{"id":174138,"date":"2025-12-03T17:50:20","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T17:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/live-updates-trump-pardons-henry-cuellar-dhs-launches-immigration-operations-in-minneapolis-new-orleans-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T17:50:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T17:50:20","slug":"live-updates-trump-pardons-henry-cuellar-dhs-launches-immigration-operations-in-minneapolis-new-orleans-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/live-updates-trump-pardons-henry-cuellar-dhs-launches-immigration-operations-in-minneapolis-new-orleans-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Live updates: Trump pardons Henry Cuellar; DHS launches immigration operations in Minneapolis, New Orleans – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Republican Matt Van Epps beat Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn in yesterday's special election for former Rep. Mark Green\u2019s congressional seat in Tennessee.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee today released several images and video clips showing what they say is the private island that was owned by the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The new photos and videos of the island, which is in the U.S. Virgin Islands, don’t include any people. They instead show some exterior structures and interiors, including a pool area, some bedrooms and bathrooms, a phone with some labeled names redacted, a library with a large desk and blackboard, a marble shower room containing built-in benches, and the like.
Committee Democrats said in the news release that they have also received records related to Epstein from J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank, which they intend to release to the public after a review.
Calling the new images “disturbing,” ranking member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said in the release that the committee’s Democrats “are releasing these photos and videos to ensure public transparency in our investigation and to help piece together the full picture of\u00a0Epstein\u2019s horrific crimes. We won\u2019t stop fighting until we deliver justice for the survivors.”
<\/span> House Oversight Democrats<\/span>
<\/span> House Oversight Democrats<\/span>
<\/span> House Oversight Democrats<\/span>
<\/span> House Oversight Democrats<\/span>
<\/span> House Oversight Democrats<\/span>
Garcia said the photos and footage were obtained through an Oversight Committee request to the Department of Justice.
Congress is waiting for the federal government’s collection of files it has on Epstein, which Congress has required through legislation Trump recently signed into law.
Republican Matt Van Epps held off a challenge from Democrat Aftyn Behn yesterday in the special election in Tennessee\u2019s 7th Congressional District, with voters delivering both a result and a broader message.
The result preserves a House seat that the GOP badly needs, given how slim its majority is. But the margin \u2014 a 9-point win for Van Epps in a district Trump carried by 22 points last year \u2014 bolsters Democratic optimism heading into next year\u2019s midterms.
Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
A group of advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing to vote on whether the agency should scrap its long-standing recommendation that every baby get a hepatitis B vaccination within 24 hours of birth.
The shot \u2014 universally recommended for newborns in the U.S since the early 1990s \u2014 is credited with\u00a0driving down cases of acute hepatitis B infections in kids by 99%<\/a>. The virus, which can be passed from mother to baby during childbirth, can lead to liver disease and early death. There is no cure.
Despite its success, the hepatitis B vaccine has become the latest target of skeptics who question whether the benefits of the shot outweigh potential risks.
A vaccine given on \u201cday one has a risk of neonatal fever, which causes more interventions\u201d like blood work to determine the cause of the fever, said Dr. Kirk Milhoan, a pediatric cardiologist who practices at Driscoll Children\u2019s Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced<\/a> on X that Trump will unveil a rollback of federal fuel standards later this afternoon.\u00a0
Leavitt linked to a Fox News report<\/a> that said Trump\u2019s announcement “will unveil a \u2018reset\u2019 of federal fuel standards that heightened under the Biden administration, which the White House said will save \u2018$109 billion in total\u2019 for American families.\u201d
“Happening today at the White House,” Leavitt wrote in the post before quoting the top of the article. Fox News was first to report Trump’s announcement.\u00a0
The action will target Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards that are set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Those standards, first implemented in 1975 under President Gerald Ford, regulate the fuel efficiency of U.S. vehicles.
The CEOs of Stellantis and Ford will join Trump for the announcement, spokespersons for the companies confirmed to NBC News.
Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said in a statement that he looks forward to working with the Trump administration on \u201cenvironmentally responsible policies\u201d that would allow customers to choose “the vehicles they want at prices they can afford.”\u00a0
Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement that the company appreciates Trump’s efforts to align “fuel economy standards with market realities.”
“We can make real progress on carbon emissions and energy efficiency while still giving customers choice and affordability,” he said.
A General Motors spokesperson said in a statement provided by the White House that the company also supports the change.
“We have long advocated for one national standard that upholds customer choice\u00a0and provides the auto\u00a0industry\u00a0long-term stability,” the GM spokesperson’s statement said. “As we review the proposal, we\u00a0remain\u00a0committed to offering the best and broadest portfolio of electric and gas-powered vehicles on the market.\u201d
Trump announced today that he would pardon Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, who was\u00a0indicted last year\u00a0<\/a>on bribery and money laundering charges.
In his\u00a0Truth Social\u00a0<\/a>post, Trump accused Democrats of working to \u201cattack, rob, lie, cheat, destroy, and decimate anyone who dares to oppose their Far Left Agenda, an Agenda that, if left unchecked, will obliterate our magnificent Country.\u201d
\u201cBecause of these facts, and others, I am hereby announcing my full and unconditional PARDON of beloved Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar, and Imelda,\u201d Trump said in the post, referring to Cuellar\u2019s wife, who also faces charges.
Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are distancing themselves from the growing controversy around the September attack when the military launched a second strike on an alleged drug boat in Venezuela, killing survivors of the initial attack. Hegseth said yesterday that he watched the first strike live, but left for other meetings before learning a second strike took place. NBC\u2019s Peter Alexander reports for “TODAY.”
During the final, chaotic days of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan<\/a> in August 2021, Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., stood as an unwavering champion for resettling the Afghan nationals who had aided America and its allies.
\u201cWe have failed in our obligation to help many of these Afghans who risked their lives, and in many cases died, for the cause of their own country in assistance to the United States, and we owe them to help them get into our country with these visas,\u201d Barr said then<\/a> in an interview<\/a> with Kentucky Educational Television.
Now a Senate candidate, Barr saw his remarks resurface and quickly go viral<\/a> last week after the shooting of two National Guard members<\/a> \u2014 one of whom died \u2014 in Washington, D.C. Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as Rahmanullah Lakanwal<\/a>, an Afghan national who served alongside<\/a> U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Lakanwal pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges including first-degree murder.
\u201cI don\u2019t believe we owe anything to foreigners from Afghanistan, but I do believe our politicians owe it to the American citizens that they\u2019re supposed to represent, to not flood our country with thousands of people from the 3rd world who don\u2019t share our values and never will,\u201d businessman Nate Morris, one of Barr\u2019s rivals in the GOP primary, wrote in a social media post<\/a> sharing a clip from the interview.
The clash offered a preview of how the topic could jam other Republicans running in competitive primaries next year, from the already hostile Kentucky race<\/a> to Sen. John Cornyn\u2019s re-election battle in Texas and campaigns for governor in Florida and South Carolina.
It\u2019s also a fight that reflects shifting goalposts for a GOP in which even legal immigration has become a source of debate. The attack on Guard members \u2014 which officials have said was targeted \u2014 validated warnings from several leading figures on the right, including Vice President JD Vance<\/a>, who had argued that resettling Afghan refugees could yield tragic consequences.
Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Minneapolis is currently underway, a senior law enforcement official said.
It comes one day after Trump said <\/a>that Somalis should “go back to where they came from” and made disparaging remarks about Somalia. Minneapolis has a large Somali population, and NBC News previously reported that ICE was planning an operation in Minneapolis-St. Paul this week.
The Department of Homeland Security also announced this morning that, beginning today, federal law enforcement agents would be conducting immigration operations in New Orleans.
The FBI field office in New Orleans announced a joint enforcement effort with Louisiana State Police to deter assaults on federal officers and attempts to obstruct law enforcement actions during the immigration operation.
Democratic Rep. Jes\u00fas \u201cChuy\u201d Garc\u00eda\u2019s handpicked successor<\/a> is officially getting a challenge.
Mayra Mac\u00edas is a lifelong Democrat and Chicago native who has worked on Latino advocacy and promoting former President Joe Biden\u2019s agenda. She announced her candidacy today as an independent in Illinois\u2019 4th Congressional District. If elected, Mac\u00edas said she would caucus with Democrats.
\u201cI\u2019ve really focused my whole career on building and serving and making sure that we\u2019re fighting for quality education, health care and affordable housing,\u201d Mac\u00edas said. \u201cUnder the Trump administration, we\u2019re seeing a lot of this progress rolled back.\u201d
Garc\u00eda\u2019s surprise retirement announcement in early November created a firestorm and drew a rebuke from his own party<\/a>. His plans were known only to his chief of staff, Patty Garcia (no relation). Because the congressman announced his retirement after the filing deadline to run, Patty Garcia was the only one to file the required signatures before the deadline to run as a Democrat in March.\u00a0
Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with\u00a0Trump<\/a>\u2019s special envoy tasked with negotiating an end to\u00a0Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine<\/a>, as well as his son-in-law, for a \u201cconstructive\u201d five-hour meeting yesterday, but more work needs to be done, Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy adviser to Putin, said in a video the Kremlin posted online.
Nearly four years after Putin\u2019s full-scale invasion of his smaller neighbor, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are grappling with an empowered Russia, with Ukraine on the back foot both on and off the battlefield. Kyiv\u2019s troops, facing a dire manpower crisis, cling to strategic hubs, and a\u00a0major corruption scandal<\/a>\u00a0has shaken President Volodymyr Zelenskyy\u2019s government and forced the removal of his top negotiator.
Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
James Solomon was elected mayor of Jersey City yesterday, thwarting former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey\u2019s\u00a0bid for a political comeback.<\/a>
Addressing supporters who had gathered to watch returns and cheer him on, Solomon said: \u201cNow, the mission is clear. The work begins tonight. And the work that we have to do is make Jersey City affordable.\u201d
Solomon, a City Council member since 2017, defeated McGreevey in a runoff after they finished first and second in a general election last month with\u00a0seven candidates on the ballot<\/a>.
Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
The\u00a0Trump administration<\/a>\u00a0indicated yesterday that it will begin withholding SNAP\u00a0<\/strong>benefits from recipients in most Democratic-led states starting next week after those states refused to provide the Agriculture Department with data including recipients\u2019 names and\u00a0immigration statuses<\/a>.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said during a Cabinet meeting that 29 Republican-led states have complied but that 21\u00a0<\/strong>states, including California, New York and Minnesota, have refused to provide the data, which was requested in February. Rollins has said her department requested the info to \u201croot out \u2026 fraud.\u201d
\u201cSo as of next week, we have begun and will begin to stop moving federal funds into those states, until they comply and they tell us and allow us to partner with them to root out this fraud and to protect the American taxpayer,\u201d Rollins said at the White House meeting.
Close to 42 million people in the U.S. receive benefits for food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is endorsing Rep. Angie Craig in the Minnesota Senate primary, which is already dividing high-profile Democrats.
Buttigieg is the latest former \u2014 and potentially future \u2014 presidential contender to weigh in on the race. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., endorsed Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan <\/a>last month in the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith.
Buttigieg\u2019s decision to back Craig is his first foray into a contested Senate primary this election cycle, as Democrats contend with multiple Senate nominating contests <\/a>across the country.\u00a0
Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
More than a week after\u00a0a federal judge tossed<\/a>\u00a0the Trump administration\u2019s cases against two of the president\u2019s top political foes, the Justice Department is weighing whether to re-indict former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
And the Justice Department is considering taking that step without the legal complications caused by the previous \u201cunlawful<\/a>” actions of Lindsey Halligan as the purported top federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said Nov. 24 that the Justice Department would file an \u201cimmediate appeal<\/a>\u201c of a federal judge\u2019s order dismissing the cases against Comey and James. But prosecutors have yet to do so.
A source familiar with the deliberations said yesterday that the department is considering seeking new, untainted indictments instead of pursuing the appeals.\u00a0CNN<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Reuters<\/a>\u00a0previously reported on the deliberations.
Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
Van Epps won the hotly contested special election for a deep-red congressional seat in Tennessee yesterday, NBC News projects, beating back a Democratic challenge for the longtime GOP district.
Though Trump carried the 7th Congressional District by 22 points in 2024, Republican super PACs poured millions into defending the seat as Van Epps faced off against Aftyn Behn, a Democratic state representative. Democrats spent almost as much trying to capture it, as Trump\u2019s political standing has taken a hit this year and the Democratic Party made gains in November elections in New Jersey, Virginia and other states.
Still, this red district remained reliably Republican. Van Epps, an Army veteran and former state official, ran on reliably MAGA themes and promised to continue the legacy of Mark Green, a Republican who resigned from the seat this year.
Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
The Trump administration yesterday halted\u00a0immigration applications<\/a>\u00a0submitted by\u00a0nationals from 19 countries<\/a>\u00a0that already faced restrictions on travel to the United States, according to a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services memo.
\u201cUSCIS has considered that this direction may result in delay to the adjudication of some pending applications and has weighed that consequence against the urgent need for the agency to ensure that applicants are vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible,\u201d the agency said in a\u00a0four-page policy memo<\/a>.
\u201cUltimately, USCIS has determined that the burden of processing delays that will fall on some applicants is necessary and appropriate in this instance, when weighed against the agency\u2019s obligation to protect and preserve national security,\u201d it added.
The New York Times\u00a0first reported<\/a>\u00a0the immigration pause, which applies to both green card and citizenship applicants.
Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
NBC News<\/p>\n

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Republican Matt Van Epps beat Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn in yesterday's special election for former Rep. Mark Green\u2019s congressional seat in Tennessee.Democrats on the House Oversight Committee today released several images and video clips showing what they say is the private island that was owned by the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":174139,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-174138","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-us","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}