News
White House confirms intelligence showing Russia developing
Washington — The White House confirmed Thursday that the U.S. has intelligence that Russia is developing a capability to target satellites in space, one day after the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee gave a cryptic warning about “a serious national security threat.”
“It is related to an anti-satellite capability that Russia is developing,” John Kirby, a national security spokesman, said at the daily press briefing. “This is not an active capability that’s been deployed, and though Russia’s pursuit of this particular capability is troubling, there is no immediate threat to anyone’s safety.”
“We’re not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth,” Kirby said, later adding that the threat “would be space-based.”
Kirby said the U.S. has been aware of Russia’s pursuit of the capability for many months, if not years, “but only in recent weeks now has the intelligence community been able to assess with a higher sense of confidence exactly how Russia continues to pursue it.”
Kirby would not give details about whether the capability involved a nuclear-powered weapon or a nuclear-capable weapon.
U.S. officials told CBS News on Wednesday that Russia is developing a nuclear-capable weapon that could take down U.S. satellites, knocking out the ability to communicate, but there is no evidence a weapon has actually been deployed.
Kirby said “any anti-satellite capability should be of general concern” given humanity’s reliance on satellites for communication, navigation, weather forecasting and other functions.
“Any capability that could disrupt that, and that could therefore have some impact on services here on Earth and across the world should be of concern to anybody,” he said, also noting that it could put astronauts in low orbit at risk.
Russia drew international condemnation in 2021 when it destroyed a Soviet-era satellite with a missile fired from the ground. The test created 1,500 pieces of orbital debris that forced crewmembers on the International Space Station to seek shelter.
On Wednesday, Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, issued an unusual public statement urging President Biden to declassify all information relating to an unspecified threat, so the U.S. and its allies could openly discuss a response.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan was scheduled to brief House leaders on the threat on Thursday afternoon. Sullivan declined to provide more details but said Wednesday that the Biden administration is “protecting the national security of the United States and the American people.”
Turner has been criticized by his colleagues who have accused him of causing unnecessary panic.
After reviewing classified information related to the threat, Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee said Wednesday that it was a serious issue, but not one that should cause immediate panic. Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the committee, said the issue needs to be addressed “in the medium-to-long run.”
A member of Turner’s own party asked for House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, to investigate whether the statements had any impact on U.S. foreign and domestic policy, suggesting that Turner had an ulterior motive.
“This revelation by the Chairman was done with a reckless disregard of the implications and consequences said information would have on geopolitics, domestic and foreign markets, or the well-being and psyche of the American people,” Rep. Andy Ogles, a Tennessee Republican, said in a letter to Johnson.
“In hindsight, it has become clear that the intent was not to ensure the safety of our homeland and the American people, but rather to ensure additional funding for Ukraine and passage of an unreformed Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA),” he wrote.
Ellis Kim, Olivia Gazis and Jaala Brown contributed reporting.
new video loaded: Another Night of Violent Protests Outside a Newark ICE Detention Center
transcript
transcript
Another Night of Violent Protests Outside a Newark ICE Detention Center
Protesters and the police clashed again outside of an ICE detention center in New Jersey on Saturday night.
-
“Shut down Delaney Hall.” “Shut down Delaney Hall.” “Mikie Sherrill, do better. Mikie Sherrill, do better.”
By Cynthia Silva
May 31, 2026
Family visitation at the Delaney Hall immigration detention center is being restored to at least part of the facility, New Jersey’s governor and US homeland security officials confirmed on Sunday morning, after a week during which heated demonstrations at the site were met with aggressive policing tactics.
Meanwhile, families of detained immigrants grappled with conflicting information about exactly whom among them would get visitation after the announcement from governor Mikie Sherrill and the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). And local officials by Sunday had also indefinitely imposed an overnight curfew beginning at 9pm for a blocked-off area including Delaney Hall.
Delaney Hall visitation had been canceled after detained immigrants began carrying out an ongoing hunger and labor strike inside the detention center – which prompted protests outside the facility in support of those striking.
Facility staff confirmed to the Guardian on Sunday that what are known as units 1 and 3 were given visitation beginning at about noon and 2pm local time, respectively.
Unit 1 is a women’s section of the facility. Unit 2 is where the majority of the hunger-striking detainees are based, and it was unclear on Sunday whether it would have access to family visitation.
Sherrill’s office and the private prison company GEO Group, which runs the facility, did not respond to a request for comment. The road leading to Delaney Hall is now fully blocked by police, except for families attempting to visit detained loved ones, state officials announced on Sunday afternoon.
The governor’s announcement and subsequent confusion by families followed a night of violent clashes outside the facility between local officials and protesters. In the aftermath of that, Newark’s mayor, Ras Baraka, responded by activating a curfew for the area surrounding Delaney Hall.
The curfew would be in place nightly from 9pm to 6am “until further notice”, said Baraka’s office, which threatened arrest or legal action if people did not disperse during that time.
On Sunday morning, Sherrill and other top New Jersey state officials said that three people were arrested on Saturday night as a result of clashes with police. State officials said those arrest happened after a group of protesters attacked police and a barrier.
The Delaney Hall protests and clashes have become the latest flashpoint in the growing opposition to the aggressive anti-immigrant tactics Donald Trump’s administration has implemented nationwide throughout his second presidency.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detains immigrants in its network of facilities across the US while the cases of those detained play out in courts.
ICE detention centers have been repeatedly criticized for harsh conditions.
Hakeem Jeffries, the top US House Democrat of nearby New York, conducted an oversight visit of Delaney Hall on Sunday, and said the conditions of confinement “shock the conscience”.
On 22 May, a group of immigrants detained inside Delaney Hall detention announced a hunger and labor strike inside the facility, demanding improved conditions, medical care, a meeting with Sherrill and for their immigration cases to proceed. Between 300 and 400 detainees have since participated in the strike.
Protests began shortly thereafter, with lawmakers attempting to visit the facility. The facility gained further national attention after ICE officers pepper-sprayed US senator Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, outside the facility during a skirmish there on Monday.
ICE officers have used pepper spray as well as stun guns throughout the demonstrations. They have also shoved and arrested protesters.
On Friday, Sherrill and other top New Jersey officials announced that state police would replace ICE officers outside Delaney Hall. The state police set up road blocks around half a mile on either side of the detention center.
That night clashes erupted after state police officers began moving in on protesters. State police officials on horseback moved through the crowd. Other state police officers in riot gear shot teargas canisters at protesters, aggressively shoving demonstrators and arresting six.
Advocates present at Delaney Hall on Saturday repeatedly criticized Sherrill, a Democrat, for her response to the protests.
“The escalation that happened [on Friday] was ten times worse than what ICE was doing to everyone prior nights,” Murad Awawdeh, the president and CEO of the New York Immigrant Coalition, said in an interview on Saturday outside of the facility. “If anything, the escalators were the state police.”
A statement from Sherill on Saturday announcing the restoration of family visitation at Delaney Hall claimed DHS had “met our demand”. But DHS refuted the governor’s statement.
“To be clear: Visitation was only suspended because of violent riots,” a DHS spokesperson said. “Now that we have a secure perimeter, visitation can resume.”
Methodology
The illustrations of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool’s plumbing system were drawn from National Park Service documents produced as part of its renovations and reviewed by people with knowledge of the project. The layout of the expansion joints was derived from photographic evidence and a 2013 report released as part of a lawsuit against the Trump administration.
-
Crypto4 minutes agoFed Gov. Waller Champions Stablecoins and Dismisses CBDCs | PYMNTS.com
-
Finance11 minutes agoCrypto’s 24/7 Derivatives Era Is Forcing Traditional Finance To Adapt
-
Fitness14 minutes agoHybrid training: is this the secret to getting fitter and stronger?
-
Movie Reviews26 minutes agoMovie Review: Beware the “Backrooms” of Your Worst Nightmares
-
World34 minutes ago
FIFA says match tempo, and limiting time-wasting, will be point of emphasis at World Cup
-
News41 minutes agoVideo: Another Night of Violent Protests Outside a Newark ICE Detention Center
-
Lifestyle1 hour agoTrump floats MAGA rally instead of concert after musicians drop out of Freedom 250
-
Technology1 hour agoAMD’s new pitch: our old tech is so good you should just keep using it
