Category: Security

An illegal immigrant who operated a now “dismantled” fentanyl mill in Lawrence “faces deportation,” the Drug Enforcement Administration has announced.

DEA New England posted on social media Thursday that agents had taken down what they described as a fentanyl mill in Lawrence that contained “12 kilos of powdered fentanyl, 5-thousand fake fentanyl pills (and) 1-thousand fake Adderall pills.”

Agents also seized three handguns, DEA New England added in its post.

The agency did not provide any further information, including the nationality of the operator who it said is an “illegal individual who now faces deportation.” An investigation into the mill remains ongoing.

Massachusetts State Police assisted the DEA in responding to the fentanyl mill.

The Thursday social media post comes after agents with ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston arrested an illegal Dominican national Santo Baez Baez last Friday for allegedly running a drug ring out of his apartment in Lawrence.

An undercover DEA agent helped break up the suspect’s fentanyl-and-cocaine ring, according to a federal affidavit. Drugs, a .357 Magnum, $7,885 in cash, and cellphones were confiscated during his arrest.

It is unclear if the dismantled fentanyl mill that DEA New England highlighted Thursday is connected to Baez Baez, who federal immigration officials said had previously been released and deported following an arrest on federal drug and firearm charges.

FBI Boston, DEA, ATF, and U.S. Marshals all declared on social media last weekend they are “proud to cooperate” with immigration agents in grabbing illegal immigrant drug traffickers, gun runners, and human traffickers.

FBI Boston has continued to show solidarity this week with its law enforcement partners supporting ERO Boston and the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration enforcement operations.

The efforts across Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island are “part of our ongoing response to a declared national emergency,” FBI Boston posted on social media Wednesday.

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Kanye West has dismissed his bipolar disorder, claiming he was misdiagnosed after his breakdown in 2016 and that he actually has autism.

The 47-year-old Grammy winner, now legally known as Ye, made the revelation on Tuesday during an appearance on “The Download” podcast.

He told host Justin Laboy that he only began questioning his diagnosis after some prodding from his wife, Bianca Censori, who he married in late 2022. She was the one who explained to him that many of his behaviors didn’t line up with some of the patterns associated with being bipolar, West recalled.

“My wife took me [to a doctor] because she said, ‘Something about your personality doesn’t feel like it’s bipolar, I’ve seen bipolar before,’” he explained. “And come to find out, it’s really a case of autism that I have.”

Armed with the correct diagnosis, West said he’s working to better understand some of his past actions through a fresh lens. The rapper said he believes most of his episodes were sparked when “the constant feeling of not being in control spun me out of control.” In those moments, he recalled fixating on things he was told not to do, then acting to the contrary.

“You’re like, ‘Oh, man, I’m gonna wear this [Donald] Trump hat ’cause I just like Trump in general,’” he said. “And when people tell you to not do it you just get on that one point, and that’s my problem. When fans tell me to do my album a certain way, I’ll do it the opposite way.”

West on Tuesday also revealed that he stopped taking medication for bipolar disorder upon learning of his misdiagnosis.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, autism spectrum disorder “is a neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn and behave.”

Autism is not considered a mental illness, unlike bipolar disorder, which “causes clear shifts in a person’s mood, energy, activity levels and concentration.” As a result, those affected will “often experience periods of extremely ‘up,’ elated, irritable or energized behavior (known as manic episodes) and very ‘down,’ sad, indifferent or hopeless periods (known as depressive episodes),” according the NIMH.

West was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after he was hospitalized for a “psychiatric emergency” in 2016. In the years since, though, his behavior continued to raise eyebrows, escalating until 2022, when a series of antisemitic tweets cost him sponsorships and brand partners, including Yeezy’s collaboration with Adidas.

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Democrat members of the U.S. House of Representatives held a protest outside the Department of Education on Friday amid reports that President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to shut down the department. The Democrat lawmakers attempted to force their way into the building; however, they were blocked by a security guard.

According to NBC News, the Trump administration is currently preparing an executive order to shut down the Department of Education and direct congressional lawmakers to pass legislation to formally abolish the department.

After being denied entrance to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building on Friday, the group of Democrat lawmakers were recorded challenging the security guard.

In the video, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) can be heard asking, “What are they afraid of? They know that we’re here.”

Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) directly challenged the security guard, asking, “Were you told, are you making this decision to stand in front of this door on your own behalf? On behalf of the Department of Education, or were you to come out here and block members of Congress from complying with us?” He added, “Were you told to stand here, or did you decide to stand here and block members of Congress from entering the Department of Education?”

READ MORE: Videos: ‘We are at war’: Democrat lawmakers chant ‘lock him up’ in major protest

Despite repeatedly telling Democrat lawmakers that he was just doing his job, the security guard continued to face pressure from the large group of Democrats protesting outside the Department of Education. Partway through the video, Waters can be seen directing Fox News to show the security guard’s face on television.

“I want you to see this man here who is a federal employee… we pay him, we raise money to make sure that we have a Department of Education,” Waters said. “Everybody that’s hired at the Department of Education are here because we pay for them to be here. He’s standing here today blocking the door, and he can’t give us a good reason why he’s blocking this door.”

Another Democrat lawmaker claimed that by blocking the door to the building, the Trump administration was preventing people from advocating on behalf of the country’s children. “We are not allowed to advocate on behalf of America’s children,” the lawmaker said. “America, we have a problem.”

Sharing the video of the Democrat lawmakers attempting to force their way inside the Department of Education on social media, conservative commentator Benny Johnson tweeted, “Rep. Maxine Waters and other Democrat Congress members are staging an insurrection at the Dept of Education over Trump and Elon Musk, but they’re getting the door slammed in their faces.”

BREAKING: Rep. Maxine Waters and other Democrat Congress members are staging an insurrection at the Dept of Education over Trump and Elon Musk, but they’re getting the door slammed in their faces. pic.twitter.com/4QbgT0ku1Z

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 7, 2025

A former policy advisor for former President Barack Obama’s administration was sentenced last week to over 11 years in jail after flying to the United Kingdom in an attempt to rape a child.

In a recent press release, the Bedfordshire Police Department announced that 47-year-old Rahamim Shy was found guilty last Wednesday of “arranging the commission of a child sex offence – namely rape and possessing indecent photographs of a child following a trial at Luton Crown Court.”

The Bedfordshire Police Department noted that Shy traveled from New York to the United Kingdom last February after “arranging online to meet a young girl for sex.” Police officials added, “Shy had set up the meeting after months of correspondence, however, unbeknown to him, the girl did not exist.”

According to The Telegraph, Shy previously worked in a senior-level position at the U.S. Treasury Department from 2008 to 2014. In his position under the Obama administration, Shy worked as an advisor for countering the financing of terrorism.

The Telegraph reported that prior to flying to Bedfordshire to try to sexually abuse a 9-year-old child, the former Obama advisor spent a month planning his trip. According to the BBC, law enforcement officers arrested Shy after his arrival in the United Kingdom and discovered condoms and cuddle toys in Shy’s luggage.

According to the BBC, Shy used an online forum and messaging apps to discuss the sexual abuse he was planning to engage in against the 9-year-old child prior to his trip to the United Kingdom. Shy also communicated with an undercover officer from the Bedfordshire Police Department whom he thought was the girl’s grandmother.

READ MORE: Pics: Democrat official arrested for alleged child sex crimes

In his messages with the grandmother, Shy claimed that the 9-year-old child was a “tad late” to the start of her sexual activity and that it would be his “honour” to be “her first,” according to the BBC. The outlet also noted that law enforcement officials discovered indecent pictures of children on Shy’s phone, as well as messages that exposed his sexual interest in children.

According to the Bedfordshire Police Department, Shy was sentenced to 11 years and six months in jail after being found guilty last week.

Following the sentencing of the former Obama administration policy advisor, David Paton, the investigating officer from Bedfordshire Police Department’s Internet Child Abuse Investigation Team, said, “Shy is a predator who had clear intentions of raping and abusing a child.”

“Child sexual abuse will not be tolerated in Bedfordshire and we’re committed to tackling offenders to prevent them from causing further harm,” Paton added. “In this case the child fortunately did not exist, but the immediate threats remain the same, and we work tirelessly to identify predators who pose a risk to our society.”

A new report claims that President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing an executive order to potentially fire thousands of federal employees at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. However, the White House has denied the report.

Sources familiar with the situation told The Wall Street Journal that the Trump administration’s potential executive order would require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and other federal health agencies to reduce employees by a certain percentage.

Sources with information regarding the potential executive order told The Wall Street Journal that officials have been instructed to prepare lists of probationary workers with essential roles that need to be retained and lists of employees without essential roles. The outlet noted that probationary employees are typically employees who have only served for a year or served for two years of “excepted service” and are easier to remove than other employees.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the anonymous sources claimed that the executive order could be issued as early as next week following the Trump administration’s buyout offer for federal employees. However, the outlet noted that the details of the potential executive order have not been finalized and acknowledged that the Trump administration could ultimately decide not to issue the order.

READ MORE: Videos: Banned! Trump issues critical executive order

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Health and Human Services currently employs over 80,000 individuals and includes the CDC, the FDA, Medicaid Services, the Centers for Medicare, and the National Institutes of Health.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the White House denied reports of an upcoming executive order regarding the Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday.

The Wall Street Journal noted that the reports of the Trump administration’s potential executive order firing federal employees at the Department of Health and Human Services come after the Trump administration initially established a Thursday deadline for federal employees to determine whether or not to accept a buyout offer to resign from their positions.

According to Fox News, U.S. District Judge George O’Toole Jr. issued an extension for Trump’s buyout offer on Thursday, giving federal employees additional time to decide whether to accept the buyout. The outlet noted that a hearing will take place on Monday regarding Trump’s buyout offer. According to The Wall Street Journal, over 40,000 federal employees had indicated they would accept Trump’s buyout offer prior to Thursday’s extension.

A whistleblower who used to work for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) recently exposed the agency for making diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) a “central” part of USAID under the Biden-Harris administration. The whistleblower’s testimony comes as President Donald Trump’s administration and the Department of Government Efficiency effectively shut down USAID this week.

Mark Moyar, a USAID whistleblower who previously worked for the agency from 2018 to 2019, told Fox News, “Samantha Power’s emphasis on DEI was part of a larger Biden administration effort to infuse DEI into every federal agency and we saw this with very negative effects all over the place and you have people taking time off from their jobs to attend these indoctrination sessions and clearly pushing the message that people are divided into oppressor groups and victim groups and that there’s this white rage and white extremism running all over the place, which is basically not non existent.”

Fox News reported that the whistleblower said “far left theories” were given “legitimacy” during the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement. The whistleblower also claimed that other countries started taking the United States less seriously after DEI became a “central” part of USAID’s efforts.

READ MORE: Video: CIA whistleblower exposes agency ‘cover up’: Report

“It’s particularly disturbing that not only were they pushing within the organization, they were actually funding DEI events all over the world, you know, DEI comic books or DEI workshops and so I think this can only undermine our image abroad because most people outside of this country recognized DEI for the silliness that it is and the divisiveness that it causes,” Moyar told Fox News.

Moyar explained that Samantha Power, the former USAID administrator, also required everything to be “viewed through a gendered lens” as part of the push for DEI at USAID.

“So you had all these gender consultants as well as DEI consultants taking huge amounts of taxpayer money to do this sort of analysis,” Moyar added.

USAID’s archived website features an entire page on DEI goals and policies that were previously promoted by the agency prior to the second Trump administration.

A quote from Power featured at the top of the DEI page states, “Each of us has a responsibility to address bigotry, gender discrimination, and structural racism and uphold individual dignity… This isn’t just one of our values; it’s our mission—one hand extended out to another to meet people where they are and treat others as equals.”

An airplane crash in the Philippines left one U.S. military service member and three defense contractors dead on Thursday.

In a Thursday press release, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command announced, “On February 6, 2025, an aircraft contracted by the U.S. Department of Defense crashed in the Philippine Province of Maguindanao del Sur.”

Indo-Pacific Command noted that the contracted aircraft was being used to provide surveillance, reconnaissance, and intelligence support as part of a “routine mission in support of U.S.-Philippine security cooperation activities.”

“We can confirm no survivors of the crash,” U.S. Indo-Pacific Command stated. “There were four personnel on board, including one U.S. military service member and three defense contractors.”

In Thursday’s press release, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command noted that the names of the crew members involved in the crash were being withheld until the family members of the U.S. service member and defense contractors were notified.

READ MORE: Plane vanishes with 10 people on board, major search and rescue effort underway

“The cause of the crash is currently under investigation, and we have no further details to release at this time,” U.S. Indo-Pacific Command added. “Additional updates will be provided as they become available.”

A senior U.S. defense official told Fox News that the aircraft involved in Thursday’s incident in the Philippines was a U.S. Marine Corps Beechcraft King Air 350. The Daily Wire reported that the U.S. military has been deployed for multiple decades in the Philippines to support the Philippine military as it fights against Islamic terrorists in the region.

The Associated Press reported that while no individuals were reported dead or injured near the crash site besides the U.S. service member and the three defense contractors on the airplane, officials said the crash also resulted in the death of a water buffalo.

Windy Beaty, a provincial disaster-mitigation officer, told The Associated Press that residents near the crash in the Philippines reported seeing smoke from the airplane and heard an explosion prior to the aircraft crashing to the ground less than half a mile from several farmhouses.

The software company Workday will chop more than 600 jobs in the East Bay — roughly one-third of its worldwide layoff plans — a wrenching cutback spurred by a push to scout for AI opportunities.

The company has disclosed plans to eliminate 1,750 jobs worldwide even as it hires workers who can help Workday mine potential goldmines in artificial intelligence, Workday revealed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Workday said it would jettison 617 jobs within the company’s headquarters in Pleasanton, California, according to a WARN letter Workday sent to the state Employment Development Department.

“The first termination at this site will occur on April 6, 2025,” Ruth Bolden, Workday’s director employment legal, wrote in the Feb. 5 WARN notice the company sent to the state EDD.

The layoffs in Pleasanton represent about 35% of the staffing reductions that Workday is planning worldwide. The 1,750 job cuts Workday is planning equate to 8.5% of the company’s global workforce, Workday Chief Executive Officer Carl Eschenbach stated in a Feb. 5 note to company employees.

“We’re at a pivotal moment,” Eschenbach said in the post. “Companies everywhere are reimagining how work gets done, and the increasing demand for AI has the potential to drive a new era of growth for Workday.”

Workday will hire an unspecified number of workers to focus on AI initiatives that are deemed to be promising for the tech company.

Artificial intelligence portends a “massive opportunity” for Workday, Eschenbach said. However, “some changes” will be required to align the company’s workforce with what customers are seeking.

“This means investing strategically, helping teams work better together, bringing innovations to market faster, and making it easier for our customers and partners to work with us,” Eschenbach stated in the open letter.

About two years ago, Workday orchestrated a much smaller round of job cuts.

In 2023, Workday eliminated 196 jobs in Pleasanton, according to a WARN letter the company filed at that time.

The current round of Workday layoffs in Pleasanton are being described as permanent.

Workday employees who lose their jobs won’t be able to displace other workers for the company, even if the people who are laid off have seniority over others.

“There are no applicable bumping rights,” Workday’s Bolden stated in the WARN letter.

It also appears Workday might attempt to sell or vacate an unknown number of existing work hubs, the company disclosed in the SEC filing.

“Workday expects to exit certain owned office space,” the company stated in the SEC filing.

Job cuts are on the horizon despite what appears to be a rosy profit outlook for Workday.

“Workday expects its fiscal 2025 fourth quarter and full-year financial results to be in line with or above its guidance as provided on its fiscal 2025 third-quarter earnings call,” Workday stated in the SEC filing. The company’s 2025 fiscal year ended in January 2025.

The layoffs, Workday insisted, won’t curb the company’s efforts to hire people as needed, especially in the promising AI field.

“While we are eliminating some positions, we will continue to hire in key strategic areas and locations,” Eschenbach stated in the open letter to Workday workers.

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The U.S. Coast Guard and other rescue crews are currently searching for a Cessna airplane that vanished in Alaska on Thursday with 10 people on board. As of Friday morning, officials had not located the missing plane.

Fox News reported that the missing aircraft is a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX operated by Bering Air. According to FlightRadar’s website, the latest information from the missing aircraft showed the airplane over Alaska’s Norton Sound inlet at 3:16 p.m. on Thursday.

Early Friday morning, the U.S. Coast Guard Alaska released a statement, saying, “U.S. Coast Guard District 17 responded to an aircraft emergency notification from Alaska Rescue Coordination Center at 4:30 p.m. today for a Cessna Caravan that reported to have 10 people aboard.”

“An HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Air Station Kodiak to search their last known position,” the Coast Guard added. “The aircraft was 12 miles offshore transiting from Unalakleet to Nome when its position was lost.”

READ MORE: Video: Critically injured! Plane collides with tug vehicle at O’Hare Airport

The Nome Volunteer Fire Department confirmed Thursday on Facebook that rescue crews were conducting an “active ground search” for the missing plane. While the Nome Volunteer Fire Department initially explained that rescue crews were “limited on-air search” as a result of poor weather and visibility conditions, officials later announced that the Coast Guard’s HC-130 Hercules airplane would be assisting the search.

“The plane will not land, but will fly a grid pattern over the water and shoreline in attempts to locate the plane,” the Nome Volunteer Fire Department stated. “The plane is equipped with specialized equipment for search and rescue that enables them to locate objects and people through no visibility conditions.”

According to The Associated Press, the Alaska Department of Public Safety confirmed that the missing Cessna airplane was carrying nine passengers and one pilot when it disappeared on Thursday. David Olson, director of operations for Bering Air, told The Associated Press, “Staff at Bering Air is working hard to gather details, get emergency assistance, search and rescue going.”

Early Friday morning, the Nome Volunteer Fire Department released an update regarding the search and rescue operation, saying, “We do not have any updated information on the location of the missing aircraft. Crews are still searching on the ground, canvassing as much area as possible.”

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) announced on Thursday that Pearson Mayor Robert “Buster” Johnson was arrested and charged with fraud, bribery, theft, violation of his oath of office, and multiple other crimes.

In a Thursday press release, the GBI confirmed that the 49-year-old Pearson mayor had been arrested and charged with four counts of the violation of an oath of office by a public officer, four counts of conspiracy to defraud state and political subdivision, three counts of influencing witnesses, three counts of bribery, two counts of theft by taking, and two counts of false statements and writings.

According to the GBI, Johnson was also charged with filing false documents, theft by deception, criminal attempt to commit theft by taking, conspiracy in restraint of free and open competition, criminal solicitation to commit false statements and writings, criminal attempt to commit hindering of apprehension of the punishment of a criminal, criminal solicitation to commit false official certificates or writings by officers or employees of a state and political subdivision, and fraud, forgery, and theft in connection with registration of title to land.

READ MORE: Video/Pic: Democrat mayor ‘jumped’ into chaotic brawl at town meeting

In Thursday’s press release, the GBI explained that the investigation into Johnson started after the Alapaha Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office received complaints that the Pearson mayor had engaged in “fraudulent activities.” After the attorney’s office received the complaints, the district attorney requested that the GBI investigate the allegations against Johnson.

“During the investigation, agents uncovered a scheme to have an incarcerated person released from jail through fraudulent documentation, obtaining kickbacks from city contracts, theft of municipal land, and bribery of city employees,” the GBI stated.

Following Johnson’s arrest, the mayor was booked into Atkinson County Jail before being transferred to Coffee County, according to the GBI.

The GBI confirmed on Thursday that the investigation into the 49-year-old Pearson mayor remains “active and ongoing.” Law enforcement officials also noted that additional arrests are expected as a result of the investigation.

A picture of Johnson was shared on X, formerly Twitter, by Post Millennial editor Andy Ngo. Ngo also shared a pair of social media posts from Johnson.

In one of the posts, Johnson claimed, “Racism isn’t a thing of the past in South Ga, especially in good old Atkinson County.” In another post, Johnson wrote, “I needed the whole world to see this WHOLE NEGRO!! Our ancestors fought and died for me to be where I am standing.”

Pearson, Ga. — Mayor Robert “Buster” Johnson, 49, was arrested on Feb. 6 by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

During the investigation, agents uncovered an alleged scheme to have an incarcerated person released from jail through fraudulent documentation, obtaining kickbacks… pic.twitter.com/r9ue98tRcn

— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) February 6, 2025