“This started as a pretext about immigration and fraud… it’s WELL beyond that now. It’s into your 2nd/4th/6th Amendments… We’re performing CPR on what may already be a corpse called the Constitution… Wake up. This isn’t just Minneapolis. It’s ALL of us.”

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz demanding the state take three specific actions before federal immigration agents would consider reducing their presence in Minneapolis, including handing over voter rolls.

In the letter, Bondi blamed both state and local leaders for the unrest that has come in response to the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operations. She said that Walz could "restore the rule of law."
...
Bondi set out a list of three demands in the letter, including that the Department of Justice be given the state’s voter registration records, that the state repeal the "sanctuary policies," and share its records on Medicaid, and Food and Nutrition Service programs.

Cochise County, with its 84 miles of international border and vocally MAGA-aligned sheriff, appears to be a nexus for unfolding cronyism and profiteering under this new Trump administration.

The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office recently received a million dollar federal taxpayer-funded grant-- at least a quarter of which appears to be earmarked largely for the travel expenses of Sheriff Mark Dannels, so that Dannels may spread the gospel of “standing united and border security.” This is an interesting expenditure of taxpayer dollars, given Dannels’ history of ties to far-right extremists and dubious border security claims [read more here and here].

Further, Dannels has seemingly used his public office and public law enforcement agency to undertake an advertising campaign for a private defense contractor. This campaign has not only benefited the profit-driven corporation in its quest to attain contracts under the reign of Trump, but has also likely enriched the corporation’s board members and others receiving equity compensation. Among this defense contractor’s board members is a Trump ally who served in a Project 2025 leadership position, and appears to have provided guidance to the Project 2025 Border Security Workgroup.

The Project 2025 Border Security Workgroup was an entity Dannels was also also involved with. This group worked throughout 2024 to shape policy and plans meant to implement Donald Trump’s mass deportation and other national security objectives.

Cochise County, with its 84 miles of international border and vocally MAGA-aligned sheriff, appears to be a nexus for unfolding cronyism and profiteering under this new Trump administration.

The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office recently received a million dollar federal taxpayer-funded grant-- at least a quarter of which appears to be earmarked largely for the travel expenses of Sheriff Mark Dannels, so that Dannels may spread the gospel of “standing united and border security.” This is an interesting expenditure of taxpayer dollars, given Dannels’ history of ties to far-right extremists and dubious border security claims [read more here and here].

Further, Dannels has seemingly used his public office and public law enforcement agency to undertake an advertising campaign for a private defense contractor. This campaign has not only benefited the profit-driven corporation in its quest to attain contracts under the reign of Trump, but has also likely enriched the corporation’s board members and others receiving equity compensation. Among this defense contractor’s board members is a Trump ally who served in a Project 2025 leadership position, and appears to have provided guidance to the Project 2025 Border Security Workgroup.

The Project 2025 Border Security Workgroup was an entity Dannels was also also involved with. This group worked throughout 2024 to shape policy and plans meant to implement Donald Trump’s mass deportation and other national security objectives.

I need to say something that's been bothering me for a while, and I'm saying it as a Marine Corps veteran who leans center-right.
This isn't partisan. This is an observation.
We've slow-faded into accepting militarized police as normal, and nobody seems to notice or care.
Even as a USMC pilot, I went through six months of infantry training as an officer before flight school. I've worn the gear. The helmet, the tactical vest, the whole kit. And I can tell you from experience, it changes you.
There's a psychological shift that happens when you strap that stuff on. You feel different. You carry yourself differently. You start seeing the environment differently. In the Marine Corps, that shift was appropriate because it's a combat culture and organization.
But these are American streets. American citizens. And we've got law enforcement dressed like they're kicking down doors in Fallujah to serve warrants in suburbia.
What happened to high standards and real policing tactics? Think Adam-12...Officers Reed and Malloy. Crisp uniforms. A revolver. A baton. High standards and professionalism. They looked like public servants because they were public servants. They de-escalated. They talked to people. They were part of the community.
Now? Tactical gear, beards, ball caps, Oakley sunglasses, sleeve tattoos, and a tactical kit that would make special operators jealous. And we've turned it into a fetish. We celebrate it. We assume that because someone looks hard, they must be professional.
They're not.
I loved the Marine Corps. But I'll be honest, I was also blinded by it for a while. Mission first. Unit over everything. And that mentality made sense in that context.
But law enforcement doesn't get that critical examination. "Back the Blue" has become a shield against accountability. A blanket assumption that a badge plus gun equals hero. That tactical gear equals competence.
It doesn't.
Most people who join law enforcement aren't special operators. They're average people who desperately want to belong to something bigger than themselves. I understand that impulse deeply, it's why I joined the Marines. But wanting to belong doesn't make you qualified. Looking the part doesn't mean you can perform under pressure. And wrapping yourself in warrior aesthetics doesn't make you a warrior.
Old school law enforcement represented something. Standards. Bearing. Discipline. Professionalism that was demonstrated, not costumed. A revolver and a baton meant you had to rely on your training, your words, your judgment, not overwhelming firepower.
What I see now in law enforcement is the costume without the culture. The gear without the training. The authority without the accountability.
Are there good people in law enforcement? Of course. I know some personally. But this reflexive "law enforcement can do no wrong" mentality is lazy, dangerous, and intellectually dishonest.
A woman is dead. And before we sort ourselves into teams and start assigning blame, maybe we should ask harder questions:
Why do we accept a militarized police force as normal?
Why do we assume tactical gear equals tactical competence?
Why have we let "Back the Blue" become a substitute for actual standards?
I wore the uniform. I went through the training. I know what that gear does to your head.
It shouldn't be normalized on American streets against American citizens.
And we shouldn't pretend everyone wearing it is qualified to carry it. The fact that he called her a “fucking bitch” after he shot her three times should be a huge red flag for all of us.

Paul Correa, the now former Chief Civil Deputy County Attorney, was taken into custody Dec. 18 in Benson on suspicion of public indecency and evidence tampering stemming from his alleged actions involving a young girl at the store the day before.
...
The Herald/Review has confirmed a formal criminal complaint has now been filed against Correa. It includes the original two charges as well as a charge of harassment by surveillance, but only the tampering with evidence appears to be charged as a felony.

The nexus of Correa’s firing and arrest involve his purported actions last Wednesday night when a complaint was made that a man was following a girl, described as 11 or 12, through the Target store while recording her on a cell phone.

Later, the girl’s father blocked the man’s car in the parking lot. He reported to the Sierra Vista Police Department that the man – described at the scene as Correa – was watching the video. And Correa’s pants were reportedly “disheveled,” according to a police statement.

“Now is not the time to let up on drug-fighting efforts,” Mayes said.
AG calls for federal agents to fight drug trafficking in Arizona

Arizona’s top prosecutor said the major focus on immigration enforcement by the Trump administration has led to federal drug prosecutions dropping by 10% from 2024 and the number of people who have been charged with money laundering going down by almost 25%.

“The federal government is effectively abandoning its fight against drug and human trafficking as it prioritizes immigration enforcement,” Mayes wrote.

Mayes also raised concerns about Customs and Border Protection (CBP) checkpoints reportedly going unattended along State Route 82, a southern Arizona road that she said is commonly used for drug trafficking. This is an issue for the attorney general, who said most drugs enter the U.S. inside cars driven by U.S. citizens through border checkpoints.

Two US fighter jets were tracked circling the Gulf of Venezuela on Tuesday as tensions continue to escalate between the two countries.

The F/A-18 Super Hornets appeared on flight tracking sites near Maracaibo, Venezuela's second-largest city, at around 13:00 (17:00 GMT), before circling the gulf for about 40 minutes.

A US defence official told the Associated Press the F/A-18 jets had conducted a "routine training flight" in the area.

The incident comes amid a wave of US strikes against boats in the Caribbean Sea, which the White House said were trafficking drugs to the US from Venezuela. Experts have raised questions over the legality of the strikes, which have killed more than 80 people.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has accused the US of using the strikes to destabilise the country and oust him from power.