ICE takes 5-year-old, dad after using boy as “bait,” school district says

School district officials in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, say their sense of security is shaken and their hearts shattered after four students from the district were recently taken by officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Columbia Heights Public School District says two children were taken on Tuesday, including a 17-year-old boy on his way to

Maryland Contractor Indicted on Charges of Leaking Classified Military Information to Reporter

The U.S. Department of Justice in Washington on Jan. 6, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times A federal grand jury has indicted a Maryland government contractor on charges of illegally transmitting and retaining classified national defense information, alleging he shared sensitive military intelligence reports with a Washington Post reporter. Aurelio Luis Perez-Lugones, 61, of Laurel, Maryland,

Trump Says US to Begin Drilling for Oil in Venezuela Soon

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One while traveling from Shannon, Ireland, to Joint Base Andrews, Md., on Jan. 22, 2026. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images President Donald Trump said Thursday that the United States will start drilling for oil in Venezuela “very soon,” announcing that more than 50 million barrels

Homeland Security Seeks to Restrict Immigrants From Relying on Welfare

By Sylvia Xu | January 23, 2026Updated:January 23, 2026 The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is seeking to change a rule that determines eligibility for permanent residency—commonly known as a green card—based on whether an applicant is considered a “public charge,” someone who is likely to depend primarily on public benefits. That rule—known as the