The Latest: FBI executes search warrant at Fulton County elections office near Atlanta

FBI agents were executing a search warrant at the Fulton County elections office near Atlanta on Wednesday, an agency spokesperson confirmed.

An FBI spokesperson said agents were “executing a court authorized law enforcement action” at the county’s main election office in Union City, just south of Atlanta. The spokesperson declined to provide any further information, citing an ongoing matter.

The search comes as the FBI under the leadership of Director Kash Patel has moved quickly to pursue the political grievances of President Donald Trump, including by working with the Justice Department to investigate multiple perceived adversaries of the Republican commander-in-chief.

The Justice Department had no immediate comment.

Trump has long insisted that the 2020 election was stolen even though judges across the country and his own attorney general said they found no evidence of widespread fault that tipped the contest in Democrat Joe Biden’s favor.

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Some held candles and some flowers as people sang and a brass band played at the spot where Pretti was fatally shot by immigration agents in Minneapolis on Saturday.

Harmonie Pirius, a registered nurse in the city, said she had been feeling depressed, heartbroken and enraged and she thought it would be good to get together with other medical professionals.

“It could have been any of us,” she said. “I mean he was trying to help someone, and that’s kind of what we’re all about.”

The president says he’s nominating an official in Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s office to serve as the assistant attorney general in charge of a new Justice Department division for national fraud enforcement.

Trump called Colin McDonald a “very Smart, Tough, and Highly Respected AMERICA FIRST Federal Prosecutor who has successfully delivered Justice in some of the most difficult and high stakes cases our Country has ever seen.”

In a social media post, Blanche described McDonald as a “consummate prosecutor who loves God, family, and country and will serve the President and the American people well.”

Experts have questioned the need for a new division, given that fraud cases are already handled by the Justice Department’s criminal division.

The Trump administration move follows a suspension of all assistance to the impoverished African nation after an incident in which a World Food Program warehouse containing U.S.-donated foodstuffs was demolished.

Other assistance to Somalia remains suspended, the State Department said Wednesday.

“The United States acknowledges the Federal Government of Somalia for taking responsibility for its actions affecting World Food Program operations, including U.S.-funded assistance,” the department said. It added it would “resume WFP food distribution while continuing to review our broader assistance posture in Somalia.”

On Jan. 7, the administration halted all aid to Somalia, accusing Somali authorities of destroying the warehouse and taking its contents, charges the government denied. The government said the warehouse was destroyed as part of a rehabilitation project at the Mogadishu port and said the food remained in WFP custody.

A group of protesters blew whistles and pointed out federal officers in a vehicle on a north Minneapolis street Wednesday. When the officers’ vehicle moved, a small convoy of activists followed in their cars for a few blocks until the officers stopped again.

When Associated Press journalists got out of their car to document the encounter, officers with the federal Bureau of Prisons pushed one of them, threatened them with arrest and told them to get back in their car despite the reporters’ identifying themselves as journalists. Officers from multiple federal agencies have been involved in the enforcement operations.

From their car, the AP journalists saw at least one person being pepper sprayed and one detained, though it was unclear if that person was the target of the operation or a protester. Agents also broke car windows.

▶ Read more about the situation in Minneapolis

An immigration judge on Wednesday granted asylum to a Chinese national who he said had a “well founded fear” of persecution if sent back to China after exposing human rights abuses there.

Guan Heng, 38, applied for asylum after arriving in the U.S. illegally in 2021. He has been in custody since being swept up in an immigration enforcement operation in August.

The Department of Homeland Security initially sought to deport Guan to Uganda but dropped the plan in December after his plight raised public concerns and attracted attention on Capitol Hill.

Guan in 2020 secretly filmed detention facilities in Xinjiang, adding to a body of evidence of what activists say are widespread rights abuses in the Chinese region.

Guan was not immediately released Wednesday because the lawyer for DHS said the department reserves the right to appeal. It has 30 days to do so, but Judge Charles Ouslander urged DHS to make its decision soon.

The Trump administration is stepping up the revocation of U.S. visas for Haitian officials and their family members who are deemed to be enabling gangs held responsible for destabilizing the Caribbean nation.

The State Department on Wednesday announced that it had revoked or imposed restrictions on the visas of two members of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council and a government cabinet minister, an action that will also affect visas held by their immediate family members.

The move followed a similar announcement on Sunday that the department had revoked the visas of two Transitional Presidential Council members and their families. Those targeted were not named in either announcement.

“The Trump administration will continue taking steps to impose these measures against anyone who contributes to the destabilization of Haiti and our hemisphere,” the department said in Wednesday’s announcement.

Bruce Springsteen is dedicating his new song to the people of Minneapolis, criticizing Trump’s ongoing immigration enforcement operations in the city.

The lyrics of “Streets of Minneapolis,” released Wednesday, describe how “a city aflame fought fire and ice ’neath an occupier’s boots,” which Springsteen calls “King Trump’s private army.”

Springsteen in a statement said he wrote and recorded the song over the weekend.

“It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good,” he wrote, naming the two victims.

Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, responded: “The Trump Administration is focused on encouraging state and local Democrats to work with federal law enforcement officers on removing dangerous criminal illegal aliens from their communities — not random songs with irrelevant opinions and inaccurate information.”

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Several hundred people gathered in Paris to show support for U.S. protesters after the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis.

The demonstration outside the lower house of French parliament and French Foreign Ministry was organized by a French parliament member and groups of Americans in France.

French lawmaker Pouria Amirshahi, co-founder of ‘The Dam,’ a project to create a progressive international alliance to counter the far-right, expressed his support to US protesters.

“What gave me renewed energy was seeing these images of millions of women and men in the United States, in Minneapolis and elsewhere, who are protesting, rising up, and refusing to be subdued. And I think we are learning a lot from these Americans who resist, who give us strength and energy. And I want to tell them, of course, hold on, but also thank you for the lesson in courage you are giving us.”

The search warrant FBI served at Fulton County elections office near Atlanta on Wednesday seeks records tied to the 2020 election, a county spokesperson said.

Fulton spokeswoman Jessica Corbitt-Dominguez declined to comment further, saying the search was still underway.

An FBI spokesperson confirmed the search but also declined to provide any additional information.

The search comes as the FBI under the leadership of Director Kash Patel has moved quickly to pursue the political grievances of President Donald Trump, including by working with the Justice Department to investigate multiple perceived adversaries of the Republican commander-in-chief.

▶ Read more about FBI search warrant

The Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday that two federal agents involved in Petti’s shooting have been on leave since Saturday.

The announcement came as Trump seemed to signal a willingness to ease tensions in Minneapolis after a second deadly shooting by federal immigration agents, though there seemed to be little evidence of any significant changes following weeks of harsh rhetoric and clashes with protesters.

The strain was evident when Trump made a leadership change by sending his top border adviser to Minnesota to take charge of the immigration crackdown. That was followed by seemingly conciliatory remarks about the Democratic governor and mayor.

Trump said he and Gov. Tim Walz, whom he criticized for weeks, were on “a similar wavelength” following a phone call. After a conversation with Mayor Jacob Frey, the president praised the discussion and declared that “lots of progress is being made.”

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The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the deployment of federal troops to six U.S. cities since June 2025 has cost taxpayers roughly $496 million through the end of December 2025.

The CBO published a letter estimating the costs associated with federal deployments of National Guard and active-duty Marines after a request from Sen. Jeff Merkley, who is ranking member of the budget committee. The estimation excludes a late-year deployment to New Orleans.

Continuing the deployments to those cities would cost roughly $93 million per month, and the CBO says looking ahead, deploying 1,000 National Guard personnel to a U.S. city in 2026 would cost $18 million to $21 million per month, depending on the local cost-of-living.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has informed Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that the kingdom will “not allow its airspace or territory to be used for any military actions against Iran or for any attacks from any party, regardless of their origin.”

But the kingdom on Wednesday sought to downplay its divide on the matter with the White House as Trump continues to weigh a potential military action against Tehran after its deadly crackdown on nationwide protests.

Saudi officials continue to be in “constant contact” with Trump administration officials about the developments in the region, including on Iran, said a senior Saudi embassy official in Washington, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

— Aamer Madhani

Attorney General Pam Bondi said 16 people were arrested on Wednesday on charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement in Minnesota.

Bondi, who was visiting Minnesota on Wednesday, said more arrests were expected, adding: “NOTHING will stop President Trump and this Department of Justice from enforcing the law.”

The State Election Board in May 2024 heard a case that alleged documentation was missing for thousands of votes in the recount of the presidential contest in the 2020 election.

After a presentation by a lawyer and an investigator for the secretary of state’s office, a response from the county and a lengthy discussion among the board members, the board voted to issue a letter of reprimand to the county.

But shortly after that vote, the board shifted toward a conservative majority, which has repeatedly sought to reopen the case.

The board’s lone Democrat and chair have objected, arguing the case is closed and citing multiple reviews that have found that while the county’s 2020 elections were sloppy and poorly managed, there was no evidence of intentional wrongdoing.

The conservative majority, however, sent subpoenas to the county board for various election documents last year and again on Oct. 6.

The Department of Justice last month sued the clerk of the Fulton County superior and magistrate courts in federal court seeking access to documents from the 2020 election in the county.

The lawsuit said the department sent a letter to Che Alexander, clerk of superior and magistrate courts, but that she has failed to produce the requested documents.

Alexander has filed a motion to dismiss the suit. The Justice Department complaint says that the purpose of its request was “ascertaining Georgia’s compliance with various federal election laws.”

It was not clear what in particular the president was referring to when he made the comment last week.

Trump has long insisted that the 2020 election was stolen, even though judges across the country and his own attorney general said they found no evidence of widespread fault that tipped the contest in Democrat Joe Biden’s favor.

He has long made Georgia, one of the battleground states he lost in 2020, a central target for his complaints about the election and memorably pleaded with its then-secretary of state to “find” him enough votes to overturn the contest.

Recounts, reviews and audits in the battleground states where Trump disputed his loss, including in Georgia, have all affirmed that Democrat Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election.

The Federal Reserve pushed the pause button on its interest rate cuts Wednesday, leaving its key rate unchanged at about 3.6% after lowering it three times last year.

The central bank said in a statement that there are signs the job market has stabilized while it also said growth was “solid,” an upgrade from last month’s characterization as “modest.”

With the economy growing at a healthy pace and no signs of deterioration in hiring, Fed officials likely see little reason to rush any further rate cuts. While most policymakers do expect to reduce borrowing costs further this year, many want to see evidence that stubbornly-elevated inflation is moving closer to the central bank’s target of 2%. According to the Fed’s preferred measure, inflation was 2.8% in November, slightly higher than a year ago.

Two officials dissented from the decision, with Governors Stephen Miran and Christopher Waller preferring another quarter-point reduction. President Donald Trump appointed Miran in September, while Waller is under consideration by the White House to replace Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May.

The Fed’s decision to stand pat will likely fuel further criticism from Trump, who has assailed Powell for months for not sharply cutting short-term rates. When the Fed reduces its key rate, it tends to lower borrowing costs for things like mortgages, car loans, and business borrowing, though those rates are also influenced by market forces.

▶ Read more about interest rates

Jerry Dryer was Fresno’s police chief for 18 years before he became the city’s Republican mayor. Speaking at the opening of the U.S. Conference of Mayors gathering in Washington, he and mayors from both parties expressed support for the goal of deporting undocumented immigrants who are criminals.

But Dryer highlighted the need to build and maintain trust within communities.

“In order for us to gain that trust, we have to police neighborhoods with their permission,” he said. “We cannot be seen as an occupying force when we go into those neighborhoods.”

He said ICE was “being rejected” by communities across the country.

“Why?” he asked. “Because of the policing tactics that are being utilized that have been abandoned by local law enforcement 30 years ago.”

FBI agents were executing a search warrant at the Fulton County elections office near Atlanta on Wednesday, an agency spokesperson confirmed.

An FBI spokesperson said agents were “executing a court authorized law enforcement action” at the county’s main election office in Union City, just south of Atlanta. The spokesperson declined to provide any further information, citing an ongoing matter.

The search comes as the FBI under the leadership of Director Kash Patel has moved quickly to pursue the political grievances of President Donald Trump, including by working with the Justice Department to investigate multiple perceived adversaries of the Republican commander-in-chief.

The Justice Department had no immediate comment.

Trump has long insisted that the 2020 election was stolen even though judges across the country and his own attorney general said they found no evidence of widespread fault that tipped the contest in Democrat Joe Biden’s favor.

▶ Read more about the FBI warrant in Fulton County

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s hearing is concluding with Secretary of State Marco Rubio giving an update on the negotiations between the U.S., Russia and Ukraine.

Rubio emphasized that disagreements over territory in Ukraine remain one of the last points of contention, as well as they the U.S. would likely need to be committed to providing a “security backstop” for any agreement.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he wants to see a change in the government of Cuba, but avoided saying whether the Trump administration would try to force current leaders to step down.

Sen. Brian Schatz, a Hawaii Democrat, asked Rubio to rule out a U.S.-backed regime change in Cuba. Yet Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants who has long advocated for actions to pressure a change in the nation’s government, declined.

“We would like to see that regime change, Rubio said, adding, “That doesn’t mean that we’re going to make a change, but we would love to see it change.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said an increasing military presence in the Middle East has been put in place “to defend against what could be an Iranian threat against our personnel” — a message that stands in contract to President Trump’s continuing threats to strike Iran if it does not yield to his demands.

“I think it’s wise and prudent to have a force posture within the region that could respond and ... if necessary, preemptively prevent the attack against thousands of American servicemen and other facilities in the region and our allies,” Rubio told Congress in testimony Wednesday.

The remarks came on the same day that Trump demanded Iran give up its plans to develop nuclear weapons while threatening a “far worse” attack than last year’s strike against its nuclear facilities in a post on his social media platform.

Trump said that the U.S. Navy strike group led by the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln “is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary.”

Billionaire advocates of the Trump account program praised the accounts from the same stage Trump stood on.

Brad Gerstner, the founder and CEO of tech investment firm Altimeter Capital, called the program “citizen democracy at its best” and said it would lift up American families and “reconnect them to the American dream.”

“The answer to more socialism is more capitalism,” he said. “This makes every child in America a capitalist from birth.”

Michael Dell, who made a multi-billion dollar contribution, said children with savings invested in American companies will “change the face of this country” over the subsequent decades.

Trump wrapped up his speech shortly thereafter.

The secretary of state expressed a cautious approach to Iran and the prospect of a change in its government.

“You’re talking about a regime that’s been in place for a very long time,” Rubio responded to a question from Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas. “So that’s going to require a lot of careful thinking, if that eventuality ever presents itself.”

Iran has been thrust into uncertainty amid nationwide protests as well as a recent build-up in U.S. military forces in the region. Rubio described the military posture as a defensive measure amid the unrest, but President Donald Trump has also threatened military attacks if peaceful protesters are killed or there are mass executions of detainees.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations was quick to respond to Trump’s latest social media posts. It posted on X that “Iran stands ready for dialogue based on mutual respect and interests—BUT IF PUSHED, IT WILL DEFEND ITSELF AND RESPOND LIKE NEVER BEFORE!”

Trump posted on Truth Social earlier Wednesday that he hopes “Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal - NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS - one that is good for all parties.”

“Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!” Trump wrote. Mentioning the June strikes on Iran as the U.S. inserted itself in Israel’s 12-day war on the Islamic Republic, Trump wrote: “The next attack will be far worse!”

The rapper made a cameo at the president’s “Trump Accounts” event on Wednesday. After Trump invited her to the stage, Minaj took the mic for brief remarks and said her admiration for the president is not going to change.

“The hate or what people have to say, it does not affect me at all. It actually motivates me to support him more,” she said. Minaj did not talk about “Trump Accounts,” the subject of the event.

Once she finished, she stood back as “Shark Tank” judge Kevin O’Leary spoke briefly and Minaj and Trump held hands.