FIRST ON FOX: Newly sworn-in Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, in his first letter as a member of the Senate, sent a blistering inquiry to the Department of Homeland Security demanding answers on the extension of deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals from a slew of countries.

"I write to express my sincere concerns regarding the extensions of the designations of El Salvador, Venezuela, Ukraine, and Sudan for Temporary Protected Status ("TPS")," Moreno wrote in a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Friday. "These 18-month extensions allow these noncitizens to remain in the United States through the Fall of 2026, when the designations were set to expire."

"These decisions were shamefully made by an outgoing administration ten days before President Donald J. Trump takes the oath of office. One would think that after handedly losing the 2024 Presidential Election when voters overwhelmingly rejected the Biden-Harris Administration's open-border policy, that you would finally understand American citizens' mandate. And yet, you continue to completely disregard the will of the majority of voters, by unilaterally deciding to allow nearly 1 million noncitizens who entered our country without original authorization to remain in the United States."

DHS announced on Friday it is extending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for El Salvador, Venezuela, Sudan and Ukraine for an additional 18 months beyond their current expirations.

RED STATE AGS WELCOME TRUMP CRACKDOWN ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AFTER FOUR YEARS BATTLING BIDEN

TPS grants protection from deportation and work permits for nationals living in the U.S. from countries deemed unsafe for them to be returned. DHS cited environmental disasters in El Salvador, including storms and heavy rainfall, that it said resulted in a "substantial, but temporary" disruption of living conditions. It also cited the political and economic crises in Venezuela, political instability in Sudan and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine with Russia.

In his letter to Secretary Mayorkas, Moreno criticized the government’s rationale for the move.

"I am also deeply disgusted by your attempts to justify these decisions," Moreno wrote. "For example, according to your Department, the extension of the TPS status of 234,000 noncitizens is due to "geological and weather events" in El Salvador. However, a quick review of the current weather in San Salvador, El Salvador currently shows that it is "mostly sunny" and 81 degrees Fahrenheit."

NEW REPORT REVEALS MASSIVE NUMBER OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS BENEFITING FROM BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN'S 'QUIET AMNESTY'

The moves do not redesignate countries for the status, meaning only those currently protected by TPS are eligible for an extension and no new applications can be received. Venezuela's extension will apply to approximately 600,000 nationals; El Salvador's will apply to 232,000; Ukraine's will apply to approximately 103,000; and Sudan will affect about 1,900 nationals. Venezuela's extension will run until October 2026, and El Salvador's will run until September 2026, with both having been scheduled to end in the spring of 2025.

The moves, particularly for El Salvador and Venezuela, could complicate efforts by the Trump administration to deport illegal immigrants from those countries. Venezuelan nationals have been a particular focus, given the rise of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, while El Salvador is where the MS-13 gang originated.

Moreno’s letter asked Mayorkas to provide answers to a series of questions, some of them related to the concerns about MS-13. 

"What is the current number of MS-13 members known to be in the United States?" Moreno asked. " What is the current number of TdA members known to be in the United States? How many of the noncitizens suspected of being associated with MS-13 and/or TdA have remained in this country through a TPS designation?"

The letter also asks for sourcing and data related to the "geological and weather events" cited by the government as well as information about the vetting process for these individuals and answers about how the government is ensuring that these migrants will not commit crimes in the United States. 

"DHS responds to Congressional inquiries directly via official channels, and the Department will continue to respond appropriately to Congressional oversight," a DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

The White House did not respond to a request for comment. 

The first Trump administration moved to cut down on the number of countries designated for TPS, but the Biden administration has used it broadly, designating or redesignating a number of countries, including Venezuela, Afghanistan and Haiti. There are currently 17 countries designated for TPS.

Both President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance have indicated they want to cut back on TPS once in office, specifically for Haiti.

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report

While Los Angeles officials were stripping millions in funding from their fire department ahead of one of the most destructive wildfires in state history, hundreds of thousands of dollars were allocated to fund programs such as a "Gay Men’s Chorus" and housing for the transgender homeless.

Deadly fires erupted across Southern California this week, which were amplified by fierce winds that resulted in about 10,000 homes and businesses being destroyed. After fire hydrants weren't producing water and homes burned to the ground, residents began calling out Democratic-led leadership in the state, who cut the Los Angeles Fire Department's (LAFD) funding by $17.6 million just months prior.

But even as the department funding was being pulled back, a Fox News Digital review of the L.A. County budget uncovered thousands of taxpayer dollars that were allocated to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and programs giving syringes to the homeless.

For example, the budget allocated $14,010 to the "Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles" this year, a group that seeks to "create musical experiences that strengthen our role as a leader among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and performing arts organizations."

DESANTIS CALLS FOR MEDIA TO HOLD DEMOCRATIC CALIFORNIA LEADERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR WILDFIRES: ‘HAVE NOT SEEN THAT’

Another $190,000 was allocated to the Homeless and HIV Program, which includes a "syringe exchange" program that gives sterile syringes to homeless drug addicts.

An additional $100,000 of county funds was put aside to pay for Juneteenth celebrations, while $13,000 was allocated to "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Heritage Month Programs."

ADAM CAROLLA RIPS CALIFORNIA LEADERS FOR RUNNING STATE ‘INTO THE GROUND’ AS FIRES RAGE: ‘LUNATIC NUTJOBS’

The Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department was also granted $100,000 for a "Midnight Stroll Transgender Cafe" to fund housing for homeless transgender individuals in Hollywood.

The county also granted $13,000 to "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Heritage Month Programs" and $4.5 million to the infrastructure of electric vehicle (EV) chargers. Appropriations for the General City Purposes saw $250,000 set aside for "equity and inclusion."

According to the report, homelessness funding was larger than the LAFD budget for the second year in a row.

Amid the Los Angeles-area fires, celebrities, such as actress Sara Foster, called out state officials for their legislative focus over the years.

"We pay the highest taxes in California. Our fire hydrants were empty. Our vegetation was overgrown, brush not cleared. Our reservoirs were emptied by our governor because tribal leaders wanted to save fish. Our fire department budget was cut by our mayor. But thank god drug addicts are getting their drug kits," Foster wrote in a post on X. "@MayorOfLA @GavinNewsom RESIGN. Your far left policies have ruined our state. And also our party."

Following the funding cut, L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone on Wednesday said that "there are not enough firefighters in L.A. County to address four separate fires of this magnitude."

The white cane for the 21st century. While many tech companies have increasingly worked to make technology more accessible for the blind and visually impaired, canes haven’t benefitted much from these advances. London-born WeWalk takes a more traditional approach to the white cane. Beyond the bulkier handle, not much sets the company’s product apart visually […]

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• Former DEI lead Maxine Williams tried to cushion the blow of Meta's plan to rollback DEI programs.
• The company has several employee-resource groups, known as MRGs.
• After more than a decade as Meta's Chief Diversity Officer, Williams is taking on a new role.

Meta Chief Diversity Officer Maxine Williams told staff in a memo on Friday that the company's decision to back off DEI efforts won't impact employee-resource groups, according to an internal post viewed by Business Insider.

Employee-resource groups, or ERGs, are worker-led communities that create a sense of belonging at a company. Meta has several of these groups. MRGs are Meta employee resource groups, and BRGs are Black employee resource groups.

In a post to an internal forum, Williams tried to cushion the blow of Meta's decision on Friday to rollback its diversity, equity, and inclusion program. Some staff criticized the move, while at least one worker called it "pretty reasonable."

"I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge that these changes may be difficult to understand and process since they represent a significant shift in our strategies for achieving the cognitive diversity we value," Williams wrote.

She stressed that the changes won't impact Meta's support for MRGs and BRGs.

"You play a critical role in creating a place for community and connection — among us and with the company," she added.

"I have watched you show support, share resources, and bond through learning, understanding, and appreciating our various backgrounds. Our Global Communities contribute to the richness of our experiences as we learn from each other and leverage our different backgrounds, working together to build products for the world."

Williams has been Meta's chief diversity officer for more than a decade. On Friday, she told staff that she's taking on a new role focused on Accessibility and Engagement.

"But I, and my team, will continue to support you as contribute to our global community at Meta," she wrote. 

Do you work at Meta? Contact BI reporters from a nonwork email and device at [email protected] and [email protected].

Welcome to episode 36 of Pixelated, a podcast by 9to5Google. This week, we talk about the OnePlus 13, Gemini on Google TV at CES 2025, and more.

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Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman was coaching in the Orange Bowl with a little extra fire in his belly following comments made at his expense by Penn State coach James Franklin. 

At a Wednesday, January 8 press conference ahead of Notre Dame’s 27-24 victory over Penn State on Thursday, January 9, Franklin, 52, ribbed Freeman — who turned 39 on Friday, January 10, just hours after the biggest win of his career — about his age and said, “I mean, I look at the hairline on this guy. Envious of his hairline in a lot of ways.”

Freeman appeared to take the jokes in stride at the press conference, but after his team’s victory on Thursday night, Freeman’s players revealed it was quite a different story. 

“He was angry,” Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts told The Athletic. “He was angry with the press conference thing, whatever was going on between that. He was mad about that. All the anger went toward us and that anger went onto the field.”

Notre Dame Coach Marcus Freeman and Wife Joanna's Relationship Timeline

Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love indicated he was similarly ticked off by Franklin’s comments, telling The Athletic, “I’m not gonna speak on their head coach.”

“We felt like their team didn’t really respect us,” Love, 19, said. “We wanted to come into this game and make a statement. Be the aggressors. Dominate them physically. That’s the message. Be physical and play violent. The whole game.”

Inside the Notre Dame locker room at Miami Gardens’ Hard Rock Stadium, Fighting Irish linebacker Jack Kiser noticed the clock read 12:17 a.m., meaning it was his head coach’s birthday. 

Notre Dame Coach Marcus Freeman’s Family Guide: Wife Joanna and 6 Kids

“Let’s just say that 17 minutes ago coach Freeman turned 39,” Kiser, 24, told The Athletic. “So he’s not that young guy that a lot of people treat him as. Guys want to play for coach Freeman, and when you put gas on that fire, it can get really explosive in this locker room.”

Notre Dame’s win over Penn State earned them a trip to the College Football Playoff National Championship, which goes down Monday, January 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. They will face the winner of Ohio State–Texas, who battle on Friday, January 10 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. 

Freeman did not address Franklin’s comments after the game, but he did acknowledge the significance of Notre Dame’s win — which meant Freeman will become the first Black coach in history to coach in a college national championship game. 

“I’ve said this before, I don’t ever want to take attention away from the team,” Freeman told ESPN’s Molly McGrath. “It is an honor, and I hope all coaches — minorities, Black, Asian, white, it doesn’t matter, great people — continue to get opportunities to lead young men like this. But this ain’t about me. This is about us. We’re going to celebrate what we’ve done because it’s so special.”

There is still a bit of a wait until the return of Justin Hartley‘s hit CBS show Tracker but the first photos from the midseason premiere tease a familiar face — and a spooky new one.

Tracker returns to CBS on Sunday, February 16, with an episode focused around Colter’s (Hartley) case about Gina Picket’s disappearance. After getting a tip from retired cop Keaton (guest star Brent Sexton), the duo work together to track down a serial killer known as The Teacher. The stills from the upcoming episode also reveal that Ryan Dorsey’s character Frank Whales is back after being introduced earlier this season.

Meanwhile, in another moment from the episode, Nicholas Lea is credited as a character named Noah Darview who dons a creepy mask. The midseason premiere is expected to pick up immediately after Colter received a break in his white whale case.

“We got into something. Wasn’t our fault, heavy stuff — we didn’t have a choice,” a former associate of Frank’s told Colter about working for someone called Teacher. “[He] knew things about us. Bad stuff. Held it over our heads. Even the others. He kept a long line of pretty boys to do his bidding.”

'Tracker' Questions We Need Answered: Is Gina Alive? Will Billie Return?

Teacher made Frank lure Gina to a place called The Farm. “He said he planted things there,” the unnamed man added before Colter asked if Gina was still alive. The episode cut to black before a “To be continued” message appeared on screen.

Hartley, 47, previously teased that the Gina case would take up most of the second season.

“When [Gina disappears], Colter makes a promise to [her sister] Camille — and I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he never promises [his clients] anymore. He says, ‘I will bring her home … I will bring him home,’” he told TVLine in October 2024. “He says, ‘I am going to do my best … to try.’ This is why.”

'Tracker' Season 2 Trailer Shows Justin Hartley, Wife Sofia Pernas' Reunion

Hartley teased how digging into Colter’s past with Camille (Floriana Lima) will unlock more details, adding, “[This story line] has been built in a way that, when you look at it, you go, ‘Oh man, that was a pivotal moment in Colter’s life that changed the way he approaches his work and his relationships with other people.'”

Despite the 11-week wait for more answers, Tracker is having a successful sophomore return on CBS. The season 2 premiere in October 2024 brought in 8.3 million total viewers, which was nearly 10 percent up in viewership from the season 1 finale. The season 2 premiere also marked the show’s highest audience since the series debuted in February 2024 after the Super Bowl.

Tracker has since been coined the most-watched broadcast premiere since NCIS’ final episode with Mark Harmon in September 2021. Its average viewership is 18.2 million per episode according to their Paramount+ and broadcast measurements. Variety’s annual list of the year’s 100 most-watched primetime telecasts revealed that Tracker episodes earned 15 spots.

Tracker returns to CBS Sunday, February 16, at 8 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Paramount+.

Jesse James and his estranged wife, Bonnie Rotten, have petitioned the court to throw out their latest divorce filing, Us Weekly can confirm.

According to court records viewed by Us, James, 31, and Rotten, 55, filed a joint “Notice of Nonsuit” on Monday, January 6, to call off the proceedings. The divorce case is now listed as “closed.” In Touch was first to report the news.

James then chronicled their “BBQ Lunch” together via Instagram Story on Thursday, January 9, in which he tagged Rotten’s account while visiting Schmidt Family Barbeque in Texas.

James, who was previously married to Sandra Bullock, and Rotten got married in 2022 before she filed for divorce twice at the end of that year.

Breaking Down the Claims in Jesse James and Bonnie Rotten's Messy Divorce

“The past week has been a pretty terrible week on all accounts … I mistakenly posted my private business between my husband and I on social media,” Rotten (real name Alaina Antoinnette James) wrote via Instagram at the time. “Yes I filed for divorce … the next day I filed a nonsuit to stop the divorce. I love Jesse so much and was very hurt by what I saw when I went through his phone. In his defense and the reason I am back home is that he didn’t say anything inappropriate.”

After Rotten and James reconciled, they welcomed son Bishop in 2023. Another year later, Rotten filed for divorce in November 2024.

“The marriage has become insupportable because of discord or conflict of personalities between Petitioner and Respondent that destroys the legitimate ends of the marriage relationship and prevents any reasonable expectation of reconciliation,” the court docs obtained by Us read.

Rotten requested “exclusive use and control” of her 2022 Dodge Ram TRX and wanted to prohibit James from being able to track or monitor its location. She wished to retain ownership of her clothing, books, firearms and related gear that are stored in a private gun room, a pet cat named Olive and other personal effects.

Jesse James and Estranged Wife Bonnie Rotten's Relationship Timeline

In addition to her divorce filing, Rotten also requested a protective order “in connection with a child support case,” claiming that James “engaged in conduct that constitutes family violence.” According to Rotten, James “committed acts that were intended to result in physical harm, bodily injury, assault or sexual assault” or threatened to do so.

“I realized Jesse Gregory James’ anger was getting worse and worse,” she claimed in the docs. “To protect our baby and myself, I left home with [Bishop] and decided to file for divorce. Because of all the things he has done, I am very afraid Jesse Gregory James will cause me physical harm, cause me bodily injury or assault me.”

James, meanwhile, entered a “general denial” to her accusations in his official response and asked that Rotten “take nothing.” He also filed for a protective order against Rotten, claiming that she committed family violence.

“Respondent committed acts that were intended by Respondent to result in physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault or were threats that reasonably placed Applicant and the child Bishop Morrison James in fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury or assault,” James’ docs read. “Respondent’s acts therefore constitute family violence. Respondent’s conduct was reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment or embarrass Applicant and Bishop Morrison James.”

James further claimed that Rotten has “alcohol abuse issues and gets violent and aggressive,” asking the judge to appoint a separate guardian over Bishop. She never publicly addressed his counterclaims.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

If you or someone you know are experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.