U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb issued a temporary restraining order requested by 12 Democratic lawmakers to stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials from blocking surprise oversight visits by members of Congress.

Democrats have claimed the surprise visits are part of the oversight function granted to Congress, but the Trump administration has resisted the claims and tried to restrict their visits.

‘The decision is a victory for accountability, congressional oversight and for the American people.’

The Department of Homeland Security issued policy guidelines that required seven days’ notice before such a visit to detention facilities, but Cobb struck those down.

Cobb previously ordered that specific funds could not be used to shut out the oversight visits, but DHS issued a new policy that depended on funds from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by Congress. They argued that this allowed them to circumvent the original finding.

The judge disagreed.

Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado, who is one of the lawmakers who sued the government, praised the ruling on social media.

“The Court just granted a restraining order against the Trump administration in my lawsuit, Neguse et al. v. ICE et al.,” he wrote. “The decision is a victory for accountability, congressional oversight and for the American people. I’ll keep fighting to ensure the rule of law prevails.”

One such visit to the ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey, in May led to the arrest of a Democratic mayor who was charged with trespassing. That charge was later dropped, and the mayor is now suing the interim U.S. attorney in New Jersey.

However, federal interference charges against Democrat Rep. LaMonica McIver of New Jersey in the same incident went forward after she was accused of shoving an ICE officer. She faces 17 years in prison if convicted of the charges.

RELATED: ‘State-of-the-art’: GOP congressman pre-empts Crockett’s ‘grandstanding’ with glimpse inside ICE facility in Texas

President Donald Trump weighed in on the charges against McIver on social media and denied allegations that they were politically motivated.

“Give me a break. Did you see her?” Trump wrote. “She was out of control! She was shoving federal agents. The days of that crap are over! We’re going to have law and order!”

Cobb was appointed to the court by former President Joe Biden.

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The 2026 Grammys seemed like a political rally at times as the audience screamed and cheered over anti-government sentiments.

Simple statements garnered standing ovations as some award winners specifically condemned Immigration and Customs Enforcement in their remarks.

‘Um, f**k ICE is all I want to say. Sorry.’

After singer Billie Eilish won Song of the Year, she told the crowd that “no one is illegal on stolen land.”

This statement brought the house down, as attendees rose to their feet and nodded along with impassioned fervor.

ICE-capades

“It’s just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now,” the 24-year-old continued. “I feel really hopeful in this room, and I feel like we just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting, and our voices really do matter, and the people matter.”

“Um, f**k ICE is all I want to say. Sorry,” she added as the crowd went wild.

The audience similarly cried out like victors of an intergalactic war when Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny accepted the award for Best Urban Album, which was called “Best Música Urbana Album” by the Grammys.

“ICE out,” he began, garnering huge applause. “We’re not savage. We’re not animals. We’re not aliens. We are humans. And we are Americans,” Bad Bunny strangely said, given that ICE works to enforce immigration law.

What did not receive as much raucous applause was when the singer asked the audience to “be different. If we fight, we have to do it with love.”

“We don’t hate them. We love our people. We love our family. And that’s the way to do it, with love. Don’t forget that, please,” he said.

RELATED: ‘This isn’t organic’: Joe Rogan says Minnesota’s anti-ICE protests are ‘coordinated’ to induce chaos

Pop-star punditry

According to Variety, Eilish was joined by singers like Justin Vernon and Jack Antonoff in wearing “ICE Out” pins to the ceremony. Also included in that group were Justin and Hailey Bieber, although the singer looked incredibly unhappy to be at the event while on the red carpet.

Singer Jelly Roll was asked why he has been silent on political issues, to which he replied, “People shouldn’t care to hear my opinion, man. You know, I’m a dumb redneck. I haven’t watched enough. I didn’t have a phone for 18 months. I’ve had one for four months and don’t have social media.”

However, he went on to say that he is going to have “a lot to say” in the next week, and audiences will hear him “in the most loud and clear way I’ve ever spoke in my life.”

RELATED: ‘They can’t take us all down’: Actor Giancarlo Esposito declares it’s ‘time for a revolution’ in unhinged rant

Shut up and sing

Comedian Ricky Gervais made a simple remark on Monday morning, mocking the celebrities for their political speeches.

“They’re still not listening,” he wrote on X, with an attached quote of his remarks from the 2020 Golden Globes, which reads: “If you do win an award tonight, don’t use it as a platform to make a political speech. You’re in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world.”

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Two more individuals have been arrested in connection with the church-storming incident that occurred at Cities Church in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in January.

A mob of roughly 30 to 40 left-leaning agitators, joined by former CNN anchor Don Lemon, interrupted a Sunday service at the Christian church on January 18. The activists, who assembled to protest against federal immigration enforcement activities, attempted to drown out the worshipping Christians and targeted the church because they claimed one of its pastors was involved with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

‘If you riot in a place of worship, we WILL find you.’

The groups behind the demonstration included Racial Justice Network, Black Lives Matter Minnesota, and BLM Twin Cities.

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the first arrests on January 22. Homeland Security Investigation and FBI agents arrested Racial Justice Network founder Nekima Levy Armstrong. Bondi claimed Armstrong played “a key role in organizing the coordinated attack.” Chauntyll Louisa Allen, who leads BLM Twin Cities, was also apprehended the same day.

On Friday, Bondi revealed that federal authorities had arrested Lemon, independent journalist Georgia Fort, and two others who allegedly participated in the attack, including Trahern Jeen Crews and Jamael Lydell Lundy.

RELATED: Don Lemon remains defiant after being released over church takeover arrest: ‘I will not stop ever!’

Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Bondi announced two more arrests on Monday.

“If you riot in a place of worship, we WILL find you,” Bondi wrote in a post on X. “We have made two more arrests in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota: Ian Davis Austin and Jerome Deangelo Richardson.”

The indictment accused Austin of standing “with other agitators in and around the main aisles in the church to intimidate the church members and obstruct and interfere with their freedom of movement,” the Daily Signal reported. He was also accused of approaching the pastor “in a menacing manner” and berating him with questions.

Sarah Gad, Austin’s attorney, did not respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press.

RELATED: Unsealed indictment against Don Lemon cites his own comments on livestream from ‘takeover’ at church

Don Lemon. Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

Richardson is a 21-year-old Temple University student who claimed he assisted Lemon during his visit to Minnesota by “helping with logistics and connecting him with local contacts to report on ICE-led Minnesota Operation Surge.”

“As a consequence of this support, I am now being targeted by the Trump administration,” he wrote in a post on social media.

He asked for supporters to donate to his legal defense on GoFundMe, requesting $16,000. He has already raised nearly $13,000 as of Monday afternoon. According to his donation page, Richardson turned himself in to authorities at the federal courthouse in Philadelphia on Monday.

Bondi did not reveal the charges against Austin and Richardson; however, the other individuals who were previously arrested are accused of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinics Entrances Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. Penalties for violating these acts can include fines and prison time.

Nine individuals have been charged in connection with the church invasion.

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Audiences rave and critics sneer as the documentary “Melania” exceeds industry expectations in its opening weekend.

The opening gross domestic ticket sales reached $7 million, placing the film third overall at the domestic box office behind two major studio releases.

‘To say that “Melania” is a hagiography would be an insult to hagiographies.’

The film, which chronicles first lady Melania Trump in the weeks leading up to President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, debuted in 1,778 theaters nationwide, an unusually wide release for a documentary.

Prerelease projections published by entertainment outlets such as People magazine estimated the film would earn between $3 million and $5 million.

RELATED: New ‘Melania’ documentary blends unprecedented access with subtle, profound message

Brooks Kraft/Getty Images

While the film did not screen in advance for critics, reviews published after release were largely unfavorable.

Critics from the Guardian, Variety, and the Hollywood Reporter described the documentary as politically one-sided and overly sympathetic.

Xan Brooks of the Guardian compared the film to a “medieval tribute to placate the greedy king on his throne.” Owen Gleiberman of Variety described it as a “cheese ball infomercial of staggering inertia.” Frank Scheck of the Hollywood Reporter wrote, “To say that ‘Melania’ is a hagiography would be an insult to hagiographies.”

Audiences reacted differently.

Opening-night viewers awarded the film an “A” at CinemaScore, a metric based on verified exit polling conducted at theaters nationwide.

RELATED: Melania’s bold AI message to America’s youth: ‘Use AI as a tool, but do not let it replace your personal intelligence’

Photo by Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty Images

The film was distributed by Amazon MGM Studios, which reportedly paid $40 million for distribution rights and spent an additional $35 million on marketing.

The total investment made the project the most expensive documentary release to date.

Despite the high cost, box-office analysts interviewed by AP noted that political documentaries are often evaluated based on visibility and audience engagement rather than traditional profitability.

The film premiered at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., with attendance from members of Congress, Cabinet officials, and business executives.

Following its theatrical run, “Melania” is scheduled to stream on Prime Video. International theatrical distribution is expected to be limited.

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A recent article from Life News centers on Becca Rea-Tucker, radical feminist and author of the pro-abortion book “The Abortion Companion: An Affirming Handbook for Your Choice and Your Journey,” openly celebrating her abortion — and BlazeTV host Steve Deace warns this is becoming a trend.

“And you can see she’s wearing a T-shirt there. ‘Thank God for abortion,’” he says, reading her shirt. “That’s blaspheming of the Holy Spirit, I would argue, right there, the unforgivable sin with a middle finger up in the air. She wants you to know. She can’t wait to brag about it. She wants to shout her abortion,” Deace says.

“Now I don’t know how many of the women that are killing their babies these days feel the way that Becca Rea-Tucker does. I just know I’m seeing more of Becca Rea-Tuckers than I’ve ever seen before,” he continues.

Which is why Deace believes pro-lifers desperately need to work on their argument.

“Let me walk you through an exercise. Wait a minute. So you think this thing inside of me that I just got pregnant with seven weeks ago, you think that’s a life?” Deace asks.

“Should fully and completely and totally have all the benefits and accouterments and rights of a fully aged man in his prime?” he continues, using his 33-year-old executive producer Aaron McIntire as an example.

“A child at 7 weeks, a zygote, a fetus at 7 weeks of development ought to have the full rights therein of a 33-year-old man in his prime, married with a couple of kids and a mortgage, paying the bills. They’re the exact same being. That’s what you guys think,” he says.

“So if I pull out a gun right now and shoot Aaron, I should be punished. Maybe even given the death penalty. … All right, I go across the street to Planned Parenthood to kill my kid. Nothing,” he adds.

“You’re using that retarded messaging, and Becca Rea-Tucker is just laughing at you right in your face. And by the way, thumbing her nose at God and shaking her fist at God and everything else, right?” he asks.

Deace notes that Tucker is also quite literally “flipping the bird at Christ,” while conservatives argue over whether or not she’s a victim of circumstance.

“And you’re like, ‘Listen lady, were you abused?’ … That looks like a criminal to me. Doesn’t look like much of a victim to me. If she’s a victim, then every criminal is. Marinate on that one. If she’s a victim, every criminal is,” Deace says.

While he doesn’t have a solution to this issue because the right is “completely and totally politically asinine,” he does ask that conservatives ask themselves a question in response to the “shout your abortion” trend.

“Why Becca Rea-Tucker is not the very definition of a murderess by your own admission. What’s the theological case for that?” he asks, adding, “Does one exist?”

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Don Lemon made it clear when he was an anchor on CNN that “nobody is above the law,” but he likely wasn’t considering that neither is he.

“Don, you should have listened to your own warnings,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales says on “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered.” Lemon was arrested by federal agents over his alleged role in the anti-ICE church protest in Minnesota.

Now, she explains that Don “is playing the victim.”

“It’s all very dramatic,” Gonzales says, reading a statement from Lemon’s lawyer, which claimed, “Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done.”

“A little odd, considering most of his career he sat behind a desk and turned his nose up at everyone. So, I’d say it’s a little different,” Gonzales says.

Don’s lawyer’s statement continues, “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable. There is no more important time for people like Don to be doing this work.”

“There seems to be so many people, including Don’s lawyer, who doesn’t understand what the First Amendment is,” Gonzales comments.

“What do you think you were doing storming a damn church and terrorizing congregants in the church? Like, are they secretly in power? Do they hold any power?” she asks.

“No, of course not,” she answers herself. “They’re just trying to worship at their church. So, thank you for pointing out once again that this is not a case of First Amendment rights. Now, clearly, they’ve both demonstrated — Don and his lawyer — that they have no clue what the First Amendment is.”

Gonzales notes that Lemon appears to believe that “freedom of the press” is the same thing as “freedom of speech.”

“Maybe, Don, go talk to your friends over at the Committee to Protect Journalists, who literally gives legal advice. They give legal advice. Let me give you some of their quick tips and recommendations,” she says.

“When covering demonstrations, protests, and campaign or political events, make sure you know in advance what restrictions are in place regarding the public’s right to access, and whether there are any curfew or other restrictions in place,” reads the first bullet written by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

“Do not trespass on private property to gather news; do not cross police lines at crime scenes; comply with location restrictions and barriers, absent exigent circumstances,” another bullet reads.

“Maintain neutrality when covering events. For example, do not join crowd chants or wear clothing with slogans related to the events you are covering,” a third point explains.

“You don’t fan the flames or join in on the fun,” Gonzales says. “Does that sound like what Don Lemon did?”

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A South Carolina woman who believed she was meeting someone to buy a puppy walked into a deadly trap, according to authorities. The woman reportedly was lured into an ambush, fatally shot, and set on fire.

The Florence County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that police responded to a call of a “vehicle consumed by fire with a deceased victim inside” in Effingham on Jan. 22.

‘Investigators are exploring the theory that Kinlaw was targeted in retaliation for a separate murder involving a family member in Darlington.’

Around 5:45 p.m., deputies arrived at the scene to find the car still on fire and a body inside the vehicle, WMBF-TV reported.

Florence County Coroner Keith Von Lutcken identified the deceased woman as 40-year-old Dana Marie Kinlaw.

“Investigators allege that Iryanna Jarissa Fleming and Daquinn Taheen Thomas intentionally shot Kinlaw, resulting in her death, and subsequently set her body on fire inside the vehicle,” police stated.

Florence County Sheriff TJ Joye said Fleming lured Kinlaw to a remote area.

“Supposedly they went there together,” Joye said, according to WMBF. “Miss Fleming, she was 19 years of age, a friend of Miss Kinlaw, and they rode there together supposedly to buy a puppy.”

Joye noted that Kinlaw was shot and then set on fire while inside the vehicle.

RELATED: Final words revealed from Marine who survived war — but was gunned down at home in Facebook Marketplace trap

Authorities suspect Kinlaw was murdered as an act of retaliation over a prior homicide in Darlington County.

“Investigators are exploring the theory that Kinlaw was targeted in retaliation for a separate murder involving a family member in Darlington,” Joye said.

“We believe there was a murder committed in Darlington County, which we made the arrest in Lake City that connects them to that arrest with Darlington County officials,” Joye added.

Joye said investigators suspect that Kinlaw’s son was involved in “some way, shape, or form, and we feel this is a retaliation to that murder.”

Police arrested Thomas, 31, and Fleming on Jan. 22. They both were charged with murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

Nikko Christopher Carraway, 31, was arrested Jan. 28 in connection with Kinlaw’s killing, according to WPDE-TV.

Carraway was charged with murder, first-degree arson, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

All three suspects are being held without bond at the Florence County Detention Center.

The Florence County Sheriff’s Office stated the investigation is ongoing, and the suspects could face additional charges.

Citing court records, the New York Post reported that Thomas and Carraway have a “laundry list of criminal cases in Florence County dating back as far as 2014.”

Thomas was hit with multiple attempted murder charges and violent armed robbery cases, according to the Post, which noted that Thomas was sentenced to nine months in prison last March for possessing a firearm as a convicted criminal.

The Florence County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Blaze News‘ request for comment.

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​Murder, South carolina, South carolina crime, Dana marie kinlaw, Shooting, Revenge killing, Crime, Set on fire, Arson, Possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime