remains of her soul are released she’s going to cash in with a pathetic tell-all about Melania,” said a source within the Office of Communications, suggesting publishers would be “chomping at the bit” to get their hands on a memoir by someone who had spent significant time in the Well of Gloom. “Whatever. At least the well has been fed.”
The source added, “Besides, Heather was clearly not the chosen one who, according to prophecy, will decipher the secrets of azogsoth, slay the First Elders with Igora’s Blade, and allow the first lady to enter the Sphere of the Deathless, where she will reign supreme for all eternity.”
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA—In an attempt to curb impulsive purchases made in periods of deep emotional distress, music store chain Guitar Center announced Thursday that it had instituted a 72-hour waiting period for all customers. “Owning a guitar is a huge responsibility, and the last thing we want is for these instruments to fall into the wrong hands,” said Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto, who added that the mandatory cooling-off period was an easy, proven way to prevent customers from purchasing acoustic or electric guitars, basses, or keyboards and ultimately doing something they would regret forever. “The fact is, we see many customers come in at their lowest point, hoping to commit unspeakable acts like starting a cover band, attending a jam session, or writing and recording their own music. I’ve seen far too many disturbed young men ask me to help them learn the guitar lick from Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man.” Make no mistake: These safety policies save lives.” Dalporto added that Guitar Center would also be adding mandatory background checks to make sure customers had no prior mental health issues before purchasing a drum set.
With its proposal of the first-ever $1 trillion defense budget, the White House has sought a dramatic increase in funding for the armed forces. Here, The Onion breaks down President Trump’s military spending by the numbers.
WASHINGTON—Calling her actions “indefensible,” Vice President JD Vance stated Thursday that Renée Good was brainwashed by the Bible into loving thy neighbor. “The fact of the matter is that Renée Good was radicalized by these deranged, left-wing texts,” said Vance, whose response to the death of the 37-year-old Minneapolis mother was reiterated across social media by MAGA voters and GOP lawmakers who emphasized that the blame for her slaying lay squarely on the Scriptures that had “poisoned” her mind. “She was obsessed. I don’t know who ‘Matthew’ and ‘Mark’ are, if those are even their real names, but they should know that they will not escape accountability. Frankly, we should deport everybody who follows this insanity. There’s no ‘Golden Rule’ in U.S. immigration code.” At press time, the Department of Justice had reportedly launched an investigation after receiving a tip that there was a whole fringe network of these so-called “followers of Christ.”
A new study published in the journal Science found that exceptionally smart dogs can learn the names of objects simply by overhearing human conversations and extracting meaning from social cues, showing word-learning abilities similar to toddlers. What do you think?
“This only makes me think less of my toddler.”
Craig Horner, Salve Developer
“So funny to watch my dog confuse ‘continual’ with ‘continuous.’”
STARBASE, TX—Claiming that his relationship with the nation’s adults had been ‘irreparably’ damaged by their recent comments in support of the trans community, Elon Musk announced Thursday that he had filed for full custody of all U.S. children. “I will be filing for full custody today, given that every American parent supports the transition of infants,” Musk wrote in a post on X, stating that he had a duty to protect over 74 million children from their guardians, who he claimed were “pedophiles” and “groomers.” “It’s sick. There isn’t one parent left in this country who hasn’t brainwashed their kids with the woke mind virus or, worse, taught them basic human empathy. And for promoting anti-white ideology, I am hereby terminating any remaining child support.” At press time, Musk announced that he had amended his lawsuit to only seek custody of the nation’s boys.
WASHINGTON—Saying that despite recent events, it would do everything in its power to continue obscuring the truth, The Washington Post published an editorial Thursday defending the FBI’s recent raid on its reporter. “As journalists, we stand united behind the U.S. government’s decision to investigate our colleague Hannah Natanson, search her home, and seize several of her electronic devices,” read the piece, which was signed by the famed newspaper’s editorial board and outlined the many ways in which Natanson deserved to be punished for doing her job conducting investigative reporting into the Trump administration. “The Washington Post has a long history of groundbreaking journalism, and we invite FBI director Kash Patel to raid, arrest, or jail anyone involved with such efforts. In the United States, federal agents are born with certain unalienable rights. We cannot in good conscience allow our reporters to infringe upon that freedom.” At press time, the famed newspaper’s readership had reportedly skyrocketed after the editorial board called on President Donald Trump to publicly execute its entire staff.
NEW YORK—Lauding the commander-in-chief’s response to being heckled at a Ford plant as a stunning physical feat, pundits from multiple media outlets praised President Donald Trump on Thursday for summoning the strength and dexterity necessary to successfully lift his middle finger. “The obscene gesture Trump made in Michigan was brimming with youthful vitality, not to mention quite a bit of technical finesse,” said Fox News’ Sean Hannity, echoing the sentiment of dozens of political commentators who remarked that the 79-year-old Trump had flipped the bird with the deftness and vigor of a man half his age. “No president since Teddy Roosevelt has possessed the raw bodily prowess required not only to lift his middle finger, but also to hold it in the air—completely unassisted—for nearly a full second. Most leaders would struggle to flip someone off as effortlessly as Trump did, and none of them could pull it off while walking with such bold, muscular steps. It borders on superhuman, but that’s just the kind of athleticism you come to expect with such an incredible physical specimen leading our country.” Hannity went on to commend the mental acuity and “rapier wit” that allowed Trump to come up with a retort for the heckler as scathing as “Fuck you.”
Scott Adams, the creator of the popular comic strip Dilbert has died at 68, having drawn criticism after veering into far right politics. What do you think?
“This is a very sad day for a small group of very weird men.”
Corina Wayman, Sock Darner
“Can’t wait to see what direction JD Vance takes Dilbert.”
I’m dealing with two issues from the same event with the same employee.
I am the manager for a warehouse distribution center for a larger company.
For our holiday party, I handed out RSVP cards with a choice of one of three dinners for the employee and a guest a few weeks ahead of the party so we knew of a count for the meals and we could pre-pay. The dinner was at a somewhat upscale location (a country club). I was somewhat surprised when one of my employees (Kyle) showed up not only with his wife, but also a 5-6 year old child/grandchild. After the meal and while I was making a speech about how the company was doing, work anniversaries, etc., the child started saying, “I’m bored, I want to leave,” getting louder each time they said it. So during my speech, Kyle, his wife, and the child left.
Not a huge deal, but at the end of the party a member of the waitstaff handed me a bill for $18.75 for a chicken strip meal and a pop for the child. I had to pay (plus tip) out of my own pocket. How would you handle this? Ask for reimbursement from Kyle? Plus how to discuss not bringing a child (or an extra guest) to what was an adult event with an invite for only two people?
The second issue with Kyle: all employees were given a ticket when they arrived and we had enough prizes/gifts for every employee at the party. We would draw a name and a prize/gift was given. Because Kyle had left, we just continued to the next name after his name was drawn. That meant we had an extra item at the end, so I put all the tickets back in the basket and announced that whichever employee’s name was drawn, their guest would get the prize.
Yesterday I overheard some talk about how Kyle approached the employee whose wife had won the extra prize and is expecting them to give up the prize as Kyle should have received it, even if he wasn’t there. The employee hasn’t approached me (yet) about the situation. Do I step in now, or wait until something is said to me? Even though it wasn’t stated “must be present to win,” should I have held onto Kyle’s prize or was it okay to give it away?
Some companies let employees win raffle prizes at parties even when they’re not there, but it’s not at all uncommon to confine prizes only to people who are in attendance — and Kyle was out of line in approaching his coworker and demanding the prize. In your shoes, I’d just talk to the employee who Kyle approached and let them know the prize is theirs and they don’t need to feel any pressure to hand it over to Kyle. Add that if Kyle causes any issues over that, they should let you know and you’ll handle it.
There’s an argument for giving Kyle a heads-up too, particularly if your sense is that this is going to blow up into a problem. I’d say it this way: “Sorry you had to leave early! Please don’t ask Ralph to give up the prize his wife won; that was my call when you weren’t there when your name was drawn.”
As for Kyle bringing his wife and a child when the invitation was only for one guest: let that go and just be clearer about the expectations next year. There are companies where employees are welcome to bring additional family members to holiday parties, and people don’t always scrutinize invitations enough to realize that one guest is okay but two wouldn’t be. (Should they read more carefully? Sure. But people don’t, and it’s usually not worth the hassle of making a big deal about it unless it truly causes significant problems.) Plus, who knows, maybe they had a last-minute child care emergency and thought bringing the kid along was the best solution, or just didn’t realize this was going to be a “company speeches” sort of event and not something more family-friendly.
The $18.75 for the kid’s meal should be a business expense (one you get reimbursed for), just like if there were some other unexpected add-on to the charges for the event. As the host of the event, handing Kyle a bill would be really ungracious. And the point of company holiday parties is to build morale, not to leave people feeling bad or resentful or like they/their family were a burden. $18.75 is a small price for the company to pay to avoid that.
But for future events, be clearer up-front on the invitation and when talking about the party — “one guest per employee,” “this is not a child-friendly event (there will be work speeches!) but you are welcome to bring an adult guest,” or whatever is right for the circumstances. Clearer is always kinder (but so is giving people some grace if they get it wrong, within reason).
WASHINGTON D.C. – Following the death of Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Good, Trump Administration officials are unanimously insisting the officer who shot her had completed his routine ICE training on how to exacerbate all violent altercations. With ICE agents coming under fire for opening fire on American citizens, many are examining the agency’s Escalation Training […]
