Evening Brief: Trump Administration Eyes Chicago Base for Immigration Crackdown, Israeli Airstrikes Hit Houthi Strongholds in Yemen

· Guy D. McCardle

Israel strikes an infrastructure site in Yemen’s capital reportedly used by Houthi officials. (Image grab via X)

What’s making news this Thursday, August 28, 2025.

 

Trump Administration Eyes Chicago Base for Immigration Crackdown, Faces Pushback

The Trump administration has asked Naval Station Great Lakes outside Chicago to provide facilities and logistical support for immigration operations, raising concerns of a possible military deployment in the city.

While no final decision has been made, the move follows recent troop mobilizations in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson strongly oppose the plan, pledging legal action and arguing that violent crime in the city has sharply declined.

Former President Barack Obama also criticized the idea, warning against expanding the military’s domestic role.

President Trump has long targeted Chicago over crime and immigration, calling it a “hellhole” and using it as a focal point for nationwide crackdowns.

Despite declining crime rates in 2025, Chicago still recorded the highest number of homicides of any US city in 2024.

The Illinois National Guard has not received deployment orders, and state leaders insist the federal government cannot use state armories without approval.

 

GOP Lawmaker Proposes Renaming Pentagon as ‘Department of War’

Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) filed an amendment to the annual defense policy bill that would rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War, reviving the title used until 1947.

The move reflects President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s push to restore the old name, with Trump arguing that “Defense” suggests weakness and that “War” better reflects US military strength.

The amendment would also change the title of Secretary of Defense to Secretary of War and update all federal references accordingly.

The House Rules Committee will decide in September whether the proposal gets a floor vote as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.

Critics note that such a change would require an act of Congress, though Trump has said he may act regardless.

The proposal comes as part of broader efforts by the administration to revive historic or discarded military names, including the restoration of Confederate-linked base names.

 

Treasury Orders Banks to Monitor Chinese Money Laundering Networks Tied to Fentanyl Trade

The US Treasury Department issued an advisory Thursday directing financial institutions to monitor suspected Chinese money laundering networks that work with Mexican cartels to move funds linked to fentanyl trafficking.

The guidance urges banks and brokers to flag suspicious customers, including Chinese nationals with unexplained wealth or reluctance to disclose fund sources.

Treasury officials say many such individuals unknowingly help cartels bypass China’s currency controls by using underground banking systems.

A related FinCEN report found Chinese networks expanding into laundering linked to human trafficking and senior day care centers in New York, analyzing $312 billion in suspicious activity between 2020 and 2024.

US officials highlighted a $50 million laundering operation uncovered last year involving the Sinaloa Cartel and Chinese underground banks.

 

Trump Administration Awards $1.2 Billion Migrant Detention Contract to Little-Known Firm

The Trump administration awarded a contract worth up to $1.2 billion to Acquisition Logistics LLC, a small Virginia-based company with no public record of operating correctional facilities, to build and manage a new immigration detention complex at Fort Bliss, Texas.

The facility, expected to hold up to 5,000 migrants, began accepting detainees last week despite secrecy over the contract and ongoing complaints from rival bidders.

Critics, including Rep. Veronica Escobar and federal contracting experts, raised concerns about the firm’s lack of experience, transparency, and the risks of outsourcing such operations to private firms.

The US Army has declined to release contract details to reporters, citing pending litigation after Texas-based Gemini Tech Services filed a protest challenging the award.

Advocacy groups warned that the remote military site, located in desert conditions, poses oversight and humanitarian risks.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is expected to rule on the contract challenge later this year.

 

Rwanda Confirms Arrival of First US Deportees Under Bilateral Agreement

Rwanda said Thursday it received seven migrants from the United States in August under a new deportation agreement allowing up to 250 people to be resettled.

Government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo confirmed the group arrived in mid-August and is being housed by an international organization with oversight from the International Organization for Migration and Rwandan social services.

Three of the deportees requested to return to their home countries, while four expressed interest in settling in Rwanda, where they will receive housing, training, and health care.

Rwanda is one of four African nations (along with Uganda, Eswatini, and South Sudan) that have signed similar agreements with Washington.

 

US Envoy Apologizes for ‘Animalistic’ Comment to Reporters in Lebanon

US Ambassador to Türkiye and Syria envoy Tom Barrack apologized Thursday for calling journalists “animalistic” during a press conference in Beirut earlier this week.

Barrack, temporarily assigned to Lebanon, said he used the word inappropriately while asking reporters to quiet down and acknowledged he should have shown more patience. His comment drew criticism from the Lebanese press syndicate, which demanded an apology and threatened to boycott his visits, and from Lebanon’s Presidential Palace, which praised journalists’ work.

Barrack’s visit focused on efforts to disarm Hezbollah and implement a ceasefire with Israel, though disputes remain over the timing of Hezbollah’s disarmament and Israeli withdrawal.

On Thursday, Israel conducted new airstrikes in southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah positions.

 

RSF Shelling Kills 24 in Besieged Darfur City as Civilian Crisis Deepens

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shelled residential areas of el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, on Wednesday, killing at least 24 people and wounding 55, according to the Sudan Doctors Network.

The city, the Sudanese military’s last stronghold in Darfur, has been under siege for over a year amid the ongoing civil war between the military and RSF.

The attack targeted the central market and nearby neighborhoods, adding to a series of deadly strikes that have left civilians trapped in worsening conditions.

UNICEF said 260,000 people, including 130,000 children, remain cut off from aid, with thousands suffering from severe malnutrition.

The conflict, which began in April 2023, has killed more than 40,000 people, displaced over 14 million, and been marked by atrocities including ethnic killings and rape. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating possible war crimes and crimes against humanity.

 

Israeli Airstrikes Hit Houthi Strongholds in Yemen After Drone Attack

Israeli warplanes struck Houthi-controlled areas of Sana’a on Thursday, targeting what the military called a “military site” in the Yemeni capital.

The airstrikes, which hit southern and western districts, followed Israel’s interception of a Houthi drone launched toward its territory earlier in the day — the third such attempt in a week. There were no immediate reports of casualties, though residents described the blasts as earthquake-like.

The attack came days after Israeli strikes in Sana’a killed at least 10 people and hit oil and power facilities.

The Houthis, backed by Iran, have launched repeated missile and drone attacks against Israel and targeted Red Sea shipping during the Gaza war, drawing heavy Israeli and US-led coalition strikes on Yemen.

Regional tensions rose further Thursday as European powers moved to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, a decision Tehran denounced as unlawful.

 

Europe Moves to Reimpose UN Sanctions on Iran Under Nuclear Deal ‘Snapback’

France, Germany, and the United Kingdom triggered the “snapback” mechanism of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal on Thursday, beginning a process to restore United Nations sanctions against Tehran.

The sanctions, set to return in October, would freeze Iranian assets abroad, ban arms sales, and penalize ballistic missile development.

The move follows Iran’s refusal to cooperate with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors and the bombing of its nuclear sites during a 12-day war with Israel.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denounced the action as illegal and warned of retaliation, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed the European decision and said Washington remains open to talks.

Western diplomats framed the snapback as both pressure and an opportunity for renewed negotiations. Iran’s economy, already battered, faces further strain as its currency hit a record low.

The deadline comes before October 18, when Russia and China could block any sanctions effort if the mechanism lapses.

 

Russian Strikes Kill 18 in Kyiv, Damage EU and UK Offices as Peace Efforts Falter

Russia launched one of its largest air assaults on Ukraine early Thursday, striking central Kyiv for the first time in weeks and killing at least 18 people, including four children, while wounding 48.

Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia fired 598 drones and 31 missiles, hitting 33 sites across all 10 of Kyiv’s districts and damaging nearly 100 buildings, including the European Union Mission and British Council offices.

The EU and UK summoned Russian envoys in protest.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of choosing “ballistics instead of the negotiating table,” as US-led peace efforts remain stalled following recent Trump-Putin talks in Alaska.

Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed the strikes targeted Ukraine’s “military-industrial complex,” while Ukraine requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting.

Western leaders warned the attack undermined peace prospects as Russian forces push deeper into Ukraine.

 

UK and Japan Deepen Defense Ties as HMS Prince of Wales Makes Historic Tokyo Visit

Japan and Britain highlighted their “deep strategic alignment” on Thursday as the Royal Navy’s HMS Prince of Wales (R09) became the first foreign aircraft carrier to dock in Tokyo.

UK Defense Secretary John Healey and Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said the visit marked a new level of cooperation, with both nations reaffirming commitments to joint naval operations and the development of a next-generation fighter jet under the Global Combat Air Program with Italy.

The ministers pledged to finalize the program’s first international contract by year’s end, citing the need to advance technology and safeguard critical industries.

Japan, expanding its security partnerships beyond the United States, views closer defense ties with the UK as key to countering China’s regional assertiveness.

The visit follows multinational naval exercises where a British F-35B fighter jet landed on Japan’s JS Kaga (DDH-184) carrier for the first time.

 

Sources: News Agencies