CNN

By Alexandra Banner, CNN

It’s Friday the 13th — a day cloaked in superstition, when even the most rational people knock on wood just in case. Cursed or not, it has a way of making an ordinary day feel slightly ominous. If you dig deeper, though, there’s evidence that both Fridays and the number 13 have long been regarded as a harbinger of good fortune.

Here’s what else you need to know to get up to speed and on with your day.

1⃣ DHS shutdown

A shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security is all but certain this weekend after lawmakers left town for a planned recess with no funding deal in place. Republican congressional leaders have blamed Democrats, saying the White House made reasonable concessions after several Democratic leaders demanded changes to ICE protocols. The next steps are uncertain. With talks ongoing between the White House and Democrats, the two chambers of Congress aren’t scheduled to return to Washington for 11 days, though GOP leaders could still call members back if a deal is reached.

2⃣ Minnesota surge ending

White House border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday that the monthslong immigration enforcement crackdown in Minnesota would be ending. “I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude,” Homan said. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey expressed “cautious relief” at the end of Operation Metro Surge, which sparked mass protests, thousands of arrests and the deaths of two US citizens. At its height, about 3,000 federal officers were deployed in what was the largest immigration enforcement operation in the country’s history.

3⃣ Nancy Guthrie

The FBI on Thursday shared a description of a suspect in the Nancy Guthrie case and also raised the reward for information to $100,000. The person in the video is described as a 5’9” to 5’10” man with an average build wearing a black, 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack. “We hope this updated description will help concentrate the public tips we are receiving,” the FBI’s Phoenix office said. Investigators have also recovered multiple gloves, though it’s unclear whether they were worn by the suspect. People living near Guthrie’s home have been asked to submit any footage from doorbell cameras of cars and people from about a month before the 84-year-old went missing.

4⃣ Epstein fallout

Kathy Ruemmler, the chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs, said late Thursday that she is resigning amid fallout from the Justice Department’s release of millions of pages of Jeffrey Epstein documents. Her announcement comes in the middle of recent scrutiny of her relationship with the disgraced financier, which she maintains was professional. Separately, powerhouse talent agent Casey Wasserman is facing a revolt after appearing in the Epstein

Por Jennifer Hansler, Kylie Atwood y Priscilla Álvarez, CNN

La administración Trump ha gastado más de US$ 30 millones para enviar inmigrantes a países lejanos que no son los suyos, incluyendo, en algunos casos, el pago de más de US$ 1 millón por persona, según un nuevo informe del presidente demócrata de la Comisión de Relaciones Exteriores del Senado.

En otros casos, según el informe, la administración pagó para deportar a los inmigrantes a un tercer país y luego pagó nuevamente para devolverlos a su país de origen.

El informe, publicado el viernes, dice que la administración ha firmado acuerdos de alto costo para el regreso de “un número relativamente pequeño de ciudadanos de terceros países”.

El informe, dirigido por la integrante de mayor rango de la Comisión de Relaciones Exteriores del Senado, la senadora Jeanne Shaheen, ofrece una de las miradas más completas a los acuerdos de deportación de terceros países de la administración, luego de las críticas de que el gobierno ha sido vago sobre los detalles de esos acuerdos.

La administración Trump ha impulsado estos acuerdos como parte de su agresiva agenda de deportación, argumentando que los inmigrantes deportados a terceros países no habrían sido aceptados en sus países de origen. Históricamente, las tensas relaciones diplomáticas han dificultado que Estados Unidos devuelva a ciertos ciudadanos a sus países de origen.

En virtud de estos acuerdos, los países aceptan —a menudo a cambio de dinero, favores políticos o ambos— aceptar inmigrantes que no sean ciudadanos de esos países. Muchos de los intentos de deportar a estos nacionales a terceros países se han topado con impugnaciones legales.

Según el informe, la administración tiene un acuerdo con o ha enviado a nacionales de terceros países a más de 20 países y está buscando acuerdos con docenas de países más.

El informe de la minoría también fue firmado por los senadores Chris Coons, Tim Kaine, Tammy Duckworth, Jacky Rosen y Chris Van Hollen. Señala que “se desconoce el costo total de las deportaciones a terceros países realizadas por la administración Trump hasta enero de 2026, pero es probable que supere los US$ 40 millones”.

Los acuerdos con cinco gobiernos —Guinea Ecuatorial, Ruanda, El Salvador, Eswatini y Palau— han costado más de US$ 32 millones y gran parte de esa financiación se ha proporcionado “en pagos únicos, a menudo antes de que llegaran los nacionales de terceros países”, según el informe.

Los cinco países que recibieron los pagos de US$ 1 millón en conjunto solo recibieron alrededor de 300 ciudadanos de terceros países procedentes de Estados Unidos.

El informe señala que la administración a menudo utiliza aviones militares de alto costo para deportar a los migrantes, incluso en vuelos con un número pequeño de personas.

“Se estima que la administración Trump gastó más de US$ 7,2 millones en vuelos de deportación desde terceros países hasta enero de 2026 a al menos diez países, y es probable que los costos reales sean mucho mayores”, afirma el informe.

El informe dice que se basa “en una revisión de los acuerdos hasta enero de 2026, viajes del personal a países relevantes y reuniones y comunicación con funcionarios estadounidenses, funcionarios de gobiernos extranjeros, organizaciones de derechos humanos, deportados y abogados”.

Un asesor de la comisión demócrata afirmó que plantearon varias preguntas a la administración en reuniones limitadas. Si bien la administración proporcionó información en algunos casos, no han informado al comité sobre los acuerdos en su conjunto, añadió.

CNN se ha comunicado con el Departamento de Estado y el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional para solicitar comentarios.

Y “a partir de enero de 2026, más del 80 % de

By Kevin Liptak, Jim Sciutto, CNN

(CNN) — The Pentagon is sending a second aircraft carrier group – the USS Gerald Ford – to the Middle East, according to a senior administration official and three sources familiar with the matter, a move that puts pressure on Iran even as President Donald Trump has said talks with Tehran will continue.

The Ford carrier strike group – the US’ most advanced – has been positioned in the Caribbean Sea for several months amid Trump’s campaign in Venezuela, which has included strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and culminated in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas.

It will now join the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East region, expanding Trump’s options for a potential strike on Iran. The move was first reported by the New York Times.

The change comes even as Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a White House visit on Wednesday he intends to keep pursuing a deal with Iran.

“They want to make a deal, as they should want to make a deal,” Trump said last week. “They know the consequences if they don’t. If they don’t make a deal, the consequences are very steep. So we’ll see what happens.”

Trump said Thursday that he hopes to get a deal with Iran “over the next month.”

But the president has not ruled out ordering new strikes and has ordered a buildup of assets that would allow for a major US air campaign against Iran’s nuclear and missile assets. Aside from the USS Abraham Lincoln, several US warships have been positioned in the region, comprising what Trump has referred to as a “flotilla.”

The USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in the Indian Ocean last month, putting it closer to assist in any potential US operations targeting Iran.

Days later, the Lincoln carrier was transiting the Arabian Sea about 500 miles from Iran’s southern coast when it shot down an Iranian drone.

Meanwhile, delegations from the US and Iran met earlier this month in Oman for the first round of negotiations since the US and Israel struck Iran last summer. The talks came after Trump held off on strikes against Iran after seriously considering military action in response to the country’s brutal crackdown on protesters.

After completing talks, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner visited the Lincoln carrier.

A spokesperson for US Southern Command, which oversees the military’s operations in the Western Hemisphere, told CNN the change in force posture won’t diminish the US’ capabilities in the Caribbean.

“While force posture evolves, our operational capability does not. SOUTHCOM forces remain fully

By Alexandra Banner, CNN

It’s Friday the 13th — a day cloaked in superstition, when even the most rational people knock on wood just in case. Cursed or not, it has a way of making an ordinary day feel slightly ominous. If you dig deeper, though, there’s evidence that both Fridays and the number 13 have long been regarded as a harbinger of good fortune.

Here’s what else you need to know to get up to speed and on with your day.

1⃣ DHS shutdown

A shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security is all but certain this weekend after lawmakers left town for a planned recess with no funding deal in place. Republican congressional leaders have blamed Democrats, saying the White House made reasonable concessions after several Democratic leaders demanded changes to ICE protocols. The next steps are uncertain. With talks ongoing between the White House and Democrats, the two chambers of Congress aren’t scheduled to return to Washington for 11 days, though GOP leaders could still call members back if a deal is reached.

2⃣ Minnesota surge over

White House border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday that the monthslong immigration enforcement crackdown in Minnesota would be ending. “I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude,” Homan said. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey expressed “cautious relief” at the end of Operation Metro Surge, which sparked mass protests, thousands of arrests and the deaths of two US citizens. At its height, about 3,000 federal officers were deployed in what was the largest immigration enforcement operation in the country’s history.

3⃣ Nancy Guthrie

The FBI on Thursday shared a description of a suspect in the Nancy Guthrie case and also raised the reward for information to $100,000. The person in the video is described as a 5’9” to 5’10” man with an average build wearing a black, 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack. “We hope this updated description will help concentrate the public tips we are receiving,” the FBI’s Phoenix office said. Investigators have also recovered multiple gloves, though it’s unclear whether they were worn by the suspect. People living near Guthrie’s home have been asked to submit any footage from doorbell cameras of cars and people from about a month before the 84-year-old went missing.

4⃣ Epstein fallout

Kathy Ruemmler, the chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs, said late Thursday that she is resigning amid fallout from the Justice Department’s release of millions of pages of Jeffrey Epstein documents. Her announcement comes in the middle of recent scrutiny of her relationship with the disgraced financier, which she maintains was professional. Separately, powerhouse talent agent Casey Wasserman is facing a revolt after appearing in the Epstein files for both riding on the late convicted sex offender’s plane and exchanging suggestive messages with Epstein’s former girlfriend and convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. Though not accused of wrongdoing, there have been calls from clients and colleagues for him to step aside.

5⃣

By Jacqui Palumbo, CNN

(CNN) — On a brisk winter day in Chicago last month, mammoths seemed to return for a fleeting afternoon. The ancient leviathans lumbered along the lakefront, the city skyline behind them. But visible through their skeletons, made of metal and hair, were puffer coats and scarves. Performers hoisted the animal-like sculptures on their shoulders, walking slowly in unison as the heads gently swung from side to side, impressive white tusks curving ahead.

The beasts are the work of the Chicago-based artist Nick Cave, who, over the course of his career, has transformed troves of goods from thrift shops and craft stores into otherworldly humanoid figures, as well as other intricate sculptures bursting with color, texture and life.

His herd of creatures are just one component of a monumental show at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM), titled “Mammoth,” where they appear as sculptures and in a video, filmed along Lake Michigan.

The show, which opens February 13, is the institution’s largest commission by a single artist to date. It is Cave’s first solo exhibition in Washington, DC. and follows his major museum retrospective at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art and New York’s Guggenheim Museum over three years ago, “Forothermore” — an ode to marginalized communities. Cave is best known for his Soundsuits — his ever-evolving collection of sculptures, some wearable, that camouflage the body in a surplus of materials and items — but he has also cast bronze sculptures of figures and limbs adorned with flora and created forest-like installations of whimsical wind spinners. He often builds texture through beading, sequins, and textiles and disguised objects, in ways that beckon the viewer to travel around an object or move up close.

“I’m always interested in the ways I can build a surface,” Cave explained from his studio in December, as he was finishing the mammoths and shipping off the pieces to DC. “It’s through experimentation, exploration, just pushing materials out of their familiar roles.”

In Chicago’s Irving Park neighborhood, he shares the flexible studio and gallery Facility with his longtime partner, the artist and designer Bob Faust, who was also instrumental to making “Mammoth.” Facility is also their home, and their impressive art collection fills the walls of their upstairs apartment, including works by Barkley L. Hendricks, Cy Gavin and Amoako Boafo; downstairs, Cave’s studio assistants sit at workstations, working on the intricate details of his pieces in the sunlit, greenery-filled space.

During the studio visit, mammoths sat in various stages of completion; some simple metal shells, others half-covered in hair. Tables and clothing racks displayed some of the individual components of the larger show. One rack Cave pulled included sequined garments worn by a group of so-called Nomads, their figures compiled together like the structure of a jungle gym, he explained. Their accompanying architectural headdresses, some half wrapped in beads, sat out on a nearby table. Altogether, Cave collected thousands of his own family heirlooms and familiar thrifted goods from flea markets and antique malls — from corded phones to Tinkertoys to quilting blocks — to assemble for the show.

“Nick has always been dropping breadcrumbs about a project with this ambition and scale,” said Naomi Beckwith, the deputy director and chief curator of the Guggenheim, who curated “Forothermore,” in a video call. “His sculpture is getting bigger and bigger and bigger…there were works that we wanted to show at the Guggenheim Museum (that we) just couldn’t get into the building.”

In “Mammoth,” Cave acts as both artist and archaeologist, cataloging and transforming objects of American life on an illuminated table in the center of the show. They take shape