DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel turned over the bodies of 15 Palestinians on Thursday, just days after recovering the remains of the last Israeli hostage, a Gaza Health Ministry official said.
It marks the last hostage-detainee exchange between Israel and Hamas carried out as part of the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire reached in October.
The Red Cross said that it helped facilitate the return of the bodies. They were taken to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, health ministry spokeperson Zaher al-Wahidi said.
The return of all remaining hostages, living or dead, had been a key part of the first phase in the ceasefire that paused the war.
Israel agreed to return 15 Palestinian bodies for each hostage recovered, according to the ceasefire terms. It’s unclear if the bodies released Thursday were of Palestinian detainees who died in Israeli custody or bodies taken from Gaza by Israeli troops during the war.
Israel has released roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners under the ceasefire deal, many of whom were seized by Israeli troops during the more than two-year war and held without being charged. It also has released the bodies of 360 Palestinians back to Gaza, where officials have struggled to identify them.
The Gaza health ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, has posted photos of the deceased for families to identify. Of the bodies handed back by Israel, about 100 have been identified by families, al-Wahidi said.
On Monday, Israel announced that it found and identified the remains of the last Israeli hostage, police officer Ran Gvili, following an extensive search at a cemetery in northern Gaza.
The attack by Hamas-led militants on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which launched the war, killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer known affectionately as “Rani,” was killed while fighting Hamas militants.
The return of his body closed a painful chapter for the country and cleared the way for the next and more challenging phase of the ceasefire, which calls for deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas, pulling back Israeli soldiers and rebuilding Gaza.
Deaths continue in Gaza
While U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff announced the launch of the second phase of the ceasefire deal earlier this month, Israeli fire and strikes continue to kill Palestinians across Gaza almost daily.
Israeli fire killed two Palestinians on Thursday in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis area, according to Nasser hospital, where the bodies were taken. Health officials said that the two men were killed in areas that aren’t Israeli-controlled.
Another Israeli strike in central Gaza killed one Palestinian and wounded others, according to Al-Aqsa martyrs hospital, where the casualties were taken.
Israel’s military said that it carried out a “precise strike” on Thursday that targeted a suspect planning to attack its troops in the southern Gaza Strip.
The Gaza Health Ministry said that 492 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire. The ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures. The ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts.
The Israeli military has said that some of those killed in recent months were along the ceasefire line that splits Israeli-held areas and most of Gaza’s Palestinian population, and that it has targeted those posing a threat to its troops.
Rafah border crossing
For Palestinians separated from their families by the war and the tens of thousands of people outside Gaza seeking to return home, the reopening of the Rafah crossing along the border with Egypt can’t come soon enough.
The crossing is expected to reopen soon, Israeli officials have said, but how many people will be allowed to enter and leave Gaza remains unclear.
Preparations are underway to allow the departure of a limited number of medical evacuees who were wounded in the war and need to travel abroad for medical care.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that crossing won’t be open to goods for now. The crossing, Gaza’s main gateway to the outside world, has been largely closed since May 2024.
BRUSSELS — The European Union agreed Thursday to list Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization over Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests, the bloc’s top diplomat said, in a largely symbolic move that adds to international pressures on the Islamic Republic.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said foreign ministers in the 27-nation bloc unanimously agreed on the designation, which she said will put the regime “on the same footing” with al-Qaeda, Hamas and the Islamic State group.
“Those who operate through terror must be treated as terrorists,” Kallas said.
Meanwhile, Iran faces the threat of military action from President Donald Trump in response to the killing of peaceful demonstrators and over possible mass executions. The American military has moved the USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers into the Mideast. It remains unclear whether Trump will decide to use force.
Activists say the crackdown has killed at least 6,443 people. “Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is working toward its own demise,” Kallas said.
For its part, Iran has said it could launch a preemptive strike or broadly target the Mideast, including American military bases in the region and Israel.
Iran issued a warning to ships at sea Thursday that it planned to run a drill next week that would include live firing in the Strait of Hormuz, potentially disrupting traffic through a waterway that sees 20% of all the world’s oil pass through it.
Other countries, including the U.S. and Canada, have designated the Guard as a terrorist organization.
Terrorist group label a ‘symbolic act’
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed the designation as a “PR stunt” and said Europe would be affected if energy prices surge as a result of the sanctions.
“Several countries are presently attempting to avert the eruption of all-out war in our region. None of them are European,” he wrote on X.
France originally objected to listing the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization over fears it would endanger French citizens detained in Iran, as well as diplomatic missions, but the country reversed course. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told the Foreign Affairs Council on Thursday in Brussels that France supports more sanctions on Iran and the listing “because there can be no impunity for the crimes committed.”
“In Iran, the unbearable repression that has engulfed the peaceful revolt of the Iranian people cannot go unanswered,” he said.
Edouard Gergondet, an lawyer focused on sanctions with the firm Mayer Brown, said the Revolutionary Guard will be notified of the listing and given the opportunity to comment before the measure is formally adopted.
Kristina Kausch, a deputy director at the German Marshall Fund, said the listing is “a symbolic act” showing that for the EU “the dialogue path hasn’t led anywhere, and now it’s about isolation and containment as a priority.”
“The designation of a state military arm, of an official pillar of the Iranian state, as a terrorist organization, is one step short of cutting diplomatic ties,” she said.
The EU on Thursday also sanctioned 15 top officials and six organizations in Iran, including those involved in monitoring online content, as the country remains gripped by a three-week internet blackout by authorities.
The sanctions mean that affected officials and organizations will have their assets frozen and their travel to Europe banned, according to Barrot.
The Revolutionary Guard holds vast business interest across Iran, and sanctions could allow its assets in Europe to be seized.
Iran already struggles under the weight of multiple international sanctions from countries including the U.S. and Britain.
Iran’s rial currency fell to a record low of 1.6 million to $1 on Thursday. Economic woes sparked the protests, which broadened into a challenge to the theocracy before the crackdown.
Guard emerged from 1979 revolution
The Guard emerged from Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution as a force meant to protect its Shiite cleric-overseen government and was later enshrined in its constitution. It operated in parallel with the country’s regular armed forces, growing in prominence and power during a long and ruinous war with Iraq in the 1980s. Though it faced possible disbandment after the war, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei granted it powers to expand into private enterprise, allowing it to thrive.
The Guard’s Basij force likely was key in putting down the demonstrations, starting in earnest from Jan. 8, when authorities cut off the internet and international telephone calls for the nation of 85 million people. Videos that have come out of Iran via Starlink satellite dishes and other means show men likely belonging to its forces shooting and beating protesters.
Iranian men once reaching the age of 18 are required to do up to two years of military service, and many find themselves conscripted into the Guard despite their own politics.
Strait of Hormuz drill planned
In other developments, a notice to mariners sent Thursday by radio warned that Iran planned to conduct “naval shooting” in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday and Monday. Two Pakistani security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists, also confirmed the warning had been sent.
Iran did not immediately acknowledge the drill. The hard-line Keyhan newspaper raised the specter of Tehran attempting to close the strait by force.
“Today, Iran and its allies have their finger on a trigger that, at the first enemy mistake, will sever the world’s energy artery in the Strait of Hormuz and bury the hollow prestige of billion-dollar Yankee warships in the depths of the Persian Gulf,” the newspaper said.
Such a move would likely invite U.S. military intervention. American military officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Elsewhere, Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, whose Green Movement rose to challenge Iran’s disputed 2009 presidential election, again called for a constitutional referendum to change the country’s government. A previous call failed to take hold.
WHO says doctors detained, health services attacked
In other developments, at least five doctors have been detained and multiple health workers assaulted while treating injured patients in Iran since the protests began, the World Health Organization said Thursday.
The statement from WHO offered some of the first information to emerge about the country’s medical system as journalists and human rights organizations struggle to assess the toll of the crackdown.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X that a hospital in the western city of Ilam came under attack, and authorities deployed tear gas inside a hospital in Tehran. At least 50 paramedics were hurt at 10 emergency medical posts and over 200 ambulances were damaged, he said.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported that the violence in Iran has killed at least 6,443 people in recent weeks, with many more feared dead. Its count included at least 6,058 protesters, 214 government-affiliated forces, 117 children and 54 civilians who were not demonstrating. More than 47,208 have been arrested, it added.
The group verifies each death and arrest with a network of activists on the ground, and it has been accurate in multiple rounds of previous unrest in Iran. The communication cutoff imposed by Iranian authorities has slowed the full scale of the crackdown from being revealed, and The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll.
Iran’s government as of Jan. 21 put the death toll at a far lower 3,117, saying 2,427 were civilians and security forces and labeled the rest “terrorists.” In the past, Iran’s theocracy has undercounted or not reported fatalities from unrest.
That death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
UNITED NATIONS — President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to sidestep the United Nations through his new Board of Peace appears to have inadvertently backfired after major world powers rejected U.S. aspirations for it to have a larger international mandate beyond the Gaza ceasefire and recommitted their support for the over 80-year-old global institution.
The board to be chaired by Trump was originally envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing his plan for Gaza’s future. But the Republican president’s ambitions have expanded to envisioning the board as a mediator of worldwide conflicts, a not very subtle attempt to eclipse the Security Council, which is charged with ensuring international peace and security.
The board’s charter also caused some dismay by stating Trump will lead it until he resigns, with veto power over its actions and membership.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio tried to ease concerns by saying the board’s focus right now is only on the next phases of the Gaza ceasefire plan.
“This is not a replacement for the U.N., but the U.N. has served very little purpose in the case of Gaza other than the food assistance,” Rubio said at a congressional hearing Wednesday.
But Trump’s promotion of a broadened mandate and his floating of an idea that the Board of Peace “might” replace the U.N. have put off major players and been dismissed by U.N. officials.
“In my opinion, the basic responsibility for international peace and security lies with U.N., lies with the Security Council,” Secretary General Antonio Guterres said Thursday. “Only the Security Council can adopt decisions binding on all, and no other body or other coalition can legally be required to have all member states to comply with decisions on peace and security.”
In Security Council statements, public speeches and behind closed doors, U.S. allies and adversaries have dismissed Trump’s latest plan to overturn the post-World War II international order with what he describes as a “bold new approach to resolving global conflict.”
“The U.S. rollout of the much broader Board of Peace charter turned the whole exercise into a liability,” according to the International Crisis Group’s Richard Gowan, a U.N. watcher and program director. “Countries that wanted to sign on to help Gaza saw the board turning into a Trump fan club. That was not appealing.”
“If Trump had kept the focus of the board solely on Gaza, more states, including some more Europeans, would have signed up,” he said.
Key Security Council members haven’t signed on
The four other veto-wielding members of the Security Council — China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom — have refused or have not indicated whether they would join Trump’s board, as have economic powers such as Japan and Germany.
Shortly after, Trump pulled a dramatic reversal on Greenland, saying he had agreed with the NATO secretary-general on a “framework of a future deal” on Arctic security.
Amid the diplomatic chaos, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who at the time had not responded to Trump’s Board of Peace invitation, met with Guterres in London and reiterated “the UK’s enduring support for the UN and the international rules-based system,” according to a statement.
Starmer emphasized the U.N.’s “pivotal role in tackling global problems which shape lives in the UK and all over the world.” The United Kingdom later declined to join the board.
France, Spain, and Slovenia declined Trump’s offer by mentioning its overlapping and potentially conflicting agenda with the U.N.
French President Emmanuel Macron said last week that the board goes beyond “the framework of Gaza and raises serious questions, in particular with respect to the principles and structure of the United Nations, which cannot be called into question.”
Spain would not join because the board excluded the Palestinian Authority and because the body was “outside the framework of the United Nations,” Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said.
Some countries are urging a stronger U.N.
America’s adversaries also have shunned the board.
“No single country should dictate terms based on its power, and a winner-takes-all approach is unacceptable,” China’s U.N. ambassador, Fu Cong, said at a Security Council meeting Monday.
He called for the United Nations to be strengthened, not weakened, and said the Security Council’s status and role “are irreplaceable.”
In a clear reference to the Board of Peace, Fu said, “We shall not cherry-pick our commitments to the organization, nor shall we bypass the U.N. and create alternative mechanisms.”
So far, about 26 of some 60 invited countries have joined the board, and about nine European countries have declined. India did not attend Trump’s signing ceremony at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, last week but is reportedly still deciding what to do. Trump revoked Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s invitation.
“It’s hardly surprising that very few governments want to join Trump’s wannabe-U.N., which so far looks more like a pay-to-play club of human rights abusers and war crimes suspects than a serious international organization,” said Louis Charbonneau, U.N. director for Human Rights Watch. “Instead of handing Trump $1 billion checks to join his Board of Peace, governments should work on strengthening the U.N.”
Eight Muslim nations that agreed to join the board issued a joint statement that supported its mission in Gaza and advancement of Palestinian statehood. Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates made no mention of Trump’s global peacemaking plan.
The Crisis Group’s Gowan said their focus could be a way to “get a foothold in discussions of Gaza” at the start, as Trump’s ceasefire plan has already faced several setbacks.
“I remain unconvinced that this is a real long-term threat to the U.N.,” Gowan said.
New year, same you googling repeatedly, “Is a government shutdown happening?” We see you. We get it. And the answer is: “Maybe.”
The likelihood of a partial government shutdown this weekend has ramped up following a surge in immigration enforcement and related backlash in Minnesota.
The highly publicized presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security in Minneapolis, alongside the death of Alex Pretti, the second person federal agents havefatally shot in the state, has reinvigorated efforts among Democrats to reject a bill to fund DHS.
“The appalling murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis must lead Republicans to join Democrats in overhauling ICE and CBP [Customs and Border Protection] to protect the public,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement Sunday. “People should be safe from abuse by their own government.”
Schumer (D., N.Y.) said Democrats would not support keeping the government fully open if it means funding the Department of Homeland Security. Other Democratic senators have joined in calling for Senate Republicans to collaborate on advancing five other pending bills, aside from the DHS bill, and separately retooling the DHS measure.
In case you need a refresher, here is what you need to know about deadlines, what a partial government shutdown looks like, and more.
What’s a government shutdown vs. a partial government shutdown?
A full government shutdown happens when all (or most) federal agencies have not secured funding. It usually means widespread furloughs, sometimes layoffs, and any nonessential government services are put on pause.
Meanwhile, a partial government shutdown happens when Congress has funded only certain federal agencies, leaving others in limbo. In turn, some parts of the government would close while others keep operating.
When a partial shutdown happens, some federal agencies and operations, like Social Security and air traffic control, keep running as usual. But other federal employees are furloughed.
In this instance, agencies at risk of expiring funding include the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Treasury, and State; the Securities and Exchange Commission; and the federal court system, according to Reuters.
Democrats are pushing Republicans to decouple the spending bill so disagreements over DHS don’t fuel disruptions to the other agencies. But Republicans so far say they will not break up the spending bill.
When does government funding expire?
Federal funding is set to expire at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. A partial shutdown would occur if Congress and President Donald Trump’s administration do not reach an agreement by then.
Where does the DHS funding bill stand?
The House has done its part and is in recess until February. But Senate Democrats are pushing back on approvals, citing the Trump administration’s treatment of immigrants. That leaves the Senate with only a few options to avoid a shutdown if it cannot pass the current measures.
Most legislation in the Senate needs 60 votes to move forward. Republicans hold 53 seats, meaning they need bipartisan support to pass the existing measure, which covers about $1.3 trillion in annual government spending, including military and social service funding.
But Democrats want new guardrails on immigration enforcement and added oversight on DHS. Some demands include requiring judicial warrants for immigration arrests, and agents to wear visible identification, Time reported.
Several Democratic senators who broke with their party last year to keep the government open say the killings of Pretti and Good at separate protests have changed their stance.
Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.), who has historically broken with the Democratic Party to avoid government shutdowns, released a lengthy statement Monday saying that he wanted to see the DHS operation in Minneapolis end but would not support a government shutdown. But on Thursday, in a surprising break, Fetterman voted against advancing the six-bill package.
His vote, along with 54 other senators who voted “no,” meant the financial package could not move forward.
It is also worth noting that DHS would continue to operate and receive funding under a government shutdown. That is because DHS agencies received major funding through Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year. In turn, ICE and other parts of the agency would continue operating under a shutdown.
Who is affected by a government shutdown?
Hundreds of thousands of federal employees are affected, since many would be expected to work but would not receive pay until after the shutdown is lifted. Employees are typically guaranteed back pay.
Many employees are also at risk of being furloughed and would not be allowed to work (but would also receive back pay thanks to legislation passed in 2019).
Some of the main groups of employees that a shutdown could affect include (but are not limited to) active members of the military, federal law enforcement, federal transportation workers (like air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration agents, but not SEPTA workers), scientific researchers, and the IRS.
The federal court system said it would not be able to continue full operations past Feb. 4, which could disrupt hearings and other activities, Reuters reported. Data and research activity from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Institutes of Health could also go dark.
What about tax season?
This potential partial shutdown comes during tax season.
If a shutdown happens, funding for the IRS could lapse, which would in turn mean tax processing — and refunds — could be disrupted.
During last year’s shutdown in October, the IRS approved a contingency plan that let the agency continue some activities under a shutdown. But, the agency said, refunds would be delayed aside from some direct electronic returns that could be automatically processed and direct-deposited. Taxpayers were still expected to file and pay their taxes on time.
The IRS has not yet commented on a potential shutdown. Trump previously touted larger refunds this year because of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Some experts say that emphasis could play a role in the agency remaining partially open.
When would the government shut down?
Congress and the Trump administration need to reach an agreement by midnight Friday. If they don’t, a shutdown would go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
What was the longest government shutdown?
The longest government shutdown was the most recent one, which began on Oct. 1, 2025, and lasted 43 days. It broke the record for the longest shutdown on the 36th day.
What could a government shutdown mean for Philly?
In Philadelphia, the October shutdown led to the closing of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center, to the chagrin of tourists. But that would not happen this time, because the national parks are funded by the Department of the Interior, which secured its funding through an already passed appropriations bill for the year.
SNAP benefits would also notbe affected this time.
The Department of Transportation would close during this shutdown, but air traffic controllers would be required to work without pay. Similar to the last shutdown, this could lead to flight delays and cancellations.
Other impacts could be in store as the shutdown’s implications become more clear.
MINNEAPOLIS — The number of immigration enforcement officers in Minnesota could be reduced, but only if state and local officials cooperate, President Donald Trump’s border czar said Thursday, noting he has “zero tolerance” for protesters who assault federal officers or impede the ongoing operation in the Twin Cities.
Tom Homan addressed reporters for the first time since the president sent him to Minneapolis following last weekend’s fatal shooting of protester Alex Pretti.
The news conference comes after President Donald Trump seemed to signal a willingness to ease tensions in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area after Saturday’s deadly shooting, the second this month. But Homan also emphasized that the administration isn’t backing away from its crackdown on illegal immigration.
Vowing to stay until the “problem’s gone,” he seemed to acknowledge missteps while warning protesters they could face consequences if they interfere with federal officers.
“I do not want to hear that everything that’s been done here has been perfect. Nothing’s ever perfect,” Homan said.
He added later: “But threatening law enforcement officers, engaging and impeding, and obstruction, and assault is never OK, and there will be zero tolerance.”
Homan also hinted at the prospect of drawing down many of the roughly 3,000 federal officers taking part in the operation, but he seemed to tie that to cooperation from state and local leaders and a reduction in what he cast as interference from protesters.
“When the violence decreases, we can draw down the resources,” he said. “The drawdown is going to happen based on these agreements. But the drawdown can happen even more if the hateful rhetoric and the impediment and interference will stop.”
He also said he would oversee internal changes in federal immigration law enforcement, but he gave few specifics.
“The mission is going to improve because of the changes we’re making internally,” he said. “No agency organization is perfect. And President Trump and I, along with others in the administration, have recognized that certain improvements could and should be made.”
Despite Trump softening his harsh rhetoric about Minnesota officials — he said this week they were on a “similar wavelength” — there was little sign on the ground Wednesday of any big changes in the crackdown.
Pretti, 37, was fatally shot Saturday in a scuffle with the Border Patrol. Earlier this month, 37-year-old Renee Good was shot in her vehicle by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
On Thursday, Homan doubled down on the need for jails to alert ICE to inmates who can be deported, and that transferring such inmates to the agency while they’re still in jail is safer because it would mean fewer officers having to be out on the streets looking for immigrants in the country illegally. ICE has historically relied on cooperation from local and state jails to notify the agency about such inmates.
“Give us access to illegal aliens, public safety threats in the safety and security of a jail,” he said.
Homan acknowledged that immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota haven’t been perfect, but he was also adamant that the administration isn’t surrendering its mission.
He also seemed to suggest a renewed focus on what ICE calls “targeted operations” designed to focus its efforts on apprehending immigrants who have committed crimes. He said the agency would conduct “targeted strategic enforcement operations” prioritizing “public safety threats.”
Homan’s arrival in Minnesota followed the departure of the Trump administration’s on-the-ground leader of the operation, Greg Bovino. Homan didn’t give a specific timeline for how long he would stay in Minnesota.
“I’m staying until the problem’s gone,” he said, adding that he has met elected officials and law enforcement leaders across the city and state, seeking to find common ground and suggested that he’s made some progress.
Operation Metro Surge began in December with scattered arrests, as Trump repeatedly disparaged the state’s large Somali community. But the operation ramped up dramatically after a right-wing influencer’s January report on Minnesota’s sprawling human services fraud scandal, which centers around the Somali community.
Federal officials announced thousands of immigration agents were being deployed, with FBI Director Kash Patel saying they would “dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.”
But talk of the scandals was almost immediately forgotten, with federal authorities instead focusing on immigrants in the country illegally and so-called sanctuary agreements that limit cooperation between local law enforcement agencies and jails with immigration authorities.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) on Thursday voted against advancing a highly contested government funding package that includes allocations for the Department of Homeland Security, despite noting his objections to shutting down the government.
The Senate voted 45-55 on the key procedural vote, failing to advance a budget package as the country moves closer to a partial government shutdown this weekend.
With Fetterman aboard, every Democrat voted against the appropriations package because of the inclusion of funding for DHS. The party previously vowed to block DHS funding in the aftermath of federal immigration agents’ fatal shooting of two Americans in Minneapolis this month.
Sen. Dave McCormick (R., Pa.) voted to advance the bill.
Fetterman’s vote came as a surprise given the senator’s comments earlier in the week, when he said he would “never vote to shut our government down, especially our Defense Department,” one of the agencies that would have received funding from the appropriations package.
It was unclear Thursday why Fetterman voted against the package, but it is unlikely to be the final version considered by the Senate, as eight Republicans also voted no. A shutdown is slated to begin Saturday if Congress does not pass a package this week.
A spokesperson for Fetterman did not immediately return a request for comment on the senator’s vote.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) was among the Republicans who voted no so that he could make a motion to reconsider the legislation.
DHS oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, the agencies involved in the fatal Minnesota shootings. Democrats have been calling for a halt to additional funding in the wake of the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
But Fetterman noted Monday that the department received $178 billion from last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which he opposed, and that ICE would continue to operate during a shutdown.
“A vote to shut our government down will not defund ICE,” Fetterman said.
Fetterman has previously suggested removing DHS funding from the package under consideration as a compromise. He has also urged President Donald Trump to fire DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
A reporter from the Hill posted on X minutes after the vote that Fetterman saw his no vote as setting the stage to decouple DHS funding from the other five bills under consideration, rather than triggering a shutdown.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) has pushed Republicans and the White House to strip the Department of Homeland Security funding from the rest of the bill. In a deal reached with the White House, DHS would still be funded, but for a short time to allow for negotiations on the Democrats’ demands. Other agencies included in the bill would be funded through the end of September.
Negotiations remained ongoing Thursday.
Within the last week, Fetterman faced mounting pressure from fellow Pennsylvania Democrats and constituents to vote against the package as tensions in Minneapolis continued to escalate.
On Tuesday, every Democratic member of Pennsylvania’s U.S. House delegation cosigned a letter urging Fetterman and McCormick to vote against the funding. Constituents also gathered outside Fetterman’s office in Philadelphia on Tuesday to protest his stance.
“We can no longer continue to give Homeland Security a blank check,” U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D., Pa.) said Thursday morning in a virtual news conference with U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans (D., Pa.).
McCormick voted as expected to advance the GOP-led legislation.
“I’m just not in favor of shutting down the government or stopping funding the government, and that’s the position that I’ve had through the last shutdown,” McCormick said about his support for the funding on a tele-town hall Tuesday night. “I’m not in favor of ever shutting down the government. It doesn’t matter what party is in power, but some people see that differently.”
If lawmakers fail to pass a package by Friday, the federal government will undergo its second shutdown in four months, starting Saturday, potentially demoralizing federal workers and inconveniencing members of the public who rely on affected services.
This shutdown would be a partial one, affecting the Departments of Defense, State, Transportation, Education, Labor, Treasury, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development in addition to DHS.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which provides nutrition assistance to needy families, would not be affected.
The other four Democratic senators from the Philadelphia region — Sens. Andy Kim and Cory Booker of New Jersey and Sens. Chris Coons and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware — all joined Fetterman in voting no Thursday.
Kim argued the vote was a bipartisan rebuke of the Trump administration’s immigration strategy and said he would be working with colleagues to deliver “real security” to the American public.
“Their lawlessness has taken lives on the streets of our neighborhoods, and I’ve heard from so many about an overwhelming fear that they can be targeted next,” Kim said in a statement. “We need real changes to fix a broken and lawless system that has led to so many Americans losing trust in their government to keep them safe.”
This story is developing and will be updated.
Staff writer Aliya Schneider contributed to this article, which contains information from the Associated Press.
Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity on Thursday announced her pick for a running mate in the governor’s race, as state Republicans mount their campaign to more seriously challenge Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro in November’s election.
Jason Richey, a longtime Pittsburgh attorney and chair of the Allegheny County GOP, announced his campaign for lieutenant governor on Thursday morning. Garrity, the state party-endorsed candidate for governor, quickly endorsed him afterward.
Jason Richey, Aliquippa, Pa., Republican Candidate for Governor speaks with Inquirer Reporters at the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association held at The Metropolitan Club in New York, N.Y., on Saturday, Dec., 4 2021.
Garrity said Richey “rose to the top” as the best candidate to be her running mate to challenge Shapiro.
“Jason understands the potential Pennsylvania has, but only if our Commonwealth has the right leadership,” she said in a news release, noting that he shares her concerns with Shapiro’s tenure as governor. “Jason Richey will not just be an incredible running mate on the campaign trail, but a terrific partner in governing for all the people of Pennsylvania.”
Until Richey’s announcement, few moderate candidates had emerged to run alongside Garrity. Meanwhile, other potential candidates declined to run with her in the uphill battle election against Shapiro, a popular incumbent with a $30 million war chest and a growing national profile. Garrity announced earlier this month she had raised nearly $1.5 million in the first few months of her campaign, from August to December.
Richey is running to be Garrity’s No. 2 among a field of several other potential lieutenant governor candidates, including State Sen. Cris Dush (R., Jefferson) and Bucks County businessman and political newcomer Brian Thomas. Other candidates who have considered a run for lieutenant governor but have yet to announce include former gubernatorial nominee State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R., Franklin) and former State Rep. Rick Saccone (R., Allegheny).
In Pennsylvania, candidates for lieutenant governor and governor run in the primary election separately. Whoever wins the primary nomination joins on one ticket for the general election. For example, Mastriano won the primary nomination but his endorsed lieutenant governor candidate did not, leading him to run with another running mate in November. At least one of the lieutenant governor candidates — Dush — said he would run for the office in the primary election even without the party’s support.
Shapiro is expected to again run unopposed in the Democratic primary, alongside Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, the first Black person elected to Pennsylvania’s executive branch.
“We must turn Pennsylvania around now and I believe that Stacy Garrity is the person who can fix Pennsylvania,” Richey said in a release Thursday. “I’m excited to join Stacy on the ticket that’s going to save Pennsylvania. Stacy has demonstrated leadership, fiscal discipline, a deep commitment to serving Pennsylvanians and the ability to win statewide.”
In an interview weeks before he decided to enter the race, Richey said he believed Garrity should pick a lieutenant governor candidate who is politically moderate and comes from Pittsburgh or Philadelphia, the state’s population centers.
Earlier this month, Richey said a running mate who has “a little more urban understanding,” since Garrity hails from a rural part of the state, “would make a lot of sense” on the Republican ticket.
Garrity secured the state party endorsement for governor last fall, as Republicans sought to coalesce around a gubernatorial candidate after their failures to do so in 2022 led to Mastriano’s nomination to oppose Shapiro. Mastriano went on to lose to Shapiro by nearly 15 percentage points, or 800,000 votes.
Richey ran in 2022 for governor as part of the crowded GOP primary, but withdrew and did not appear on the ballot with the other nine candidates in the running.
Garrity, of rural Bradford County, captured President Donald Trump’s endorsement earlier this week, in which Trump called her a “true America First Patriot, who has been with me from the beginning.” Garrity will appear in Philadelphia at the National Constitution Center on Thursday for a live taping of the political podcast RUTHLESS, alongside Fox News analyst Guy Benson.
In addition to his duties as chair of the Allegheny County GOP, Richey is a partner at K&L Gates law firm in Pittsburgh with a focus on energy law.
Richey, 54, lives in a suburb of Pittsburgh with his wife and has three sons.
Staff writer Katie Bernard contributed to this article.
A 30-gallon stoneware crock sat in the corner of Lois Jurgens’ back porch for nearly three decades, collecting dust through Nebraska summers and snow through the winters. Her late husband used it as a makeshift table to rest grilling tongs and platters. They almost never thought of it.
On Jan. 10, that same crock sold at auction for $32,000.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” said Jurgens, who turned 91 on the day the crock was sold. “It’s the biggest thing I’ve ever gotten on my birthday.”
The crock was manufactured by Red Wing Stoneware, probably between 1877 and 1900. The nearly knee-high crock features molded side handles and a cobalt blue butterfly, along with the company name stamped twice. Unlike later models finished with a smoother zinc glaze, the crock is salt glazed, giving it a coarser texture. Despite its many years outdoors, it is still in good condition.
“It’s very unusual,” said Ken Bramer, the owner of Bramer Auction & Realty in Amherst, Nebraska, which sold the piece. “That’s the first one of those I’ve seen in 40 years of auctioneering.”
Jurgens, who lives in Holdrege, Neb., said she can’t recall how or when she and her husband acquired the crock.
“I really don’t know how it came into the family,” said Jurgens, whose husband died in 2022. She has three children and four grandchildren.
Whatever its origins, Jurgens said, she never imagined it might be valuable. Stoneware crocks were common household items, historically used for food preservation before modern refrigeration. Today, some are still used for fermenting or as decorative objects, and pieces like Jurgens’s are seen as rare collectors’ items. In 2019, a salt-glazed stoneware cooler sold for $177,000.
“Some people collect strange things,” Bramer said.
Jurgens had spent the past several months clearing out items from her home that she no longer needed. Last summer, she had a garage sale and considered putting the crock out with the rest, but it never made it to the driveway.
“It was too heavy for us to handle,” Jurgens said, adding that her daughter helped her with the garage sale. “We just decided we weren’t going to bother with it.”
Then, earlier this month, she saw a notice in the local Holdrege Daily Citizen newspaper about an upcoming auction for antiques and collectibles, including many Redwing crocks. She called Bramer Auction & Realty, and Bramer offered to stop by Jurgens’s house and take some photos of the crock.
“I said, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s a good one,’” Bramer said, telling her: “I think you will be pleasantly surprised by what it brings.”
Jurgens’s son let Bramer know they were prepared to sell it for $20 at the garage sale, and they’d be glad if it fetched more than that.
“She was hoping for $100,” Bramer said.
Bramer posted pictures of the crock on his website and Facebook, and offers started pouring in.
“I was getting calls from collectors all over the United States,” Bramer said. “I knew it was a good piece, but I really didn’t know how good.”
Since so many calls came in from bidders outside Nebraska, Bramer said he allowed people to call in with offers during the auction on Jan. 10. Jurgens did not attend the auction, as she was at church for a funeral.
He started bids at $1,000 for the crock, and things escalated quickly.
“People just started bidding like crazy,” Bramer said, noting that the most he had sold a crock for was about $5,800 last year. “People were standing up in the crowd, and they all had their cameras out, taking pictures and videos of it … it’s something that doesn’t happen every day.”
The bidding war ended when a crock collector in Kansas offered a whopping $32,000 for the crock. About an hour later, while the auction was still happening, Jurgens walked in with her daughter.
“I stopped the auction and asked Lois if she’d come up to the front,” Bramer said. “I introduced her to the crowd and said, ‘This is the young lady who had the crock on the back porch.’”
He asked her how much she thought it sold for.
“I hope you got $100,” Jurgens said.
“I think we did just a little bit better,” Bramer replied.
When he revealed the final number, “she kind of went weak in the knees,” Bramer said.
Jurgens said she was — and still is — in disbelief.
“The whole situation kind of left me in shock. Thankful, but in shock,” she said. “I just couldn’t believe it.”
Bramer said he, too, was stunned by the outcome.
“It was really fun for both of us to be surprised,” Jurgens said. “I feel guilty that I didn’t even pretend to take care of it.”
Jurgens said that since the auction, people stop her when they see her out and about and ask her to tell the story. It was first reported by local news personality Colleen Williams.
“I can’t go anywhere or they recognize me,” Jurgens said.
She said she plans to give part of her windfall to her church, and she’s still thinking about what to do with the rest.
“It would have been fun to share with him if he was still alive,” she said of her husband.
He would have gotten a kick out of his trusty makeshift table being an actual treasure.
President Donald Trump’s efforts this week to “de-escalate” controversial deportation tactics in Minnesota in the face of widespread public dismay have caused a new wave of blowback from his base of hard-line anti-immigration advocates.
The president is caught between competing interests: a loyal base of voters who elected him on a campaign promise of “mass deportations,” and a broader electorate that is increasingly uncomfortable with an aggressive approach that has led to the shooting deaths of two American protesters by federal agents this month.
The conflicting viewpoints are evident within the administration, too, with advisers divided along similar lines and offering opposing feedback on whether and how drastically to shift Trump’s immigration strategy, according to people aware of the conversations.
Federal agents deploy tear gas near the intersection of Park Avenue and 34th Street in Minneapolis on Jan. 13.
Trump is also navigating a collision of his own instincts: his desire for flashy roundups of foreign-born criminals, and his recognition that the broader public, including business leaders he identifies with who rely on immigrant labor, have soured on the expansion of those roundups to noncriminals in workplaces.
The conflict has put the normally resolute Trump in an unusual spot, needing to tread carefully on an issue that he has previously plowed ahead on with threats and swagger. The result has been mixed signals from the White House — and fresh evidence of the difficult task Trump faces in a midterm election year of appeasing both his MAGA base and a broader swath of voters.
Earlier this month, Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to allow him to send the military to Minneapolis — and suggested that “THE DAY OF RECKONING & RETRIBUTION IS COMING.” He also sharply criticized two Minnesota Democrats, Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, calling them “useless” earlier this month.
This week, however, the president characterized conversations with Walz and Frey as positive and productive. He told Fox News that he wanted to “de-escalate a little bit” and that his talk with Walz “couldn’t have been a nicer conversation.”
Yet Trump has not articulated a clear shift in immigration strategy, leaving the public unsure of where he actually stands or what comes next.
He sidelined Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem from the Minnesota operation — a tacit but rare show of disapproval towarda cabinet member. He has not taken parallel action against senior aide Stephen Miller, who is widely viewed as the architect of Trump’s immigration policies — and who advised Noem on how to respond publicly to the shooting death of ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday, according to a person who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal conversations.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, both Miller and Noem labeled Pretti a “domestic terrorist.” Miller also called him an “assassin.” Trump and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt have not defended the officials’ rhetoric but also have not publicly criticized their job performance.
In a statement to the Washington Post, Miller said the initial information he received about the shooting from the Department of Homeland Security was “based on reports from CBP on the ground.” Miller said the White House is now working to determine why Customs and Border Protection at the time of the incident was not using the extra personnel that DHS had sent to Minnesota for “force protection.”
Stephen Miller, deputy White House chief of staff for policy, on Tuesday at the White House.
Noem asked for a meeting with Trump on Monday evening — after Trump announced that his border czar, Tom Homan, would be taking over operations in Minnesota. The gathering lasted for hours, according to twopeople who spoke anonymously to describe a private meeting.Noem and her top aide, Corey Lewandowski, joined the president and other aides to discuss issues including the border wall and Minneapolis, one of the people said. Separately, Lewandowski and Homan, who have previously clashed, have spoken and agreed to work together, the person added.
The White House’s efforts to make adjustments on tactics have not stanched the bleeding in public opinion.
The most recent flood of criticism has come from pro-Trump users online and top influential MAGA commentators. Some called Trump’s pivot a “betrayal.” Others warned, as they have about other issues for months, of the risk that the base could sit out November’s elections.
Fresh public polling showing increased “anti-ICE sentiment” and “increased support of sanctuary cities” makes clear that the administration must change its deportation tactics, said Mark Mitchell, head pollster at the conservative Rasmussen Reports.
An Economist/YouGov poll released this week — with most respondents answering after the Pretti shooting — found that 55% of Americans have little confidence in ICE, an increase of 10 percent since mid-December. The decline in trust for ICE has been most pronounced among independent voters, the poll found, with 67% now saying they have little confidence in the immigration agency, compared with 49% last month.
By contrast, 60% of Republicans say they have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in ICE, highlighting the gap between Trump’s own party and independents and Democrats.
Andthe president’s sudden interest in cooperating with Walz and Frey and his suggestions about going easy on longtime immigrant workers have amounted to a “rug pull” for the base in his rhetoric, Mitchell said. While polling hasn’t yet showed Trump’s base punishing him, the midterms already look increasingly problematic for the GOP, Mitchell said, and concern remains about declining enthusiasm among Trump supporters. Mitchell met with Trump in November to warn him of frustration within his populist base.
“Ten years, this has been the core part of his platform — ‘They all have to go home … Build the wall,’” Mitchell said. Trump talking about only focusing on removing violent criminals sounds like he has “caved on the major campaign promise.”
Within the MAGA base, the president’s supporters want as aggressive an offense as Trump can conceive.
“This is an inflection point — you blink now and you’re going to blink forever. You bend the knee now, you’ll bend the knee forever,” Stephen Bannon, a former Trump adviser and influential MAGA commentator, said on his show Wednesday as he continued urging the Trump administration to ramp up deportations and to not “de-escalate” or draw back federal agents from Minnesota. “I don’t care how many people I’ve got to deport. I don’t care.”
Federal agents threaten to spray a chemical agent as they confront journalists and rapid responders in Minneapolis on Jan. 14.
Some prominent Trump supporters are also concerned about the actions by some members of Congress, possibly emboldened by Trump’s recent change of tone, to renew efforts to pass immigration reform.
The White House has pushed back on the notion that Homan’s elevation amounts to a dialing back of deportations. A White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss strategy, said the administration has “not wavered” in its deportation mission, but Trump doesn’t want to see Americans injured because of clashes with immigration officials.
In a statement, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the administration “will never waver in standing up for law and order and protecting the American people.”
“Any left-wing agitator or criminal illegal alien who thinks Tom’s presence is a victory for their cause is sadly mistaken,” she said.
This isn’t the first time in Trump’s second term that the MAGA base has erupted over his comments on immigration policy, which have consistently revealed his sensitivity to the concerns of business leaders and average conservatives put off by the deportation of otherwise law-abiding immigrants.
In late spring, after hearing complaints from friends and donors about deportation roundups at farms, hotels and restaurants hurting operations and scaring off workers, Trump announced that “changes are coming” to spare the agriculture and hospitality fields.
Trump’s base similarly went off on him. Even some top advisers were blindsided, privately insisting that no such policy changes were in the works and chalking up the suggestion to Trump’s habit of trying to smooth public conflictswith rhetoric.
Miller at the time raised concerns to the president about his stated plans for “changes” to protect migrant workers, according to a person who spoke anonymously to describe private conversations. Miller had been calling for a drastic increase in deportation numbers to keep up with the administration’s aggressive goals. Homan told the Washington Post soon after Trump’s announcement that he had not discussed any such changes with the president and wasn’t a part of crafting a policy to carve out workers.
During a speech a few weeks later in Iowa, Trump acknowledged he had gotten “into a little trouble because I said I don’t want to take people away from the farmers,” before describing supporters who were unhappy with his comments as “serious radical-right people.” The comment further inflamed tensions, with influential MAGA commentators including Bannon and Charlie Kirk, the head of Turning Point USA shot dead later last year, accusing the administration of preparing to offer amnesty to some illegal immigrants.
A number of Republicans in Minnesota said they were glad to see Trump shift course this week. They said they welcomed the arrival of Homan and the apparent truce between Trump and local leaders.
“I’m just grateful that we’re moving in a direction to get back to being sensible,” said Jim Abeler, a GOP state senator in Minnesota who worried that federal agents were violating people’s rights. “There are people afraid, there are citizens afraid to leave their homes, to go buy groceries because of their skin color or their nationality … It’s past time.”
Yet on Wednesday, the president also signaled that he was aware of the latest criticism from within his base. A day after speaking favorably of his conversation with the Minneapolis mayor, Trump posted on Truth Social that Frey was “PLAYING WITH FIRE” by saying he would not enforce federal immigration laws.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A former Illinois sheriff’s deputy was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison for fatally shooting Sonya Massey, who had dialed 911 to report a possible prowler outside her Springfield home.
Sean Grayson, 31, was convicted in October. Grayson, who is white, received the maximum possible sentence. He has been incarcerated since he was charged in the killing.
He apologized during the sentencing, saying he wished he could bring Massey back and spare her family the pain he caused.
“I made a lot of mistakes that night. There were points when I should’ve acted, and I didn’t. I froze,” he said. “I made terrible decisions that night. I’m sorry.”
But Massey’s parents and two children — who lobbied for the maximum sentence — said their lives had changed dramatically since the killing. Her two children said they had to grow up without a mother, while Massey’s mother said she lived in fear. They asked the judge to carry out justice in her name.
“Today, I’m afraid to call the police in fear that I might end up like Sonya,” her mother Donna Massey said.
When the judge read the sentence, the family reacted with a loud cheer: “Yes!” The judge admonished them.
After the hearing, Massey’s relatives thanked the public for the support and listening to their stories about Massey.
“Twenty years is not enough,” her daughter Summer told reporters.
In the early morning hours of July 6, 2024, Massey — who struggled with mental health issues — summoned emergency responders because she feared there was a prowler outside her Springfield home.
According to body camera footage, Grayson and sheriff’s Deputy Dawson Farley, who was not charged, searched Massey’s yard before meeting her at her door. Massey appeared confused and repeatedly said, “Please, God.”
The deputies entered her house, Grayson noticed the pot on the stove and ordered Farley to move it. Instead, Massey went to the stove, retrieved the pot and teased Grayson for moving away from “the hot, steaming water.”
From this moment, the exchange quickly escalated.
Massey said: “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
Grayson drew his sidearm and yelled at her to drop the pan. She set the pot down and ducked behind a counter. But she appeared to pick it up again.
That’s when Grayson opened fire on the 36-year-old single mother, shooting her in the face. He testified that he feared Massey would scald him.
Grayson was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, which could have led to a life sentence, but a jury convicted him of the lesser charge. Illinois allows for a second-degree murder conviction if evidence shows the defendant honestly thought he was in danger, even if that fear was unreasonable.
Massey’s family was outraged by the jury’s decision.
“The justice system did exactly what it’s designed to do today. It’s not meant for us,” her cousin Sontae Massey said after the verdict.
