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When It Comes to D.E.I. and ICE, Trump Is Using Federal Grants as Leverage

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When It Comes to D.E.I. and ICE, Trump Is Using Federal Grants as Leverage

During President Trump’s first months in office, officials in his administration have used the threat of withholding federal funding to bend institutions and municipalities to their ideological will.

That strategy shows no signs of abating.

The Department of Homeland Security is reviewing billions of dollars in grants for cities and states to make sure recipients comply with Mr. Trump’s priorities on immigration enforcement and diversity programs.

Now grant beneficiaries must “honor requests for cooperation, such as participation in joint operations, sharing of information or requests for short-term detention of an alien pursuant to a valid detainer,” according to the terms and conditions for grants distributed by the department.

The terms and conditions, which were first released last October and quietly updated in late March, also mandate that those who receive grants “will provide access to detainees, such as when an immigration officer seeks to interview a person who might be a removable alien.”

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“I see it as the beginning of the reshaping of our national emergency management infrastructure,” said Mark Ghilarducci, who previously served as California’s state emergency services director. “Now it will be based upon ideology versus what is the actual need.”

The changes likely imperil tens of billions of dollars in grants to states and cities that have rules limiting cooperation with officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he said.

The review of the federal grants is the latest reminder that Mr. Trump does not view federal funding to bolster police departments or help communities recover from disasters as support that comes without strings attached. Instead, he uses federal grants as leverage against state and local governments to ensure compliance with his political agenda.

One criterion is whether certain locales are sanctuary jurisdictions, which broadly refers to cities and counties that block their local jails from cooperating with federal immigration officials.

ICE prefers to pick up undocumented immigrants from local lockups, but in order to do so, it needs collaboration from county sheriffs. In some cities and counties, this collaboration is outright blocked or severely limited.

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Peter Gaynor, who served as FEMA administrator and briefly as acting U.S. secretary of homeland security during Mr. Trump’s first term, saw these changes as in line with the priorities the president has set out.

“This is the way they are going to operate,” Mr. Gaynor said. “The administration is going to, from time to time, check you to make sure that you’re compliant with the federal grant guidance.”

“You don’t have to accept the money,” he added. “You can decline the money. I think that’s part of the formula here.”

California and some of its cities and counties have laws against cooperating with ICE. Now local governments and community organizations are at risk of losing billions of dollars because of the change in D.H.S. policy, said Brian Ferguson, a spokesman for the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom.

The department normally provides grants that support a variety of public safety services, including police, fire and emergency response as well as programs to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault.

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“These are grants that are critical to prepare for the next disaster and help keep communities safe,” Mr. Ferguson said.

It is unknown exactly how much money is at risk in California or which cities, counties or community groups may lose grants, he said.

“Like much of the work that’s happening at the federal level, we’re working to understand what exactly it means on an implementation level,” Mr. Ferguson said.

Officials in New York and other states expressed similar fears and uncertainty. The office of Attorney General Letitia James of New York was aware of the updated guidance and reviewing it. Like in California, billions of dollars in grants could be on the chopping block.

Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency have already identified nearly $1 billion in funding they think should be cut and another almost $4 billion that is being reviewed, according to a memo reviewed by The New York Times.

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Some funding — like $80 million from FEMA to New York City for migrant shelters — was clawed back this winter. The money for these beds came from FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program. Now federal officials want to cancel about $887 million in grants from that program.

Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said that the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, “has directed FEMA to implement additional controls to ensure that all grant money going out is consistent with law and does not go to fraud, waste or abuse.”

“The open borders gravy train is over, and there will not be a single penny spent that goes against the interest and safety of the American people,” Ms. McLaughlin added.

Another program under review involves nearly $2 billion in grants to law enforcement agencies, cities and states to help themselves prepare and respond to terrorist attacks. In the fiscal year ending in October, entities in New York received close to $320 million from this program.

Avi Small, the press secretary for Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York, pointed out in a statement that “the federal government has issued multiple orders, directives and guidance that were later overturned in court or rescinded by the administration.”

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“We have received this guidance, which could have significant fiscal impacts for disaster relief and other critical state functions, and are assessing our options moving forward,” he added.

Last week, the New York State Education Department said it would not go along with the Trump administration’s threats to pull federal funding from public schools over certain diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The updated terms and conditions from D.H.S. for grantees includes new requirements in this area as well.

During Mr. Trump’s first term, his administration fought in court to withhold millions of dollars from law enforcement agencies in states and cities that did not cooperate with his immigration agenda. A federal judge ultimately overturned the executive order issued by Mr. Trump that withheld federal funding to sanctuary jurisdictions.

After wildfires erupted in California in 2018, Mr. Trump said on social media that he had ordered FEMA to “send no more money” unless the state changed its approach to forest management.

Mr. Trump has threatened on multiple occasions to withhold money from California, including earlier this year as parts of Los Angeles were ravaged by wildfires. He said that he would help but that he first wanted the state to impose voter identification laws and change its environmental policies.

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On Friday, Trump officials were admonished by a federal judge for not complying with an order the judge had issued in early March to unfreeze billions in FEMA funds in at least 19 states. The Times reported last month that freezing of funds had caused chaos for state, local and nonprofits officials who were trying to respond to natural disasters.

Judge John J. McConnell Jr. of the Federal District Court in Rhode Island said on Friday that he thought the funding hold was a “covert” means to punish places with laws that prohibit cooperation with immigration officials.

“Trump has declared war against the American economy and our allies around the world,” said Jason Elliott, who previously served as Mr. Newsom’s deputy chief of staff. “Now American states, with millions of people who voted for him, are the target of his war against common sense.

“His funding threats against states, for nothing but political purposes, will directly harm millions of red voters in those purple and blue states.”

Laurel Rosenhall contributed reporting from Sacramento.

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New York

Are You Smarter Than a Billionaire?

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Are You Smarter Than a Billionaire?

Over the course of one week, some of the richest people in the world descended on New York’s auction houses to purchase over $1 billion of art. It might have played out a little differently than you would have expected.

Can you guess which of these works sold for more?

Note: Listed sale prices include auction fees.

Image credits: “Untitled,” via Phillips; “Baby Boom,” via Christie’s Images LTD; “Hazy Sun,” With permission of the Renate, Hans & Maria Hofmann Trust/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; via Christie’s Images LTD; “Petit Matin,” via Christie’s Images LTD; “Concetto spaziale, La fine di Dio,” Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/SIAE, Rome; via Sotheby’s; “Baroque Egg with Bow (Orange/Magenta),” via Sotheby’s; “The Last Supper,” The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; via Christie’s Images LTD; “Campbell’s Soup I,” The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; via Christie’s Images LTD; “Miss January,” via Christie’s Images LTD; “Fingermalerei – Akt,” via Sotheby’s; “Grande tête mince (Grande tête de Diego),” Succession Alberto Giacometti/Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY; via Sotheby’s; “Tête au long cou,” Succession Alberto Giacometti/ARS, NY/Photos: ADAGP Images/Paris 2025; via Christie’s Images LTD; “Revelacion,” Remedios Varo, Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VEGAP, Madrid; via Christie’s Images LTD; “Le jardin nocturne,” Foundation Paul Delvaux, Sint-Idesbald – ARS/SABAM Belgium; via Christie’s Images LTD.

Produced by Daniel Simmons-Ritchie.

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Video: How a Mexican Navy Ship Crashed Into the Brooklyn Bridge

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Video: How a Mexican Navy Ship Crashed Into the Brooklyn Bridge

On Saturday, a Mexican Navy ship on a good will tour left a New York City pier bound for Iceland. Four minutes later, it crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge. [Spanish] “It’s falling!” [English] “No way!” Here’s what happened. The Cuauhtémoc had been docked on the Lower East Side of Manhattan for four days, open to visitors looking for a cultural experience. As the ship prepared to leave on Saturday night, a tugboat arrived to escort it out of its pier at 8:20 p.m. The ship’s bow, the front of the vessel, faced Manhattan, meaning it would need to back out of its berth into the East River. As the Cuauhtémoc pulled away from shore, the tugboat appeared to push the side of the ship, helping to pivot the bow south toward its intended route. The river was flowing northeast toward the Brooklyn Bridge and the wind was blowing in roughly the same direction, potentially pushing the ship toward a collision. Photos and videos suggest the tugboat was not tied to the ship, limiting its ability to pull the ship away from the bridge. The Cuauhtémoc began to drift north, back first, up the river. Dr. Salvatore Mercogliano, who’s an adjunct professor at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, told The Times that the ship appeared to be giving off a wake. This suggests its propellers may have been running in reverse, pushing it faster toward the bridge. The tugboat sped alongside the ship as it headed north, possibly trying to get in front of it and help the ship maneuver the other way. But it was unable to cut the ship off or reverse its course. All three masts crashed into the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge at approximately 8:24 p.m., four minutes after the ship had left the pier, causing the top sails to collapse. Crew members standing on the masts during the collision were thrown off entirely. Others remained hanging from their harnesses. A New York City patrol boat arrived about eight minutes after the collision, followed quickly by a fire department boat. Additional law enforcement and emergency medical services removed the wounded for treatment. According to the Mexican Navy, two of the 227 people aboard the ship were killed and 22 others were injured.

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Audio Data Shows Newark Outage Problems Persisted Longer Than Officials Said

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Audio Data Shows Newark Outage Problems Persisted Longer Than Officials Said

On April 28, controllers at a Philadelphia facility managing air traffic for Newark Liberty International Airport and smaller regional airports in New Jersey suddenly lost radar and radio contact with planes in one of the busiest airspaces in the country.

On Monday, two weeks after the episode, Sean Duffy, the secretary of transportation, said that the radio returned “almost immediately,” while the radar took up to 90 seconds before it was operational.

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A Times analysis of flight traffic data and air traffic control feed, however, reveals that controllers were struggling with communication issues for several minutes after transmissions first blacked out.

The episode resulted in multiple air traffic controllers requesting trauma leave, triggering severe flight delays at Newark that have continued for more than two weeks.

Several exchanges between pilots and controllers show how the outage played out.

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Outage Begins

Air traffic recordings show that controllers at the Philadelphia facility first lost radio and radar communications for about a minute starting just before 1:27 p.m., after a controller called out to United Flight 1951, inbound from Phoenix.

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The pilot of United 1951 replied to the controller’s call, but there was no answer for over a minute.

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Two other planes reached out during the same period as United 1951 — a Boeing 777 inbound from Austria and headed to Newark, and a plane whose pilot called out to a controller, “Approach, are you there?” Their calls went unanswered as well.

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Radio Resumes, With Unreliable Radar

From 1:27 to 1:28 p.m., radio communications between pilots and controllers resumed. But soon after, a controller was heard telling multiple aircraft about an ongoing radar outage that was preventing controllers from seeing aircraft on their radarscopes.

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One of the planes affected by the radar issues was United Flight 674, a commercial passenger jet headed from Charleston to Newark.

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Once the radio started operating again, some controllers switched from directing flights along their planned paths to instead providing contingency flight instructions.

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At 1:28 p.m., the pilot of Flight N16NF, a high-end private jet, was called by a controller who said, “radar contact lost.” The pilot was then told to contact a different controller on another radio frequency.

About two and a half minutes later, the new controller, whose radar did appear to be functioning, instructed the pilot to steer towards a location that would be clear of other aircraft in case the radio communications dropped again.

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Flight N426CB, a small private jet flying from Florida to New Jersey, was told to call a different radio frequency at Essex County Airport, known as Caldwell Airport, in northern New Jersey for navigational aid. That was in case the controllers in Philadelphia lost radio communications again.

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Minutes Later, Radar Issues Persist

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, aircraft reappeared on radarscopes within 90 seconds of the outage’s start, but analysis of air traffic control recordings suggest that the radar remained unreliable for at least some radio frequencies for several minutes after the outage began around 1:27 p.m.

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At 1:32 p.m., six minutes after the radio went quiet, Flight N824TP, a small private plane, contacted the controller to request clearance to enter “Class B” airspace — the type around the busiest airports in the country. The request was denied, and the pilot was asked to contact a different radio frequency.

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1:32:43 PM

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Pilot

Do I have Bravo clearance?

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1:32:48 PM

Controller

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You do not have a Bravo clearance. We lost our radar, and it’s not working correctly. …

If you want a Bravo clearance, you can just call the tower when you get closer.

1:32:59 PM

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Pilot

I’ll wait for that frequency from you, OK?

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1:33:03 PM

Controller

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Look up the tower frequencies, and we don’t have a radar, so I don’t know where you are.

The last flight to land at Newark was at 1:44 p.m., but about half an hour after the outage began, a controller was still reporting communication problems.

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“You’ll have to do that on your own navigation. Our radar and radios are unreliable at the moment,” a Philadelphia controller said to a small aircraft flying from Long Island around 1:54 p.m.

Since April 28, there has been an additional radar outage on May 9, which the F.A.A. also characterized as lasting about 90 seconds. Secretary Duffy has proposed a plan to modernize equipment in the coming months, but the shortage of trained staff members is likely to persist into next year.

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