Terror tied to overseas battlefields may have just crept onto American soil. What unfolded at Los Angeles International Airport wasn’t just another arrest. Federal agents moved in on a 44-year-old Iranian national, Shamim Mafi, just as she was preparing to board a flight out of the country. Prosecutors say this wasn’t about travel plans going sideways. They allege it was the takedown of someone operating in the middle of a high-dollar weapons pipeline tied to Iran. According to a newly unsealed federal complaint, Mafi is accused of brokering deals involving Iranian-made military equipment, including drones, bombs, and specialized components used in explosives. Investigators say the scope of the operation wasn’t small. Some of the alleged transactions reached into the tens of millions of rounds of ammunition, with multiple deals in motion at once. One of the more striking claims centers on a proposed agreement valued at more than $70 million tied to armed drone systems known as Mohajer-6. Prosecutors say those drones were intended for Sudan’s Ministry of Defense. Alongside that, authorities allege she worked to arrange the transfer of tens of thousands of bomb fuses and helped facilitate ammunition shipments that included at least 10 million rounds, with even larger quantities discussed in separate negotiations. What makes this case stand out is where prosecutors say all of this was being coordinated from.Mafi has been living in the United States for years as a lawful permanent resident after being granted that status in 2016. Authorities say she maintained a home in Woodland Hills, California, while traveling frequently to countries like Iran, Turkey, and Oman. Investigators believe those international connections were key to how the operation functioned. According to the complaint, she allegedly used an Oman-based business to help move deals forward and routed payments through countries like Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Prosecutors say that structure was designed to dodge U.S. sanctions and avoid detection. Last night, Shamim Mafi, 44, of Woodland Hills, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for trafficking arms on behalf of the government of Iran. She is charged with a violation of 50 U.S.C. § 1705 for brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of… pic.twitter.com/l39Gf1WVed — F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) April 19, 2026 Federal investigators also claim she was in contact with individuals tied to Iran’s intelligence apparatus. Court documents allege repeated communication with an officer connected to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security over a period of years, including dozens of contacts captured through phone records. In interviews, she allegedly acknowledged those connections and at one point suggested she was more valuable to them in Iran than in the United States. Agents stepped in before she could leave the country, taking her into custody at LAX as she prepared to fly to Turkey. Authorities said they believed key evidence tied to the alleged operation could be found on her or at her residence. She now faces federal charges tied to violating U.S. sanctions laws, including brokering weapons deals involving Iranian-made military equipment without the required licenses. If convicted, she could face up to 20 years in prison. As with any criminal case, she is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. For now, the case centers on the allegations laid out by prosecutors. But it’s already raising bigger questions.It highlights how complex international networks can operate across multiple countries while maintaining a presence inside the United States. It also underscores the ongoing challenge federal authorities face in tracking and stopping these kinds of operations before they move from behind-the-scenes deals into real-world consequences.

Nearly one in ten children born in the United States is born to an illegal alien mother — or, in colloquial terms, would be considered an “anchor baby.” According to data published in late March by the Pew Research Center, Illegal immigrant mothers were responsible for approximately 9% of the 3.6 million babies born in the United States in 2023. Of the 320,000 babies born, the data indicates that nearly 260,000 would not be eligible for citizenship if President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship had already been in place. The breakdown of some of those numbers showed several different scenarios: first, 60,000 of the babies born to illegal immigrant mothers had fathers who were living in the United States legally and would thus qualify for citizenship through their fathers. Another 15,000 babies were born to mothers whose legal status in the United States was temporary and fathers who were either not citizens or not in the United States legally. The remaining 245,000 were born to mothers and fathers who had no legal statues in the United States. Trump signed Executive Order (EO) 14160 on January 20, 2025, in an attempt to put an end to birthright citizenship. The Trump administration has argued that his order sought to “restores the original meaning” of the citizenship clause — which was to determine the citizenship of freed slaves — and therefore it should not be applied to babies born of parents who are either in the United States temporarily or unlawfully. While the support for Trump’s order is almost solely from Republicans, that has not always been the case. In 1993, for example, former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) called for an end to birthright citizenship, saying that it had been a mistake. “If making it easy to be an illegal alien isn’t enough, how about offering a reward for being an illegal immigrant?” Reid said at the time. “No sane country would do that. Right? Guess again. If you break our laws by entering this country without permission and give birth to a child, we reward that child with U.S. citizenship and [a] guarantee of full access to all public and social services this society provides — and that’s a lot of services.” The Democratic Party has shifted its stance dramatically in the years since, and challengers to Trump’s order have argued that illegal aliens, despite not having legal status in the United States, were nonetheless living in the country and subject to its laws. The order, which never went into effect due to the numerous legal challenges, was argued before the Supreme Court in early 2026, and a decision is expected sometime in late June or early July.

A gunman who appeared to be targeting his own “descendants” opened fire in three different homes across the city of shreveport, Louisiana, on Saturday night — and was shot and killed after he attempted to carjack a vehicle in order to escape. According to a report published Sunday by The New York Post, the unnamed suspect shot ten people, eight of them fatally, in two homes on one street and one other home on a nearby street. The two survivors were adult women, and all eight of the deceased were children ranging in age from one year old to 14 years old. Some of the children are believed to be his. “The individual responsible once leaving this scene performed a carjacking right here in close proximity to the corner of West 79th and Lynnwood, at which point in time, Shreveport police patrol officers got behind that vehicle in a chase incident,” Shreveport Police Department spokesperson Christopher Bordelon said during a press conference. The suspect was shot and killed by police. “You have three different scenes, the shooting itself occurred just down the road over here, the 300 block of West 79th,” Bordelon added. “There’s also another shooting related to this on Harrison Street, and then there’s an adjacent residence on West 79 where one of the victims ran to after the shooting.” “This is an extensive scene unlike anything most of us have ever seen,” Police Chief Wayne Smith said, noting that the official crime scene included the scene of the carjacking in addition to the three homes. “This is a tragic situation, maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had in Shreveport. So, right now we’re going to process the information and it’s in very good hands,” Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux said. “It’s a terrible morning.” A motive for the shooting has not been determined, although several reports indicated that the suspect may have been involved with one of the women who was shot. None of the names of the victims — or the suspect — have been released.

Round two of negotiations with Iran will take place this week despite attacks on the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump said on Sunday— but he also put the regime on notice, warning that the United States is prepared to resume an all out barrage of strikes on Iran. While officials originally said the negotiation is being led by JD Vance, on Sunday morning the president revealed that the vice president would not be making the trip to Pakistan due to security concerns. Trump told several outlets by phone that the vice president would not be making the trip to the Pakistani capital for the second round of meetings, explaining that the Secret Service was not comfortable with him doing so with just 24 hours advance notice. Instead, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to arrive on Monday evening ahead of the talks and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is also set to attend the Tuesday meetings. Trump did not rule out making a trip to Islamabad himself, The New York Post reported, but said that he wanted to see how the next round of negotiations went before he committed to his own next move: “I would say maybe at a little bit later date. We have to see how it works out tomorrow.” WATCH: President Trump told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl that Vice President JD Vance will not be leading the U.S. delegation to Islamabad, citing security concerns. https://t.co/LmXt4rhuxb pic.twitter.com/o35JiWTKIT — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 19, 2026 “I just got off the phone with President Trump yet again, he told me that Vice President Vance will not be leading the U.S. delegation to Islamabad, he said it’s because of security concerns,” ABC News anchor Jonathan Karl explained after also speaking with Trump. “The Secret Service did not feel comfortable having the vice president go to Pakistan on 24 hours notice. [Trump] added, ‘JD is great.'” Trump lashed out at the Iranian regime via Truth Social on Sunday morning, following reports that the Iranian military had opened fire on ships in the Strait of Hormuz after agreeing to keep it open. “Iran decided to fire bullets yesterday in the Strait of Hormuz — A Total Violation of our Ceasefire Agreement! Many of them were aimed at a French Ship, and a Freighter from the United Kingdom,” Trump posted, adding, “That wasn’t nice, was it?” “My Representatives are going to Islamabad, Pakistan — They will be there tomorrow evening, for Negotiations,” he continued, and then confirmed to several outlets on Sunday that Vance would not be part of those conversations in person. Trump concluded by warning the Iranian regime to take the deal being offered by the United States, saying, “We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran. NO MORE MR. NICE GUY! They’ll come down fast, they’ll come down easy and, if they don’t take the DEAL, it will be my Honor to do what has to be done, which should have been done to Iran, by other Presidents, for the last 47 years. IT’S TIME FOR THE IRAN KILLING MACHINE TO END!”

Pope Leo attempted to put some distance between himself and the prevailing media narrative surrounding his relationship with President Donald Trump — namely that the two are at odds — and said that he was not at all interested in debating the American President. The Catholic leader framed the narrative as beginning with Trump’s most recent comments about him, calling him “weak” — although their public differences stretch back to comments Pope Leo made about the Trump administration’s military actions in Iran — and claimed that the media was creating a spectacle where one did not really exist. WATCH: NEW: Pope Leo downplays tensions with President Trump, addressing a “narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects.” He says it is “not in my interest at all” to debate the president and will keep preaching a message of peace. pic.twitter.com/DwG6BiUsaP — Fox News (@FoxNews) April 18, 2026 “There has been a certain narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects,” Pope Leo explained. “But because of the political situation created when — on the first day of the trip, the President of the United States made some comments about myself. Much of what has been written since then has been more commentary on commentary trying to interpret what has been said.” “Just one little example, the talk that I gave at the prayer meeting for peace a couple of days ago was prepared two weeks ago, well before the president ever commented on myself and on the message of peace that I am promoting,” he said, arguing that it could not possibly have been a response to Trump’s attacks. “And yet, as it happens, it was looked at as if I was trying to debate again the president, which is not in my interest at all.” Vice President JD Vance thanked the Pope for addressing the dishonest media narrative, saying, “I am grateful to Pope Leo for saying this. While the media narrative constantly gins up conflict – and yes, real disagreements have happened and will happen – the reality is often much more complicated. Pope Leo preaches the gospel, as he should, and that will inevitably mean he offers his opinions on the moral issues of the day. The President – and the entire administration – work to apply those moral principles in a messy world. He will be in our prayers, and I hope that we’ll be in his.” Pope Leo has been broadly commenting on military action against Iran since the war between the Iranian regime and Israel in 2025 and through Operation Epic Fury, which began at the end of February. He has repeatedly called for peace through meaningful dialogue in spite of repeated demonstrations proving that the Iranian regime is neither interested in good faith negotiations nor willing to facilitate any kind of lasting peace. Trump has pushed back, pointing out the clear examples of Iran’s aggression and refusal to negotiate honestly and arguing that continuing diplomacy in the face of such aggression was as unwise as it was dangerous. During a recent press gaggle, when asked what he’d say to Iran about the fact that four civilian protesters — one of them a woman — were set to be executed, Trump suggested that the press inform the Pope of that development.