The Eagle Wire

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's approval rating has fallen to a record low of 31% just two weeks before the November 3 midterm elections, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed Monday, underscoring deep voter frustration over high living costs and the ongoing US-Israel war with Iran. Only 31% of Americans approve of Trump's performance in office, down a percentage point from two weeks earlier and the lowest level of either of his presidential terms, the four-day nationwide poll found. The poll also delivered grim news for congressional Republicans. Asked which party they would vote for if the midterm elections were held today — the so-called generic ballot — some 47% of registered voters picked Democrats and 35% chose Republicans. The 12-point Democratic advantage was the widest of the current election cycle, a sharp jump from the 7-point Democratic lead (44% to 37%) recorded in the same poll two weeks earlier. Women Lead the Shift Much of the Republican slide ...

The Trump administration has ordered Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek's products and services removed from every civilian federal agency's IT systems, and banned government agencies from buying any new ones — the most sweeping US crackdown yet on a Chinese AI firm inside the federal government. The Department of Homeland Security published the order on Monday, directing agencies to remove DeepSeek products and third-party services built using its models from government systems. It also bans the acquisition of DeepSeek products — including tools from its affiliates — across civilian agencies, under the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018. DHS said DeepSeek's models pose "multiple threat vectors." The department warned that if US government employees or contractors used the products, sensitive data could be transferred to the People's Republic of China, and that use of the models "could produce actionable intelligence on US...

Washington, D.C. — October 20, 2026: President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance are set to announce a $25 million Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program on Tuesday afternoon, offering cash rewards of up to $30,000 to Americans whose tips lead to a successful fraud prosecution. The program, dubbed WHIP, will be administered by the Department of Justice, according to the White House. Anyone who submits a tip to fraud.gov that results in a fraud conviction or a significant federal enforcement action is eligible for the reward. Trump and Vance are scheduled to unveil the initiative during a joint appearance in the Oval Office later Tuesday. Zero tolerance The initiative is the latest move in the administration's aggressive push to eliminate fraud across the federal government. Trump established a Task Force to Eliminate Fraud in March and put Vance in charge of it. "Every day, President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud is zeroing in on the rampant abuse of taxpayer...

More than three decades after the killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, newly unsealed federal court documents suggest O.J. Simpson may have had help disposing of the murder weapon — a knife police never recovered. The revelations come from a 1996 letter from an assistant U.S. attorney to a federal judge, unsealed at the request of The New York Times. The letter sought a reduced sentence for convicted drug trafficker and prison escapee Joseph "Joey" Ippolito, who had become a federal informant after Simpson's 1995 acquittal. In it, the prosecutor wrote that Ippolito had become "privy to many facts" surrounding the case, including "Mr. Simpson's alleged domestic violence, the Simpsons' narcotics usage, Mr. Simpson's attempted flight from justice, and his disposal of the murder weapon." "While Ippolito ultimately was not called as a witness he was arrested and began to cooperate as that trial drew to a close my conversatio...

MUNDELEIN, Illinois — Five adults were found shot dead inside a quiet suburban Chicago home late Sunday night in what authorities have ruled an apparent murder-suicide, stunning a village where violent crime is a rarity. Mundelein police officers entered the single-story home on Wellington Avenue around 11:45 p.m. Sunday after the daughter of the homeowners, calling from California, asked for a welfare check because she could not reach her family. Inside, officers found three men and two women dead in several rooms, each killed by close-range gunshot wounds. Two handguns were recovered at the scene. Deputy Police Chief Rick Wilfenger said investigators believe four of the dead were family members, while the fifth was in a domestic relationship with the suspected gunman. Two of the victims lived at the home. On Monday, after autopsies conducted by the Lake County Coroner's Office, the deaths were officially ruled a murder-suicide, according to NBC 5 Chicago and CBS News Chicago. Aut...

WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned U.S. senators on Monday that Ukraine has almost completely exhausted its stockpile of American-made Patriot interceptor missiles, and accused Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of personally stalling the transfer of replacement missiles that NATO allies have already paid for. "Right now, a new missiles package is waiting for Mr. Hegseth's signature," Zelensky said during a virtual meeting with a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers. "And our other partners, including those in Europe, are also waiting for American approval to transfer Patriot interceptors from their shelters, European shelters, to us. So the missiles are ready, and they could already be in Ukraine." The comments were first reported by the Washington Examiner and follow a Washington Post investigation into why the Trump administration has not signed off on the transfers. Under U.S. export rules, European countries holding American-made Patr...

Published: October 20, 2026 President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday, October 19, establishing a new Women's Health Division within the National Institutes of Health and a White House Women's Health Task Force — a move driven by First Lady Melania Trump, who called it a "transformative moment for women in America." At a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House, the president and first lady signed the order together, smiling as they passed it between them and exchanged pens. What the order does The executive order, titled "Advancing Women's Health to Improve Outcomes in All Phases of Life," directs the Department of Health and Human Services to: Create a dedicated Women's Health Division within the NIH focused on research into diseases and conditions that disproportionately affect women — including maternal health, mental health, endometriosis, infertility, fibroids, menopause, Alzheimer's, heart disease, osteoporosis, an...

October 20, 2026 — President Donald Trump said Monday that it may be time for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to step aside from leading negotiations to end the war with Russia, escalating his weeks-long public clash with the Ukrainian leader. "Maybe it's time for Zelenskiy to get somebody else to negotiate," Trump told reporters before departing the White House to campaign for the November 3 midterm congressional elections in Kansas. "Zelenskyy doesn't know what he's talking about. Zelenskyy is a man that should have had this war settled a long time ago." Trump said Russia has been "fine" on Ukraine and "hasn't been doing much," while accusing Kyiv of mishandling the diplomatic track. He also said the United States continues to share intelligence with Ukraine and that he would consider allowing Ukrainians to stay in the US under temporary protected status until the war ends. The remarks deepen the rift between Washingt...

Date: October 18, 2026 Iran has offered the United States a concrete plan to restore normal shipping through the Strait of Hormuz within seven days, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced Saturday at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Baghdad — putting the decision squarely in Washington's hands. "Through Qatar, we have conveyed a specific plan for seven days. If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened and normal maritime activity restored within seven days. The decision now rests with the United States," Araghchi told the 52nd Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC. The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran remains committed to safe navigation through the strategic waterway — through which a huge share of the world's oil passes — but blamed the current disruption on American and Israeli military action and the US naval blockade. "You cannot bomb a country, threaten to destroy it, and impose a blockade, and then expect...

San Antonio, TX — A U.S. Air Force airman has died after falling roughly 150 feet from the rafters of the Alamodome during a pregame rappelling demonstration before the University of Texas at San Antonio's football game against Navy on Saturday night, the Air Force confirmed on Sunday. The airman was one of four members of Detachment 2 of the 6th Combat Training Squadron taking part in a scheduled demonstration ahead of the coin toss for UTSA's annual "Salute to Armed Forces and Veterans" game. According to witness accounts and video circulating online, the airman lost control partway down the rope and slid rapidly before crashing to the field in front of a horrified stadium crowd. Medical personnel rushed onto the field and treated him for about ten minutes as UTSA staff formed a protective semicircle around him. He was carried out through the Alamodome tunnel on a stretcher and transported by the San Antonio Fire Department to a nearby hospital as a priority-one ...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that a trilateral meeting involving Russian President Vladimir Putin could take place in the United States during the G20 summit in Miami this December — though he stressed that neither Moscow nor Washington has confirmed it yet. What Zelensky Said Speaking to reporters in a WhatsApp media chat on Saturday, Zelensky said Ukraine's negotiating track with the United States remains active and that American officials have signaled a US–Ukraine meeting could happen as soon as next week. "The meeting could then take place in the United States during the G20 summit. But there has been no confirmation yet from either Russia or the United States," Zelensky said. "It could also be held in a European country." Zelensky added that Washington has consistently floated the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia as alternative venues for a trilateral session. He said Ukraine is "ready to negotiate anywhere, and we'...

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Kentucky — President Donald Trump told supporters Saturday night that the nearly eight-month U.S.-Israel war against Iran would end "very quickly," claiming American strikes had crippled Tehran's nuclear programme and promising that gas prices would fall below pre-war levels once the fighting stops. Speaking at a packed midterm campaign rally at Northern Kentucky University's Truist Arena, Trump defended the military campaign as a necessary preemptive action to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. "It's going to end very quickly. When it ends, your gas prices are going to be lower than what they were before," Trump said. The president revisited the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear targets, insisting they had succeeded in neutralizing Tehran's nuclear ambitions. "You know, when I did the little excursion to the Islamic, the beautiful Islamic Republic of Iran, we beat the shit out of them. But when I did that excursion,...

Published: October 18, 2026 Super Typhoon Champi slammed into Guam on Saturday night local time, its northern eyewall driving extreme winds ashore across the island's southern villages as more than 153,000 residents of the US territory sheltered in place under the storm's closest approach. The storm underwent explosive intensification, strengthening from a tropical storm to the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane in less than two days — a rate of strengthening that caught even seasoned forecasters off guard. "A period of rapid intensification was expected but this outperformed what was expected," said Paul Stanko, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office on Guam. A "Particularly Dangerous Situation" At its peak, Champi packed sustained winds of 130 to 150 mph with gusts reaching 184 mph as its centre passed within 10 to 20 miles of Guam's southern tip. The National Weather Service issued an extreme wind warning for the area, describ...

Washington, D.C. — President Donald Trump wants 60 days to think before pulling the trigger on sweeping Russia sanctions and tariffs, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday night, revealing the reasoning behind Friday's surprise waiver of key provisions of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews ahead of a week-long tour of Uzbekistan and India, Rubio said the administration needs the two-month window to study what combined sanctions and tariffs would do to the global economy — and to the American economy. "The problem is these sanctions were not just sanctions on Russia. They include tariffs on a number of countries, India, for example, and others," Rubio said. "I think the president wants to take the 60-day period of time to sort of analyse what imposing both sanctions and tariffs will mean to the global economy and even to the US economy." The India problem Rubio was unusually blunt...

US President Donald Trump on Sunday issued a full-throated endorsement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, nine days before Israel's October 27 parliamentary election — its first national vote since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 plunged the Middle East into turmoil. "Bibi Netanyahu has been Strong, Brave, and Brilliant in the face of tremendous opposition, including that coming from even Israel, itself," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, styled as a letter to Israeli voters. "Please let this Letter serve to represent my Complete and Total Endorsement of Bibi Netanyahu in his upcoming Race for Re-Election as Prime Minister of Israel." "A Great Warrior Prime Minister" Trump called Netanyahu "a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace in combating the Islamic Republic of Iran," writing in all caps that the Israeli leader "WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!" "I have watched Bibi under the mos...

By The Eagle Wire | October 18, 2026 Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin (D) is facing fierce conservative backlash after video emerged of her publicly calling on Democrats to prosecute members of President Donald Trump's administration — and openly stating she wants the threat of prosecution to scare young conservatives away from public service. Speaking last week at the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics during a live recording of Vox's America, Actually! podcast, Slotkin said Democrats must go beyond investigating President Trump himself and target "the people who enabled him." "I want to look at these signature cases and not just focus on the president, but on the people who enabled him," Slotkin said. "I want young people coming out of school to say, 'Should I go work for the Trump administration? Like that sounds fun. I might get an opportunity.' I want them to be like, 'Lord, that might be buying myself a ton of proble...

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Saturday that Iran must give up its "nuclear ambitions" through a negotiated deal — or face devastating American military action. "Iran's going to have a choice to make real quick about whether they're going to give those up at the table or face the kind of devastation that America can bring and will bring swiftly if necessary," Hegseth told Reserve Officers' Training Corps cadets and military recruits at the University of Tennessee. The Warning The defense secretary accused Tehran of building a large conventional missile arsenal to deter military action while continuing to pursue nuclear weapons. He argued that U.S. military strength was essential to forcing adversaries to negotiate, framing the Iran policy as part of President Trump's wider effort to reassert American power worldwide. Hegseth also accused Iran of funding proxy forces across the region — "funds the proxies in Hezbollah, funds the p...

Published: October 18, 2026 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed Sunday that the United States has resumed sharing military intelligence with Ukraine, ending a blackout of about three days that left Kyiv unable to detect incoming Russian ballistic missile strikes. "It was blocked for some period of time. And then it was de-blocked by the American side. We are very thankful for this. Now it works," Zelensky told NBC News' Meet the Press in a prerecorded interview that aired Sunday. The interruption was unprecedented. Zelensky said Ukraine lost its only reliable early-warning feed on Russian ballistic missile launches — information that only the United States can provide. "We didn't see attacks of Russia using ballistic missiles," he explained. "We have dozens of countries who help. But only the United States has this unique intelligence to tell our side when Russia uses ballistic missiles. And we didn't get it during ballistic attacks...

Cairo, Oct 18 — Egypt's National Defence Council has approved deploying Egyptian military forces to Saudi Arabia on a defensive mission, a major escalation in the regional war now engulfing the Gulf. The decision came at an urgent council meeting chaired by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at Al Ittihadiya Palace on Sunday morning, attended by the parliamentary speaker, prime minister, defence minister, armed forces chief of staff, intelligence chiefs and the ministers of interior, finance and foreign affairs. Parliament to Vote in Emergency Session An emergency session of parliament was scheduled for 1pm Cairo time (10:00 GMT) on Sunday to give the constitutional green light. Under Article 152 of Egypt's constitution, the president cannot send the army on a combat mission abroad without consulting the Defence Council and winning the approval of two-thirds of MPs. The pro-Sisi majority in the House is widely expected to back the request. News of the deployment was broken on ...

Ukraine launched one of its biggest drone assaults of the year overnight into Sunday, setting fire to the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal and other energy and logistics targets in direct defiance of President Donald Trump's demand that Kyiv stop striking Russian energy infrastructure. Russia's Defense Ministry said air defenses shot down 1,015 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory, annexed Crimea and the Black Sea — a staggering tally that, if accurate, would make it one of the largest single-night drone waves of the 4½-year war. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said 512 of the drones were headed toward the capital region, most destroyed at a distance. St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov confirmed fires at the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal — a facility that can handle up to 12.5 million tons per year — along with the Ruchi oil depot and industrial warehouses in the Kolpinsky district. Ukraine's Fire Point company, which manufactures the drones used in the attack, said a fire...

By The Eagle Wire — October 19, 2026 The United States is warning its citizens across the Middle East to exercise "heightened vigilance," with American embassies across the region posting security alerts late Sunday as hostilities tied to the US-Israel-Iran war threaten to spiral beyond the battlefield. The US Embassy in Amman, the US Embassy in the United Arab Emirates, and the US Embassy and Consulates in Saudi Arabia all issued security alerts on October 18–19, warning Americans of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions — and cautioning that Iran and its proxies could target US interests well beyond the region. What the Alerts Say "Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise heightened vigilance due to the complex security environment," the advisories state, urging travelers to remain alert to "potential flight cancellations, airspace closures and travel disruptions." The alerts warn that "Iran and...

EASTVALE, CALIFORNIA — One person was killed and six others were wounded in a mass shooting at a home in Eastvale, California, late Saturday night, authorities said Sunday. No arrests have been made, and the suspect remained at large. Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department responded to reports of unknown trouble and a possible shooting in the 7000 block of Morning Hills Drive around 11:15 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17. When they arrived, they found seven people suffering from gunshot wounds. One victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The other six were rushed by paramedics to nearby hospitals for treatment, FOX 11 Los Angeles reported. No suspect identified As of Sunday, officials had not announced any arrests, and no description of a possible suspect had been released. The identity of the person killed was withheld pending notification of next of kin, and authorities did not disclose the medical conditions of the six hospitalized victims. The Riverside County She...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a three-way summit with US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping next month to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine — a meeting that would decide the fate of the conflict without Ukraine's own president in the room. The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday night that Putin raised the idea directly with Trump during their October 9 phone call — the same conversation that produced a deal for the United States to buy Russian diesel fuel and facilitate its sale on global markets. The Kremlin has suggested holding the trilateral dialogue on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, set for November 18 and 19 in Shenzhen, southern China. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that discussions over a potential meeting are taking place, though he cautioned that no agenda or format has been settled. "There is no clear understanding yet regarding the meeting itself or its potential agenda, ...

DALTON, Georgia — President Donald Trump turned the name Mohammad into a punchline during a campaign rally in Dalton, Georgia, on Friday, mocking Iran 's presidency and the most common Muslim name while stumping for Republican candidates ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. "You know, if you're in doubt about somebody's name from the Middle East, just say ' Mohammad ,'" Trump told the crowd at a hangar at Dalton Municipal Airport . "You have about a 65% chance. 'Hello, Mohammad .' I've done it for years now. I've never been wrong." The president made the remark while discussing Iran , which he mocked by claiming it was "the only country where nobody wants to be president." He then pretended to ask several men named Mohammad whether they wanted the job. Masoud Pezeshkian has served as Iran's president since 2024. According to Reuters , which covered the rally, the Georgia crowd gave the joke a muted res...

Global oil prices surged to $110 a barrel on Friday — the highest since May — after Iran and its Houthi allies dramatically escalated their assault on the world’s energy lifelines, sinking two commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and launching missile and drone barrages at Saudi Arabia . Brent crude futures touched $110 during Friday trading before settling at $109.86 , up 3.7% . US West Texas Intermediate rose 3.5% to $101.41 a barrel , capping a week in which WTI gained more than 10% . In the most dramatic escalation of maritime attacks since the US-Iran war began in February , two cargo ships were struck by unknown projectiles and sank in or near the Strait of Hormuz this week — only the second and third sinkings since the conflict started, according to UN shipping agency data. The Singapore-flagged container ship GFS Pride was hit Tuesday by an unidentified projectile while transiting the strait, caught fire, and sank the next day. All 21 crew members were safel...

ENSENADA, Mexico — A Mexican judge on Friday sentenced three men to 158 years and nine months in prison each for the killings of two Australian brothers and their American friend during a 2024 surfing trip to Baja California , closing one of the most internationally watched murder cases in recent Mexican history. The defendants — identified by authorities as Jesus Gerardo "N," known as "El Kekas," Irineo Francisco "N" and Angel Jesus "N" — were found guilty a week ago of homicide, aggravated robbery, robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence. The crimes were committed against Australian brothers Jake Robinson, 33 , and Callum Robinson, 30 , and their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad, 30 . The judge also ordered the men to pay compensation to the victims' families, a Baja California judiciary official said. The three friends traveled to Mexico in late April 2024 to surf at a beach in Punta San Jose , about 80 kilomet...

SACRAMENTO, California — Hackers have stolen the personal information of nearly 7 million California public school students in one of the largest education data breaches in American history, state officials announced Friday, October 16. The California Department of Education said the breach targeted Educational Testing Service (ETS) , the nonprofit contractor that administers the state's standardized tests. Stolen files contained student names, birth dates, home addresses, demographic details, disability status, unique student ID numbers, and the schools and districts students attend. All students enrolled in California public schools over the past three years were affected — a number that reaches well beyond the state's current 5.7 million public schoolers because former students are included too. Students who left California without confirming a transfer to another school were also caught up in the theft, some dating back to 2006. According to the state education depa...

The Trump administration on Friday escalated its high-stakes fight with California over mail-in ballots, warning state and local election officials they could face criminal prosecution if they count ballots from more than 20,000 voters the federal government claims are probably noncitizens. In a letter released Friday, acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter told Los Angeles County officials and California's top election officers that knowingly counting such ballots could make them liable as aiders and abettors of a federal crime. "Noncitizen voting in a federal election is a federal crime — and knowingly facilitating such conduct is equally unlawful," McCotter wrote. President Donald Trump amplified the warning on Truth Social, sharing the Justice Department letter with the message: "They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!" The letter was addressed to the Los Angeles County Counsel's office and copied to California Secretary o...

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. — A fast-moving wildfire erupted in Orange County on Friday and tore through hillside neighborhoods in San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano, destroying homes, forcing roughly 16,000 residents to evacuate, and leaving two firefighters with serious injuries. The Norte Fire ignited just after 11:30 a.m. local time on Oct. 16 near Portico Del Norte, driven by fierce Santa Ana winds, bone-dry vegetation, and unseasonable heat. It grew with frightening speed — roughly 50 acres by 12:30 p.m., about 250 acres by 2 p.m. — and reached 465 acres by the evening. As of Friday night, the blaze was 0% contained . At least six homes were destroyed or damaged, including four homes off Via La Mirada in San Juan Capistrano, one of the hardest-hit areas. Mandatory evacuation orders covered zones SJC04, SJC05 and SJC10 in San Juan Capistrano and SCL12 and SCL13 in San Clemente, affecting an estimated 4,600 to 6,000 homes and 16,000 people , according to the Orange Co...

WASHINGTON — The co-chairs of the US House India Caucus have asked the Department of Justice and the FBI to investigate the foiled mass-shooting plot at a Hindu temple in Aurora, Illinois, as a potential federal hate crime — turning the case into a test of how Washington handles rising hostility toward South Asian Americans. In a letter sent Friday to Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel , Congressmen Ro Khanna (Democrat, California) and Rich McCormick (Republican, Georgia) demanded the case be investigated as "a potential federal hate crime" and asked that investigators "bring all charges supported by the evidence." The alleged target was the Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple in Aurora, near Chicago. The suspect, 19-year-old Alexandros Paporakis , was arrested on charges of making a terrorist threat and unlawful possession of a weapon after authorities say he plotted a mass shooting at the temple. According to court filings report...

WASHINGTON, DC — President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday waiving a sweeping set of Russia-related sanctions, restrictions and duties — days before they were due to take effect under a sanctions law he himself signed in mid-September, the White House said. The order implements the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 , which Congress passed with rare bipartisan margins ( 86–11 in the Senate, 262–159 in the House) and which Trump signed into law on September 18 . The Act provided for tariffs of up to 500% on Russian goods and duties of up to 100% on goods from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas, with the tariff provisions set to activate days from now. In the same executive order, Trump formally sets those duties in motion — then waives their application under Section 115 of the Act, which lets the president suspend any provision upon certifying to Congress that the waiver is in the national interest. The waivers cover d...

The U.S. Coast Guard pulled at least 16 people from the Pacific Ocean in the predawn hours Friday and was still searching for up to 11 others after a vessel sank in waters about 140 miles west of Ensenada, Mexico — a stretch of ocean well known as a corridor for maritime human smuggling into California. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector San Diego received a radio distress call at approximately 1 a.m. Friday reporting a vessel taking on water, according to the Coast Guard. When rescue crews arrived, there was no vessel to be found — only debris and people in the water. "There was no sight of a vessel in the water, just people in the water," Petty Officer Chris Sappey told the Associated Press. One person pulled from the ocean said as many as 27 people had been aboard the boat. Sixteen people were rescued and transported to Coast Guard Sector San Diego, where emergency medical personnel transferred them to local hospitals for evaluation. Three were taken to Scripps...