Local police officers stand guard as Renee Good's car is towed away after ICE officers shot and killed a woman through her car window Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026 near Portland Avenue and 34th Street. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)

The Trump administration made its opinion known almost immediately after an ICE agent shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday: The officer acted heroically in defending himself from Renee Nicole Good, who was intent on running him over with her Honda Pilot in an act of “domestic terrorism.”

“The officer, fearing for his life and other officers around him and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots. He used his training to save his own life and that of his colleagues,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a news conference in Minneapolis.

A jury might very well disagree after seeing footage of the incident, like Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey who called ICE’s claim of self-defense “bullsh*t.”

But the Trump administration seems intent on blocking local prosecutors from even bringing charges against the ICE officer, who the Star Tribune identified as Jonathan Ross.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office took the unusual step soon after the shooting of ousting the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension from the investigation into the killing.

The BCA typically investigates police shootings in the state, and was on the scene in south Minneapolis on Wednesday collecting evidence as part of a joint investigation with the FBI.

Then the U.S. Attorney’s Office “reversed course” and decided the investigation would be led solely by the FBI, said Drew Evans, BCA superintendent, in a statement.

“Without complete access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected, we cannot meet the investigative standards that Minnesota law and the public demands,” Evans said. “As a result, the BCA has reluctantly withdrawn from the investigation.”

Gov. Tim Walz during a Thursday press conference expressed doubt about the results of any investigation conducted by the federal government because Minnesota officials have been purposefully excluded.

“Now that Minnesota has been taken out of the investigation, it feels very, very difficult that we will get a fair outcome,” Walz said. “People in positions of power have already passed judgment … and told you things that are verifiably false.”

If federal investigators don’t share their findings with local prosecutors, they’ll struggle to put together a case to bring charges, said former Acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Anders Folk, who brought federal charges against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for killing George Floyd in 2020.

“I don’t know how any prosecutor could make a charging decision without facts,” Folk said. “The local authorities are going to have to figure out a way to do their own investigation if they want to be able to evaluate whether a criminal charge can be brought.”

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, who has jurisdiction in Minneapolis, said in a statement on Thursday that her office is searching for a way for a state level investigation to continue.

“If the FBI is the sole investigative agency, the state will not receive the investigative findings, and our community may never learn about its contents,” Moriarty said in a statement.

The FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office did not respond to requests for comment.

A spokesperson for U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who will make charging decisions based on the FBI investigation, pointed the Reformer to a post on X when asked if she has commented on the case and if she believes the use of force was justified.

“Obstructing, impeding, or attacking federal law enforcement is a federal crime. So is damaging federal property. If you cross that red line, you will be arrested and prosecuted. Do not test our resolve,” the post says.

Who might do a local investigation is unclear. Folk, who is now running for Hennepin County attorney, said he’s not aware of any cases of officers shooting someone in Minnesota in which the BCA was not involved.

“They are the law enforcement organization that we as Minnesotans look to do this kind of investigative work,” Folk said.

If the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office is able to complete a criminal investigation and file charges, they face another difficult task: convincing a federal judge that the ICE officer was not acting reasonably in carrying out his lawful federal duties.

If state charges are filed, the officer will likely ask to move his case to federal court to assert immunity under what’s known as the Supremacy Clause, which protects federal officials from state criminal prosecution if they are reasonably carrying out their duties. Attorneys with the Department of Justice may then assist with his defense.

Whether the officer’s actions are deemed reasonable could hinge on a range of facts from his training to his duties to his subjective beliefs and the U.S. Supreme Court has provided only minimal guidance on how to answer that question, according to Bryna Godar, a staff attorney with the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Still, she emphasized local prosecutors can and have brought charges against federal officials.

“The baseline understanding here is that states can prosecute federal officials when they violate state criminal laws,” Godar said.

If state prosecutors convince a federal judge the officer’s actions were not reasonable, they could continue bringing the case in federal court on state crimes. That’s significant because a conviction for a state crime cannot not be pardoned by the president.

Godar points in a recent article to cases going back to antebellum, when free states charged U.S. marshals for capturing enslaved people under the Fugitive Slave Act. During the Prohibition Era, local prosecutors charged federal officers for using excessive force in shutting down distilleries.

More recently, local prosecutors in Idaho brought a charge of involuntary manslaughter against an FBI sniper who shot and killed an unarmed woman during the siege on Ruby Ridge in 1992. A divided federal appeals court ruled that the case could proceed because of disputed facts over whether the agent acted “reasonably.”

“Where we see those state prosecutions going ahead is where the use of force is deemed unreasonable or excessive or unlawful,” Godar said.

But that case may offer a cautionary tale for Minnesota: The case wasn’t allowed to proceed until 2001, nearly a decade later. Then the case was dropped by the newly elected prosecutor.

Good’s killing was the ninth shooting by an immigration officer in just the past four months and at least the second killing, with all of them involving firing at people in vehicles, according to a New York Times report. On Thursday, federal agents shot two more people in Portland, Ore.

In each of the recent ICE shootings, the government has claimed the officer was acting in self-defense.

A 2024 investigation by The Trace and Business Insider found in 23 fatal shootings by ICE officers from 2015 to 2021, no officers were indicted.

Minnesota prosecutors have won convictions in recent years against officers for killing people in the line of duty — Chauvin, Kim Potter and Mohamed Noor — but they are rare and juries are generally reluctant to convict.

Yet even if a conviction seems unlikely, filing charges allows local prosecutors to register a strong protest against ICE’s aggressive enforcement actions in the state and communicate that officers may not operate with impunity. Not charging would be an admission that federal agents are immune from local accountability as the Trump administration pushes for mass deportation.

Folk said a transparent investigation with clear standards is also important for the public’s faith in the justice system.

“Minnesota has seen firsthand how important it is to do these high-profile investigations the right way,” Folk said. “We deserve a good, thorough investigation, free of any kind of influence.”

Police arrested an 18-year-old Odem Independent School District student following an investigation into an alleged sexual assault that reportedly occurred on board a district school bus last month, reported KIII-TV 3 News.

The alleged incident took place on Dec. 9, as students were returning from a basketball game in Hebbronville. Officials reported that a juvenile student was assaulted during the school bus trip. The sheriff’s office was notified of the allegation on Dec. 12, prompting an investigation.

Investigators conducted a forensic interview with the juvenile victim and gathered evidence as part of the inquiry. The investigation established sufficient probable cause to arrest Christopher Jacob Soto, 18.

Soto is charged with indecency with a child, a second-degree felony. A magistrate set his bond at $75,000, authorities confirmed.

The San Patricio County Sheriff’s Office stated the case remains under review by the San Patricio County District Attorney’s Office, and additional arrests are possible as investigators continue to evaluate statements and evidence.

Officials said no further details would be released at this time due to the victim’s age and nature of the charge.

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People gather around the south Minneapolis site where a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot a woman on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump defended a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis Wednesday, while congressional Democrats universally condemned the action.

Video obtained by the Minnesota Reformer shows an ICE officer demanding the driver of a maroon SUV get out of the vehicle. As the vehicle begins to pull away, an officer fires three shots through the windshield and driver-side window. The video shows no apparent harm to the officer, who walked away from the vehicle shortly after the shooting. 

But Trump wrote on social media that “it is hard to believe he is alive.”

“The woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense,” Trump wrote.

Minnesota’s Democratic congressional delegation, and other Democrats in Washington, D.C., strongly condemned the incident and questioned the subsequent comments from the administration. 

“We need full transparency and an investigation of what happened, and I am deeply concerned that statements made by DHS do not appear to reflect video evidence and on-the-ground accounts,” Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the state’s senior senator, said in a statement.  

A statement from several Minneapolis City Council members identified the victim as Renee Nicole Good, 37. A photo of the SUV shows several stuffed animals hanging out of the glove compartment.

Trump, GOP back officer

Congressional Republicans largely backed Trump’s version of events, calling the shooting self-defense and blaming Democrats for rhetoric they said inspired violence.

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said that the woman tried to run over the agent.

“One of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them—an act of domestic terrorism,” McLaughlin said. “An ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called the victim a “domestic terrorist.” 

House Republican Whip Tom Emmer gave his support to the ICE officer.

“Our brave ICE agents put their lives on the line every day to protect our communities from dangerous criminals,” he said in a statement. “May God bless and protect them in their efforts. Shame on the elected officials who endanger these agents by spewing lies and hateful rhetoric.”

Dems call for investigation

Democrats on Capitol Hill denounced the attack and the administration’s response.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called for the ICE officer who shot the woman to be criminally investigated. 

“There is no evidence that has been presented to justify this killing,” Jeffries, a New York Democrat, said in a statement. “Secretary Kristi Noem is a stone-cold liar and has zero credibility. The masked ICE agent who pulled the trigger should be criminally investigated to the full extent of the law for acting with depraved indifference to human life.”

Minnesota Democrats said the ongoing immigration enforcement campaign in the Twin Cities had heightened tensions.

“For weeks, Donald Trump has directed ICE and DHS agents to racially profile and arrest Minnesotans in their homes, their workplaces, and on our streets,” Minnesota Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum said in a statement, adding that more than 2,000 federal immigration agents are in the state. 

“Trump’s reckless and dangerous immigration policies do nothing to make us safer,” she continued. “Today in Minneapolis, these actions resulted in a masked federal agent fatally shooting a woman in the head.”

Democratic Sen. Tina Smith said the woman fatally shot by an ICE officer was a U.S. citizen. She called for ICE to leave Minnesota. 

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, the first Somali-American woman elected to Congress and whose district includes the site of the shooting, said the woman was a legal observer, which is a neutral third party who attends protests or other public demonstrations to observe and record law enforcement actions towards protesters.

“ICE’s actions today were unconscionable and reprehensible,” Omar said.

DHS practices, budget questioned

DHS received billions for immigration enforcement in last year’s tax and spending cuts package passed by congressional Republicans. The funding can be used for hiring new ICE officers and detention and removal of immigrants. 

On Jan. 3, ICE announced it hired 12,000 new officers, doubling from 10,000 agents to 22,000.

A top Senate Democratic appropriator, Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, wrote on social media that “Democrats cannot vote for a DHS budget that doesn’t restrain the growing lawlessness of this agency.” 

New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker said in a statement that he was concerned the aggressive DHS practices will lead to more tragedies. 

“All evidence indicates that hiring standards have been lowered, training is inadequate, and internal controls are insufficient,” he said. “These conditions have allowed agents to operate without proper oversight, and, in some cases, unlawfully.” 

Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego also criticized the hiring practices of ICE, specifically calling out White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, a lead architect of the Trump administration’s immigration policy.  

“What happened is a disgrace and we need an investigation immediately,” Gallego said on social media. “It’s clear that that agent didn’t have the proper training, and that’s because Stephen Miller is going full speed ahead to hire as many agents as possible.”

Day care investigation

The federal immigration operation in Minneapolis began last month but intensified this week after a right-wing influencer reported day care centers run by members of the Somali community as fraudulent. 

In response, the Trump administration directed states to provide “justification” that federal child care funds they receive are spent on “legitimate” providers and Noem has zeroed in on the city, which has a large Somali community, for immigration enforcement. 

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a Wednesday hearing on the issue of fraud in Minnesota.  

A small crowd of far-right activists marched on the U.S. Capitol Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026 in a nonviolent protest. They followed the path of the march five years ago, when rioters attacked the Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of Joe Biden's presidential election win. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — Five years after a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, the struggle to define the event and assign blame carried on in events across the city Tuesday that remained nonviolent, though still disturbing.

A crowd of no more than a few hundred of President Donald Trump’s supporters commemorated the deadly attack with a somewhat subdued march from the Ellipse to the Capitol that was in stark contrast to the riot five years ago.

Inside the Capitol, U.S. House Democrats gathered in a small meeting room, apparently unable to secure larger accommodations for an unofficial hearing that largely rehashed the findings of a House committee that spent 2022 investigating the attack.

Trump, meanwhile, addressed House Republicans three miles west at the Kennedy Center. In an hour-plus address, he blamed then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the violence on Jan. 6, 2021 and recommended the GOP lawmakers pass laws to make election fraud more difficult. Trump’s claim that his 2020 election loss was due to fraud sparked the 2021 attack.

“Our elections are crooked as hell,” he said, without citing evidence.

House Dems blast pardons 

Inside the Capitol, at a morning event that U.S. House Democrats organized and in which Republicans didn’t take part, lawmakers and experts criticized Trump’s pardons of people involved in the 2021 attack, one of his first acts after returning to office last year.

They also decried his continued recasting of the events of the day.

White House officials launched a webpage Tuesday that blamed the attack on Democrats, again including Pelosi, and restated the lie that initiated the attack: The 2020 election that Trump lost was marred by fraud and should not have been certified.

“Democrats masterfully reversed reality after January 6,” the page reads. “…In truth, it was the Democrats who staged the real insurrection by certifying a fraud-ridden election, ignoring widespread irregularities, and weaponizing federal agencies to hunt down dissenters.” 

Pelosi at the hearing on Tuesday condemned Trump’s version of the attack. 

“Today, that president who incited that insurrection continues to lie about what happened that day,” the California Democrat said.

Other Democrats and their invited witnesses also described the pardons as signaling that the president accepted — and even encouraged — his supporters to pursue illegal means of keeping him in power. 

Brendan Ballou, a former U.S. Justice Department prosecutor who resigned shortly after Trump’s 2025 pardons, told the panel the executive action sent Trump supporters the “clear message” they were above the law.

“The January 6 pardons also fit into a broader narrative of what’s going on with this administration, that if people are sufficiently loyal and willing to support the president, either in words or financially, they will be put beyond the reach of the law,” he added. “It means that quite literally for a certain group of people right now in America, the law does not apply to them.”

Former ‘MAGA granny’ testifies

Homeland Security Committee ranking Democrat Bennie Thompson of Mississippi led the panel discussion, with Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin of Maryland and several others also sitting in on it.

The first panel of witnesses included Ballou, other experts and Pamela Hemphill, a former Trump supporter from Idaho who traveled to the nation’s capital five years ago to “be part of the mob” in support of the president before becoming an advocate for reckoning with the day’s violence.

An emotional Hemphill, 72 and once known as “MAGA granny,” apologized to U.S. Capitol police officers.

“Once I got away from the MAGA cult and started educating myself about January the 6th, I knew what I did was wrong,” Hemphill told the panel. “I pleaded guilty to my crimes because I did the crime. I received due process and the DOJ was not weaponized against me. 

“Accepting that pardon would be lying about what happened on January the 6th,” she added.

She explained her decision to decline Trump’s blanket pardon of offenders convicted of crimes related to the attack, saying it papered over the misdeeds of people involved in the riot. She implored others not to accept revisions of the narrative about what happened in the attack.

Subsequent panels included current and former House members, including two, Republican Adam Kitzinger of Illinois and Democrat Elaine Luria of Virginia, who sat on the committee tasked with investigating the attack.

Flowers for Ashli Babbitt

The crowd of marchers, which included pardoned Jan. 6 attack participants, gathered in the late morning to retrace their path to the U.S. Capitol five years ago.

Organizers billed the march as a memorial event to honor Ashli Babbitt, who was killed by U.S. Capitol Police during the riot in 2021 as she attempted to break into the House Speaker’s lobby.

Far-right activists celebrating the five-year anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol marched in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, from the Ellipse to the Capitol. Rioters in 2021 attempted to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election win. (Video by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

The crowd of roughly a couple hundred walked from the Ellipse, where Trump spoke to rallygoers in 2021, to just outside the Capitol grounds, where police contained the small crowd on the lawn north of the Reflecting Pool. 

Law enforcement officers permitted Babbitt’s mother, Michelle Witthoeft, and a few others to walk closer to the Capitol to lay flowers at roughly 2:44 p.m. Eastern, the time they say Babbitt died.

A group of counterprotesters briefly approached the demonstration, yelling “traitors.” Police quickly formed two lines between the groups, heading off any clashes.

Proud Boys former leader on-site 

Among the crowd was former Proud Boys national leader Enrique Tarrio, who was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for seditious conspiracy and other charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. Trump commuted Tarrio’s sentence upon taking office for his second term.

While looking on at marchers, Tarrio told States Newsroom he was “just supporting.”

“It’s not my event. I’m just trying to help them with organizing and marching people down the street, I guess. But we’re here for one purpose, and that’s to honor the lives of Ashli Babbitt and those who passed away that day.”

When asked if marchers were also honoring the police officers who died in the days and months after the attack, Tarrio said he mourned “any loss of life” but added “I heard some suicides happened. I don’t know. I haven’t really looked into that. I’ve been in prison.”

U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick suffered injuries during the riot, according to the Capitol Police. He died the following day from natural causes, according to the District of Columbia Office of the Medical Examiner.

Four responding police officers died by suicide in the following days and months.

As the march continued, a group of Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police officers on bicycles stopped Tarrio and asked him to confirm the march route to avoid any “confusion.”

When counterprotesters began to heckle the Jan. 6 attack supporters, Tarrio waved the marchers forward, “C’mon, c’mon, keep moving.”

Jan. 6 rioter Rasha Abual-Ragheb, 45, of New Jersey, addressed the crowd earlier and thanked “Daddy Trump” for her pardon. Abual-Ragheb, who pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating and picketing in the U.S. Capitol, showed off a tattoo on her arm reading “MAGA 1776.”

Willie Connors, 57, of Bayonne, New Jersey, stood on the edge of the crowd with a yellow “J6” flag tied around his neck. Connors said he didn’t enter the Capitol during the 2021 attack, but said he was in the district that day to protest the 2020 presidential election, which he falsely claimed was “robbed” from Trump.

“Donald Trump, I’ll take the bullet for that man. He’s my president,” Connors said. 

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, a retired U.S. Navy captain, speaks to veterans at a town hall in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Aug. 31, 2025. (Photo by Brandon Kingdollar/NC Newsline)

WASHINGTON — The Defense Department says it has upgraded its investigation into Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly over a video where he and other members of Congress told members of the military they didn’t need to follow illegal orders. 

“The Office of the Secretary of War, in conjunction with the Department of War’s Office of the General Counsel, is escalating the preliminary review of Captain Mark Kelly, USN (Ret.), to an official Command Investigation,” a spokesperson for the department wrote in an email Monday night. 

“Retired Captain Kelly is currently under investigation for serious allegations of misconduct,” the spokesperson continued. “Further official comments will be limited to preserve the integrity of the proceedings.”

Paul J. Fishman, an attorney at the Arnold & Porter law firm who is representing Kelly, wrote in a Monday letter to the secretary of the Navy that “there is no legitimate basis for any type of proceeding against Senator Kelly, and any such effort would be unconstitutional and an extraordinary abuse of power.”

“If the Executive Branch were to move forward in any forum—criminal, disciplinary, or administrative—we will take all appropriate legal action on Senator Kelly’s behalf to halt the Administration’s unprecedented and dangerous overreach,” Fishman wrote. 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had set Dec. 10 as the deadline for the secretary of the Navy to recommend what to do about Kelly’s appearance in the video, but that came and went without any public announcements.

Hegseth also remained silent on the matter after rebuking Kelly weeks ago for posting the video where he and five other Democrats warned against illegal orders.

Kelly said on Dec. 9, one day before the deadline, he hadn’t received any information from the Navy or other administration officials. 

“Forget about an update. I haven’t heard anything from the guy,” Kelly told reporters. “That’s a good question for you guys to ask the Navy.”

The secretary of the Navy’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment from States Newsroom. 

The Department of Defense posted in late November that officials were looking into “serious allegations of misconduct” against Kelly for appearing in the video. 

It didn’t detail how Kelly might have violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice but stated that “a thorough review of these allegations has been initiated to determine further actions, which may include recall to active duty for court-martial proceedings or administrative measures.” 

Hegseth referred the issue to Navy Secretary John Phelan for any “review, consideration, and disposition” he deemed appropriate. Hegseth then asked for a briefing on the outcome of the review “by no later than December 10.”

Kelly said during a press conference in early December the military’s investigation and a separate one by the FBI were designed to intimidate the six lawmakers in the video from speaking out against President Donald Trump. 

The lawmakers in the video, who have backgrounds in the military or intelligence agencies, told members of those communities they “can” and “must refuse illegal orders.”

“No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution. We know this is hard and that it’s a difficult time to be a public servant,” they said. “But whether you’re serving in the CIA, in the Army, or Navy, or the Air Force, your vigilance is critical.”

The other Democrats in the video — Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Colorado Rep. Jason Crow, Pennsylvania Reps. Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan, and New Hampshire Rep. Maggie Goodlander — are not subject to the military justice system. 

Trump railed against the video a couple days after it posted, saying the statements represented “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”

A terrifying incident unfolded when a Dickson County School District bus burst into flames along Highway 49 East, forcing a quick evacuation of the children on board, reported WKRN.

The Dickson County Sheriff’s Office said the school bus driver noticed smoke coming from his dashboard Dec. 3 and immediately pulled into the lot of a gas station. Within moments of the evacuation, the bus became fully engulfed in flames.

The school bus driver is in his first year on the job and is being called a hero for saving the lives of the 38 students on board a the time.

“I was the first one to get off the bus because I was scared it was going to blow up,” said Asher Winters, a second-grade student at Charlotte Elementary School who was riding the bus, to local news reporters.

His younger sister, Penelope Winters, a first-grader at the same school, proudly told the reporters she “saved everyone because I told the bus driver it was happening.”

According to the news report, fire crews from the Harpeth Ridge Volunteer Fire Department responded swiftly and extinguished the blaze. Officials confirmed that no injuries were reported. Images taken after the fire reveal the charred shell of the vehicle, which authorities say is a total loss.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The school bus was a spare as the driver’s normal bus was in the shop that day. A spokesman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol said the bus that caught fire had been inspected in August.

“Wednesday’s bus fire could have ended tragically, but it didn’t because of the bus driver,” added Maj. Travis Plotzer. “He saw danger, he acted fast, and he got every student off the bus before anyone got hurt. His quick thinking and being calm under pressure saved lives, without a doubt. What he did was brave and professional, and he did exactly what we’d hope for in a moment like that.”

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U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., points to text messages by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during an annual worldwide threats assessment hearing at the Longworth House Office Building on March 26, 2025 in Washington, DC. The hearing held by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence addressed top aides inadvertently including Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic magazine, on a high level Trump administration Signal group chat discussing plans to bomb Houthi targets in Yemen. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official policy when he used the publicly available Signal app to message about military plans from his personal cell phone, including imminent bombings in Yemen, according to a report released Thursday by the Pentagon’s own watchdog. 

The Defense Department Inspector General’s 84-page report concluded Hegseth sent information about the “strike times of manned U.S. aircraft over hostile territory over an unapproved, unsecure network approximately 2 to 4 hours before the execution of those strikes.” 

“Although the Secretary wrote in his July 25 statement to the DoD OIG that ‘there were no details that would endanger our troops or the mission,’ if this information had fallen into the hands of U.S. adversaries, Houthi forces might have been able to counter U.S. forces or reposition personnel and assets to avoid planned U.S. strikes,” the report states. “Even though these events did not ultimately occur, the Secretary’s actions created a risk to operational security that could have resulted in failed U.S. mission objectives and potential harm to U.S. pilots.”

Members of Congress from both political parties requested the Defense Department Inspector General look into Hegseth’s use of Signal after a journalist at The Atlantic was inadvertently added to a group chat of national security officials planning the bombing in Yemen. Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg later published a series of stories detailing the messages. 

Acting Defense Department Inspector General Steven A. Stebbins released a memo in April announcing he had opened an investigation into the matter. 

GOP wants more Pentagon tech, Dems want Hegseth gone

Members of Congress’ reaction to the report was mixed, with Republicans suggesting more technology is needed for the Pentagon, while Democrats called for Hegseth to resign. 

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., issued a statement saying the report shows Hegseth “acted within his authority to communicate the information in question to other cabinet level officials.” 

“It is also clear to me that our senior leaders need more tools available to them to communicate classified information in real time and a variety of environments,” Wicker added. “I think we have some work to do in providing those tools to our national security leaders.”

Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., said in a statement the report confirms “that Secretary Hegseth violated military regulations and continues to show reckless disregard for the safety of American servicemembers.”

“For months, Secretary Hegseth has attempted to mislead Congress and the American people, claiming repeatedly that no classified information was involved,” Reed said. “The Inspector General has now definitively cast doubt on those false assurances.”

Reed added that Hegseth should “explain himself to Congress, the public, and the servicemembers he leads. The men and women of our armed forces deserve leadership they can trust with their lives.”

Hegseth refuses to give cell phone to investigators

The Inspector General report said Hegseth declined to sit for an interview with the Defense Department’s oversight agency, that he refused to hand over his personal cell phone to investigators and that he didn’t retain some of the messages in accordance with federal recordkeeping requirements. 

Officials working for Hegseth shared copies of the Signal chat with the inspector general, but those were incomplete since the app’s auto-delete feature was on at the time. Signal users can adjust that for different lengths of time or turn it off completely.

Hegseth was in the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, or SCIF, in his home the morning and early afternoon of March 15 to monitor “the operation against the Houthis,” according to the report. 

Two aides who were with Hegseth at the time told investigators he used “secure, classified” systems to communicate with United States Central Command officials “during the planning and execution of the strikes against Houthi targets that day and reviewed information related to the strikes.” 

“In the SCIF, the Secretary had access to multiple means of secure communication that allowed him to provide the necessary operational details and updates to non-DoD government officials on the Signal group chat,” the report states. 

The group chat about the Yemen bombing that accidentally included a journalist wasn’t the only one Hegseth used to communicate about official Pentagon business from his personal phone. 

Eight officials within the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Office of the Chief Information Officer told investigators that Hegseth created “multiple Signal group chats in which the Secretary and others allegedly discussed official DoD business and nonpublic information.” 

“One of the officials we spoke with stated that the Secretary posted the same sensitive operational information concerning the Houthi attack plans on the ‘Defense Team Huddle’ group chat,” the report states, later adding Hegseth declined to provide any information about that chat. 

The Inspector General opted not to make any recommendations about the use of Signal in the report, since “records management issues arising from the use of Signal and other commercially available messaging applications are a DoD-wide issue.”

A previous inspector general report also called on the department to “improve training for DoD senior officials on compliance with records retention laws and policies.”

Alabama’s Rogers says mission not compromised

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., wrote in a statement that it is “important to remember that this was a successful operation that took out a dangerous target with no harm to U.S. troops. It’s clear that the discussion on Signal didn’t compromise the mission.”

“During the past few administrations, the use of Signal for communication between government officials has grown, so I appreciate the comprehensive work by the IG to develop recommendations on how to improve and secure communications,” Rogers said. “I encourage the Administration to follow these recommendations, and I look forward to discussions with the Pentagon on how to implement them.”

House Armed Services Committee ranking member Adam Smith, D-Wash., called the report “a damning review of an incompetent secretary of defense who is profoundly incapable of the job and clearly has no respect for or comprehension of what is required to safeguard our service members.”

“It confirms staggering violations of policy – namely that unsecured platforms were used by the secretary to boast about sensitive operational details that could have jeopardized both the mission and, more importantly, the lives of American service members tasked with carrying out Operation Rough Rider,” Smith said.

‘A fireable offense for anyone else in the Department of Defense’

Senate Defense Appropriations subcommittee ranking member Chris Coons, D-Del., said in a statement the report “concluded that Secretary Hegseth violated DOD procedure and put service members’ lives at risk with his reckless mishandling of sensitive information.” 

“In March, I led a group of senators in pressing the Trump administration to investigate this blatant misconduct. Any service member who acted with such disregard for our national security would be dismissed, at the very least,” Coons said. “Our nation’s highest ranking defense official should not be held to a lower standard than the men and women he oversees. For the good of our nation, I once again call on Secretary Hegseth to resign.”

House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence ranking member Jim Himes, D-Conn., said in a statement the report “confirms what I feared when this Signal thread became public: We are fortunate that the mission was not compromised and that servicemembers were not put at needless risk thanks to Secretary Hegseth’s reckless treatment of classified information.”

“Pete Hegseth’s behavior and lack of judgment would be a fireable offense for anyone else in the Department of Defense,” Himes said. “What’s more, his refusal to sit for an interview with the Inspector General or submit his device for examination is yet another example of his failure to take responsibility for his actions.”

An 11-year-old student was injured after being struck by a school bus while crossing a roadway in Hurricane City, Utah, reported 2 KUTV.

First responders were dispatched Wednesday to a local intersection following reports of an auto–pedestrian collision, the Hurricane City Police Department said . Upon arrival, emergency crews located the injured child and immediately began medical treatment.

The student, whose name was not disclosed at this writing, was transported to St. George Regional Medical Center and is reportedly in stable condition. Police said  the child may have sustained a head injury during the incident.

Witnesses told investigators that the student, who attends Hurricane Intermediate School, was running across 700 West when they were struck by a Washington County School District bus. Officials confirmed that several students were aboard the bus at the time, but no passengers or the bus driver were injured.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and police noted no additional details are available at this time.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the injured student and family at this time,” the Hurricane City Police Department said in a statement.

More information will be released as the investigation develops.

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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is doubling down on increased seatbelt usage in school buses following the Leander Independent School District school bus crash Aug. 13.

As School Transportation News previously reported, a 2025 Blue Bird school bus was traveling south on a two-lane divided road the first day of school for the Austin, Texas-area district. The school bus was occupied by the 78-year-old driver and 46 student passengers.

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Related: Texas School District Updates Seatbelt Policy Following School Bus Rollover
Related: NTSB Investigating Texas School Bus Crash

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The NTSB stated in its preliminary investigation that a forward-facing video from the vehicle showed the school bus drifting left across the centerline and then to the right, causing it to leave the road while navigating a left-hand curve. After leaving the roadway, the bus crossed an embankment, overturned and came to rest adjacent to the roadway. At the time of the crash the road was wet from light rain.

The investigation found that many students were not restrained in the available lap/shoulder seatbelts, which are required in each new school bus by state law, and were therefore displaced from their seats during the roadway departure and rollover event. Sixteen students were injured, ranging from serious to minor, and the school bus driver sustained minor injuries.

The crash remains under investigation to determine probable cause. However, NTSB has issued three recommendations as a result of the preliminary investigation. To the state of Texas and Leander ISD, NTSB recommends establishing, distributing and requiring the implementation of enforceable policies and procedures for seatbelt use, with routine audits, to ensure that every student is restrained on every trip.

At a minimum, the NTSB said policies and procedures should include: “Mandatory pre-departure driver instruction to students to properly belt and periodic pre-departure inspection by drivers or other staff to ensure that each student is properly belted; periodic review of onboard video camera footage, when equipped, to verify seatbelt use; and

increased training and education of school administrators and staff, bus drivers, parents, and students about proper seat belt use and adjustment, seat belt policies and procedures, the safety benefits of seat belt use, and the importance of being properly belted.”

The state currently requires model-year 2018 or newer school buses to be equipped with three-point seatbelts. School districts can opt out if the school board determines that the cost exceeds the district’s budget and passes a vote during a public meeting.

Bagdad Elementary School Principal Monica de la Garza-Conness and Director of Transportation Tracie Franco shared in a letter to the community in late August that the district remains committed to reviewing its practices and strengthening reminders regarding seatbelt use.

“While state law does not hold districts legally responsible for seatbelt use, we expect students to buckle up whenever seatbelts are available,” the letter states. “To strengthen this standard, drivers will now check seatbelt use before departure. These expectations for our staff members will be added to our transportation and district handbooks.”

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Related: School Bus Seatbelt Law Appears Imminent in Illinois
Related: Oklahoma Latest State to Introduce School Bus Seatbelt Bill
Related: Updated: NAPT Issues New Position on School Bus Seatbelts

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Meanwhile, the NTSB called on the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT), the National School Transportation Association, and the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services to inform its members of the Leander ISD crash, the lack of seatbelt use, and the need for school districts to establish enforceable policies and procedures for seatbelt use on school buses.

In a letter to members on Oct. 28, the same day NTSB released its recommendations, NAPT informed its members of “the nature of the crash and the importance of using the belts when they are in place.” The organization pointed to its policy statement on the issue of lap/shoulder seatbelts, which encourages members to determine the use of the three-point restraints based on their local needs.

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A family in Forward Township, Pennsylvania, has been displaced after a school bus crashed through the front of their home, causing significant damage, reported CBS News.

The crash reportedly occurred around 3:30 p.m. Oct. 6. Authorities say a school bus operated by Rittenhouse Bus Lines struck a parked pickup truck in front of the home. The impact pushed the truck through the front porch and into the corner of the house, causing extensive structural damage.

Joe Ferson, who was inside the home with his daughter at the time, recalled the terrifying moment.

“I hear this commotion like a freight train and the next thing I know, the walls of my house are lifting off the ground,” Ferson said via the article. “My truck is in my living room, water spraying everywhere and I come outside to a bus into my truck into my house.”

There were no children on board the bus at the time of the crash. The driver was taken to the hospital for evaluation, but no other injuries were reported.

Emergency responders quickly arrived at the scene, and the Red Cross was called in to assist the family. Forward Township’s building inspector is currently assessing the damage to determine whether the home is safe to reenter. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

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Related: Oklahoma School Bus Carrying Softball Team Crashes, Injuring 7
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A 17-year-old male was arrested in connection with a crash that left a 15-year-old student severely injured while waiting for his school bus last month, reported WIVB 4 News.

The incident reportedly took place just before 7 a.m. on Sept. 4, when the 17-year-old driver was traveling south in a Ford Explorer, veered off the roadway, drove through a front yard, and collided with a parked vehicle in a driveway.

The impact caused the parked car to strike the 15-year-old boy, who was standing nearby waiting for the school bus. The victim was transported to Erie County Medical Center (ECMC), where he was treated for severe leg injuries. The 17-year-old driver was also taken to ECMC for evaluation.

Following an investigation, police said that cannabis was detected in the driver’s bloodstream at the time of the crash. A further search of the vehicle uncovered two unfinished lower frames of a ghost gun pistol, along with an AR-15-style rifle, leading to serious concerns about the possession of unregistered firearms by a minor.

On Tuesday, the teen was charged with second-degree assault and second-degree vehicular assault. He also faces two counts of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, driving while impaired by drugs, and multiple vehicle and traffic violations. He was arraigned in youth court and remanded to the Oneida County Jail on $100,000 cash bail.

Authorities have not released the names of either the driver or the injured student because they are minors. The investigation remains ongoing.

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Related: Louisiana Child Hit by Truck, 19-Year-Old Driver Arrested
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An elementary-age student was arrested after allegedly bringing a loaded gun onto a school bus and showing it to other children, reported WFLA 8.

The incident reportedly occurred Monday morning, while the bus was on route to an elementary school. Fellow students alerted the school bus driver after noticing the child displaying the weapon. Police were called and responded to the scene immediately.

Investigators say the student admitted to taking the firearm from a relative’s “secured room” and bringing it on board to show other students. The gun was confirmed to be loaded. No injuries were reported.

The child was reportedly taken into custody and now faces several serious charges, including possession of a firearm on school property, armed burglary, grand theft of a firearm, carrying a concealed firearm, and disruption of a school function.

“This incident shows why staying vigilant and reporting concerns quickly is critical,” Ocala police said via the article. “Our children’s safety is our top priority. We will remain committed to supporting our schools and community while we pursue justice.”

The gun was safely recovered, and authorities are continuing to investigate. Due to the child’s age, their identity has not been released.

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Related: South Carolina Man Arrested for Allegedly Pointing Gun at School Bus
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The post 9-Year-Old Arrested for Bringing Loaded Gun onto Florida School Bus appeared first on School Transportation News.

A disturbing incident on an Orleans Parish school bus in Louisiana has left a longtime school bus monitor hospitalized with multiple injuries after she was allegedly attacked by a high school student and the student’s mother, reported News Channel 10.

The incident reportedly occurred Aug. 21 and was caught on video, involving a McDonogh 35 High School student and her mother physically assaulting school bus monitor Tamika Jackson. The footage aired by News Channel 10 indicates the mother striking Jackson and then her daughter joining the violent altercation.

Jackson’s husband, Johnny Jackson told reporters his wife was transported to the emergency room with severe injuries, including bite marks on her face and thumbs, scratches and a deep gash across her face.

“They pulled her hair out. They bit her in her face, on her lips, on her thumbs,” he said.

Images shown by News Channel 10 support his descriptions of the injuries.

According to the article, Johnny Jackson said the confrontation began after his wife instructed the student not to sit in the last two rows of the bus, an area she suspected students had been using inappropriately, potentially to perform lewd acts. The student, who was not identified in this writing, allegedly called her mother, who then boarded the bus at confronted Jackson, resulting in the violent assault.

Despite her injuries and being on duty at the time, Jackson was reportedly issued a Municipal Court summons by the New Orleans Police Department for disturbing the peace.

Her husband expressed outrage, saying, “It’s insane knowing my wife was at work when this happened, and yet she’s being treated like she was part of a fight.”

NOPD has not filed a police report at this time, citing a lack of video evidence. Officers reportedly told the family they are treating the matter as a “routine fight” until the footage is reviewed.

In response to the incident, InspireNOLA Charter Schools, which oversees McDonogh 35, stated it is conducting an active investigation and emphasized that the safety of students and staff is a top priority. Community members and staff have called for a thorough investigation and accountability following the attack.

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Related: South Carolina Parent Runs School Bus Off Road After Alleged Child Assault
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The post School Bus Monitor Hospitalized After Violent Attack by Student, Parent appeared first on School Transportation News.

A local school bus driver has been arrested on multiple felony charges involving child sexual exploitation and child endangerment, following an investigation led by the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit, reported 2 Idaho News.

According to the Idaho Attorney General’s Office via the article, Brian Hendricks was taken into custody on Aug. 7 and now faces seven counts of possession of child sexual exploitation material. The Boise Police Department charged both Hendricks and his partner Rochelle Hendricks with four counts each of felony injury to a child, as well as misdemeanor charges for dog nuisance and general animal nuisance.

According to the news report, Attorney General Raul Labrador praised the collaborative law enforcement effort, stating, “Protecting the people of Idaho is my office’s top priority. I thank the Boise Police Department for their partnership and teamwork in serving this search warrant and helping to remove the children that were in the home,” he continued. “We will continue to diligently work with our law enforcement partners across the state to protect Idaho families as children return to school this fall.”

The arrest reportedly followed a search warrant executed at Hendricks’ residence, where officers discovered several children living in what authorities described as unsafe and uninhabitable conditions. Police reported that the children were in imminent danger and were promptly removed from the home. Multiple animals were also seized due to concerns over neglect and nuisance conditions.

Boise Police Department units, including the Neighborhood Contact Unit, School Resource Officers and patrol officers reportedly assisted the ICAC team in the arrest and investigation. Boise Police Lieutenant Tim Brady emphasized the importance of a unified response.

“The Boise Police Department extends its sincere gratitude to our law enforcement partners and the dedicated professionals who worked on this significant investigation,” he said via the article. “This collective effort was instrumental in ensuring the safety and well-being of all involved in this case. We remain steadfast in our dedication to working together to protect and serve the most vulnerable members of our community.”

It is unclear if Hendricks was immediately fired for his position as a bus driver. At this stage of the investigation, authorities say there is no evidence of any local victims, but they encourage anyone with relevant information to contact local police. The case remains ongoing.

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Related: Massachusetts School Van Driver Faces DUI, Child Endangerment Charges
Related: Illinois School Bus Driver Charged for Child Pornography
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Related: Florida School Bus Attendant Arrested for Inappropriate Behavior with Young Girls

The post Idaho Bus Driver Arrested for Child Endangerment, Animal Neglect appeared first on School Transportation News.

A Fayette County school bus driver is under investigation after reportedly leaving a group of young children unattended inside a restaurant while he ordered breakfast and used the restroom during his morning route, reported Fox 13.

The incident reportedly happened on Aug. 7 when the driver pulled up with five elementary-aged students estimated to be between 5 and 7 years old and brought them into the restaurant. Cyndi Oliver, owner of Sweet Creations & Our Daily Bread in La Grange, Tennessee, said the school bus driver told her he couldn’t leave the children alone on the bus, so he escorted them inside before heading to the restroom.

“He came back in and said, ‘You know, I really can’t leave the kids on the bus,’” Oliver recalled. “Then he went to the restroom and left the children here.”

Oliver said the students were left sitting at a table, unsupervised, for about 10 minutes while the driver was in the restroom. After receiving his order, the driver reportedly returned to the bus, parked across the street and ate his meal before continuing his route.

According to the news report, Oliver was concerned about what she saw and contacted the Fayette County School Board immediately but said she didn’t receive a response for several hours. She later posted about the incident in a local community Facebook group, urging parents of children who ride bus No. 73 to reach out.

“Ten minutes is a long time,” she said via the report. “If I hadn’t been that person, I could have asked any one of those children to come with me … and they would have gone.”

In response, Fayette County Public Schools issued a statement via the article acknowledging the incident and confirming that the situation is under review.

“Student safety is our top priority, and we take this matter very seriously,” the statement reads. “The situation is currently under investigation in accordance with district policy and procedures. Because this is a personnel matter, we are unable to provide further details at this time.”

Oliver said she was later contacted by a school district official who assured her that steps would be taken to prevent similar incidents in the future. However, the district has not provided details regarding those specific measures when contacted by local news reporters.

As of this report, the bus driver’s status with the district remains unclear pending the outcome of the investigation.

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