The Daily Brief

The latest on the Georgia election investigation, California's push to ban masks for ICE agents, and more

These are today’s top stories, delivered straight to your inbox. Read below to catch up on all the news you might’ve missed.

House Immigration Hearing

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) chief Todd Lyons defended his agency’s mass deportation campaign at a House hearing today. He said officers face the “deadliest operating environment” in the agency’s history and warned, “Let me send a message to anyone who thinks they can intimidate us. You will fail.” Lyons made this claim without providing evidence.

Lyons testified alongside Customs and Border Protection chief Rodney Scott and USCIS director Joseph Edlow. Scott said protests against agents are “unprecedented in scale and intensity,” putting officers and their families at “tremendous personal risk of violence,” and defended the masks agents wear.

The hearing was the first since the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Lyons said both shootings are being reviewed “under established protocols” and that “standard investigative practices” are being followed, but he did not detail whether those procedures were applied at the crime scenes or cite evidence preservation steps.

Democrats challenged the agency’s tactics, calling them fascist and questioning Lyons’ moral responsibility. Rep. Dan Goldman told him, “You and your untrained, unqualified, unvetted, unidentified agents are intentionally terrorizing our cities and communities all over this country to avoid accountability for their excessive force and their lawless actions.”

Public Health Cuts

The Trump administration is moving to cut about $600 million in public health funding from four Democratic-led states, starting this week.

The cuts target grants in California, Illinois, Minnesota, and Colorado. The money flows through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and supports staff hiring, data systems, and outbreak responses — including measles, HIV, and other infectious diseases. Many grants focus on HIV prevention and other sexually transmitted infections.

A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said, “These grants are being terminated because they do not reflect agency priorities.”

The funds were approved by Congress under the Biden administration and were meant to run for several years. Many of the grants being cut supported programs focused on specific populations and health equity, including HIV prevention for Black women, LGBTQ support programs, and outreach to Latino and African American men.

The cuts follow a September CDC policy shift away from diversity and health equity programs — part of a broader Trump administration directive to reduce federal health programs based on race, gender, or sexual orientation. The CDC website says those efforts failed to produce “measurable improved health for minority populations.”

Public health leaders warn the timing is risky. “It is concerning that HHS [the Department of Health and Human Services] is cutting public health funding to local communities that cover core functions in the middle of a measles outbreak and other health threats,” said Dr. Deb Houry, the CDC’s former chief medical officer.

Georgia Ballot Seizure

A newly unsealed FBI affidavit shows that a referral from Kurt Olsen, Trump-appointed Director of Election Security and Integrity, helped trigger the criminal investigation into Georgia’s 2020 vote that led agents to seize ballots in Fulton County. The affidavit cites allegations about missing ballot images, duplicated scans, and vote-count issues — claims that have been widely debunked — but were used to justify the Jan. 28 raid.

On Monday, US District Judge J.P. Boulee ordered key court filings tied to the raid to be unsealed with private names redacted. The FBI took roughly 656 boxes of 2020 ballots, tabulator tapes, and voter rolls.

Fulton County officials are still seeking the return of the records and have asked the court to block the Justice Department from using them while the case is pending. County Commission Chair Robb Pitts said, “We don’t even have copies of what they took. We don’t know where they are or who has them, and that’s a problem.”

The raid follows President Trump’s repeated, unproven claims that the 2020 election in Georgia was stolen and his efforts to pressure state officials to “find” enough votes to change the outcome.

Homeland Security Funding

Democrats are rejecting the White House’s counterproposal on immigration enforcement, raising the risk of a Homeland Security shutdown if funding lapses at midnight Friday. In a statement, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries called the plan “incomplete and insufficient,” saying it does not address “the concerns Americans have about ICE’s lawless conduct.” The White House proposal has not been made public.

Democrats want officers to show ID, follow stricter use-of-force rules, and get judicial warrants before entering private property. Republicans oppose most of these demands, saying masks protect agents and some rules are unsafe.

“If there’s additional time that’s needed, then hopefully Democrats would be amenable to another extension,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said.

A shutdown could disrupt the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard, and border enforcement. Democrats say no new funding will pass without ICE reforms. “The ball is in the Republicans’ court,” Jeffries said.

US-Canada Bridge

President Trump threatened on Monday to block the opening of a bridge between Michigan and Canada, turning a nearly finished infrastructure project into a flash point in trade tensions. Trump’s opposition to the bridge opening seems to have been prompted by unrelated economic tensions between the US and Canada.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge, connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, has been under construction since 2018. Canada paid the full $6.4 billion construction cost, and Michigan will not start receiving toll revenue until Canada recoups its spending. The bridge will ease traffic at the busy Ambassador Bridge and support trade across the Detroit River.

The trade dispute between the US and Canada began in 2025, when the Trump administration imposed tariffs on Canadian goods. Canada retaliated with its own tariffs, and tensions have disrupted cross-border trade and supply chains.

Trump said he would not support the bridge opening until the US has been “fully compensated for everything we have given them” and that Canada must treat the US with “Fairness and Respect,” without specifying what he meant. Trump also asserted that the US should own at least half the bridge and get a share of tolls.

“We will start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump said on Truth Social. It is unclear how Trump could legally stop the bridge from opening. Trump also repeated complaints about Canada not using US steel and keeping American alcohol off store shelves.

Michigan leaders pushed back. Sen. Elissa Slotkin said Trump blocking the bridge punishes “Michiganders for a trade war he started.” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office said it “is going to open one way or another.” Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens called the president’s post “insane.”

The bridge is in final testing and expected to open early this year.

California Mask Ban for ICE

A federal judge temporarily blocked California’s ban on most law enforcement officers wearing masks. Officers must still display their name or badge number.

The mask ban was signed in September by California Gov. Gavin Newsom following high‑profile ICE raids in Los Angeles. The Trump administration sued last year to block the mask ban and also challenged the ID law in federal court.

The Trump administration said federal agents need masks to stay safe from threats and harassment while doing immigration work. The judge disagreed that masks were necessary but still blocked the law because it unfairly targeted federal officers while exempting state officers, which they said violates the Constitution.

Epstein Files Investigation — Lutnick Testimony

There are bipartisan demands for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to step down after he admitted visiting Jeffrey Epstein’s private island in 2012 and new documents showed he stayed in contact with Epstein years after he previously claimed he had cut off contact with Epstein. Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff said, “Lutnick has no business being our Commerce Secretary, and he should resign immediately.” Republican Rep. Thomas Massie added that Lutnick “should make life easier on the president, frankly, and just resign.”

Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Lutnick said the visit happened during a family vacation. “We had lunch on the island, that is true, for an hour,” he told senators, adding that he didn’t know why he did it, but he brought along his wife, children, nannies, and friends.

Previously, Lutnick said he cut off contact after first meeting Epstein in 2005. Justice Department files now show he also attended meetings and had shared business ventures with Epstein through 2018.

House Oversight Chair James Comer, a Republican, said investigators want to question “anyone that might have any information” about Epstein. Lawmakers are considering whether to add Lutnick to the committee’s subpoena list.

Savannah Guthrie’s Mother — New Video Evidence

Federal agents released new surveillance images showing a masked, armed person at Nancy Guthrie’s front door the night she disappeared. FBI Director Kash Patel said the person appeared “to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door the morning of her disappearance.” Her doorbell camera stopped recording at that time.

Her daughter, Savannah Guthrie, shared the images on Instagram. “We believe she is still alive. Bring her home,” she wrote.

Nancy Guthrie was last seen Jan. 31 and reported missing Feb. 1 in Tucson after she didn’t show up for church. Blood matching her DNA was found on her porch.

The FBI said the images were recovered from “residual data located in backend systems.” Guthrie’s camera had no cloud storage subscription, so investigators recovered the footage from technical backups.

Nancy Guthrie needs daily medication for heart problems. Her pacemaker stopped sending data the same day she vanished. Every hour matters.

A ransom note demanding $6 million had a deadline that passed yesterday. The FBI says it has no confirmed contact with any kidnappers.