5 Feb 2026

Tressie McMillan Cottom: ICE Is watching you

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In the latest stop in Donald Trump’s war on liberal democracy, federal agents in Minnesota have shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti. It was difficult to avoid the videos of what I can only think of as their executions. The images captured by bystanders and immigrantion agents were reminiscent of the lynching postcards that white spectators once bought and traded — reproductions of retributive violence, tailor-made to titillate and intimidate.

Pretti’s killing, in particular, struck a chord of dismay with a cross section of Americans. There is some small measure of comfort that our public conscience can still be shocked. One may wish that it had happened sooner — when other people died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody this past year or immigrants were rounded up into camps. But whichever abuse convinced you, whichever needless death shocked you, you are here now. You need to pay attention to the guns ICE agents are pointing at all of us. You also need to pay attention to everything happening around the guns.

Just before Jonathan Ross, an ICE agent, pulled the gun that he discharged into Good’s minivan, he was shooting video of the incident on his cellphone.

Pay attention to the phone

The gun and the phone are both weapons — one a tool for violence, and the other a tool of control.

We understand what the gun is intended to do. That’s why, finally, opposition to the Trump administration seems to be coalescing around a rallying cry: “Abolish ICE!” It’s another way of saying, control the hand that holds the gun. It is the gun that produces the spectacle of violence from which we cannot, in good conscience, look away. Yes, we must pay attention to the gun.

But we must also pay attention to the phone.

That phone represents a greater power, one that could outlast Trumpism. ICE knows that it cannot shoot us all. But the Department of Homeland Security is close to being able to track us all.

Trump’s signature domestic policy bill gave ICE $75 billion in new funding and four years to spend it, making ICE the highest funded federal law enforcement agency. The agency is spending big on signing bonuses — 12,000 new officers and agents have been hired with One Big Beautiful Bill money — and cutting-edge military weaponry to use on U.S. streets. The Department of Homeland Security also has been, reportedly, spending some of its budget to collect data on people like you.

The federal government, whether Democratic- or Republican-controlled, has repeatedly failed to institute meaningful, urgently needed regulation of or legislation about data privacy that matches the scale of our risk. For decades, Americans have treated their data like a cheap externality. We trade crumbs of ourselves — our name, phone number, location data — for discounts, convenience and the illusion of safety. Democratic administrations, in particular, thought Silicon Valley CEOs were the good guys. So they enabled their sci-fi aspirations, invited them into the White House inner circle and consulted them on best practices for consumer data. Then, many chiefs turned heel, helping this administration aggressively scale a data dragnet that will eat our civil liberties for lunch, if we let it.

En route to a surveillance state

Many of us have come to believe that our data is something outside of ourselves, when, in fact, data is our self. Through our purchasing patterns and our digital habits, we have produced reams of details about how we live, think, vote and spend. And there is an entire industry of data brokers that collects and packages our data to be bought. Consequently, we live in a world where our data is valuable and our power to protect it is negligible.

The companies that already use our data — to target us with advertisements, to assess our eligibility for loans or insurance — are limited largely by the concerns of business: for the most part, a company wants your wallet, not your liberty. The same cannot be said of this administration.

Imagine what our country would look like if a federal agency compiled everything it could find about you on the open market and then paired it with your most sensitive personal data and the full weight of the federal surveillance apparatus. The result would be a system that could not only track you but pretty accurately predict your choices, behaviors and vulnerabilities. The agency might decline to tell you how the database would be used — or, worse, deny that such a database exists at all. In these times, we ought to assume the worst-case scenario: that every technological layer added to our democratic institutions has the potential to be hostile to civil liberties.

Already, there are signs that this future may come to pass.

In a citizen video from Maine that has been widely shared online, an ICE agent told a legal observer that he was taking a picture of her license plate to add her to a “nice little database” that will label her a “domestic terrorist.” (A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, later told CNN that “there is no database of ‘domestic terrorists’ run by DHS.”) In any case, the Department of Homeland Security has issued broad internal guidance for ICE agents in Minneapolis to collect “images, license plates, identifications and general information on hotels, agitators, protesters.” And then on Friday, The New York Times reported that ICE was exploring ways to integrate advertising technologies and the data associated with them into its operations, specifically asking potential vendors the extent to which data could be collected on “people, businesses, devices, locations, transactions, public records.” There’s no word on ICE having a special decoder ring that tracks only the criminals.

‘Seeking data about every aspect of the lives of everyone’

Emily Tucker, the director of Georgetown University’s Center on Privacy and Technology, suggested the agency could be constructing a surveillance system that, in my estimation, would make “Minority Report” look like child’s play. Homeland Security, she said, “is increasingly emphasizing ‘interoperability’ in its contracting.” That is a strong sign that the agency wants to connect a range of databases, which could include those with your biometric data, employment data, driving records, credit reports, tax data, social media data, cellphone location data and automated license plate reader data. “They are seeking data about every aspect of the lives of everyone,” she said.

If combined with the facial recognition and social media monitoring commonly deployed by the Department of Homeland Security, those reams of data would turbocharge ICE’s terror campaign in the short term and destroy American civil liberties in the long term. Should this surveillance infrastructure live up to its technical potential, it would be a leviathan that our 250-year-old Constitution almost certainly cannot restrain.

I spoke on the phone last week to Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who has been trying, futilely, for years to pass legislation to protect Americans’ data from federal overreach. One such bill passed in the House in 2024 but languished in the Senate. He said that the federal government is “weaponizing private data” against citizens and noncitizens. Of particular concern, he said, was not simply the data about all of us that is available for purchase, but how states are allowing for the federal government’s data smash-and-grab. What this administration cannot buy, it will simply take.

Your state and federal data is the stuff you are compelled to provide, the data whose accuracy you worry about because a mistake can disrupt your Social Security benefits or put you at odds with the IRS. The Trump administration has been taking advantage of state-level data that has been aggregated by a third-party nonprofit data clearinghouse called Nlets. It was established to help local, national and international agencies share data, including DMV data, about known criminal activity. In practice, there are far too few restrictions on who can use that data and how they can use it. A handful of states has enacted restrictions on ICE’s access to the DMV data stored with Nlets, but the vast majority effectively give federal agencies self-service, direct access to it. So a tool meant to make DMV data sharing frictionless for law enforcement agencies also acts like a privacy Trojan horse, because agencies don’t need just cause or a warrant to look at it.

You don’t need to understand how digital tracking works or have a degree in constitutional law to grasp what is happening to your privacy. You need only know this: Whatever is happening with your data, it is important enough to the most egregiously lawless administration in American history that it be collected and consolidated. It is important enough that a federal cowboy kept one hand on his phone even as his other hand reached for his gun.

Tip of the iceberg

A militarized federal police force that acts out of loyalty on the whim of a political leader who relishes retribution and adulation is the tip of an iceberg. You don’t build a nuclear bomb for peace any more than you build a national surveillance apparatus just to manage a border wall. This kind of weaponry could effectively nullify our Fourth Amendment right to protection from unreasonable search and seizure. It also could more easily enable the government to trample on your free speech. And it could do all of this without meaningful transparency or oversight.

The federal government may have abdicated its responsibility to protect our civil liberties by regulating who can use our data and to what ends. Some states are stepping in, creating their own data privacy laws. But there is still much more to be done, in state legislatures and in Congress. And it all starts with the American people understanding that our freedoms are now bound up in who controls our data.

Tressie McMillan Cottom writes for the New York Times.

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5 Feb 2026

Letters: Tell us more about the protest at Cities Church

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Tell us more

The cherished First Amendment right of individuals to worship freely without government interference collided with the cherished First Amendment right to peacefully assemble at Cities Church in St. Paul on Sunday, Jan. 18.

Cities Church attenders, freely exercising their civil right to worship and honoring God by gathering together, found themselves surrounded in their worship center by others who believe they were exercising their right to peaceably assemble.

Who is right? Did Cities Church attenders trample on the rights of the disruptors, or did the disruptors overstep their rights?

The disruptors’ cause seemed to gather the most media attention; their right to peacefully assemble (is chanting, shouting and vile language in a church “peaceable?”). This, despite the anti-ICE protestors complaining about ICE terrorizing children (which has happened) as the uninvited guests at Cities Church were terrorizing the children attending the worship service.

Now, two journalists, Georgia Fort and Don Lemon, have been indicted by a jury of their peers for their role in the disruption. Their reporting memorialized their behavior for all of us to see. I think it is reasonable to ask how they knew this event would happen. How did they come to be with the demonstrators? Was this a news tip from the demonstrators’ leaders? And if so, why only Fort and Lemon?

Did either journalist fuel the disruptors’ passions in how they reported the story, or did they report the facts as they happened? If their live reporting energized the disruptors, we would like to know.

It is critically important that no government agency, including the courts, use its power to intimidate reporters from objectively reporting. A free press fails when it disciplines reporters in advance for what they may or may not say.

I saw the disruption of the right to Freedom to Worship as an attack on that foundational right, and dangerous. This is why we need objective, ongoing reporting in this instant case. Tell us how the disruptors came together, their motives, the background of the leader(s), the mission of the church, and accurate information about the individuals whose livelihoods depend on serving the public as ICE officials.

There is much to unpack here. Do it for us. I look forward to your report.

Dave Racer, Woodbury

 

I want to know

Normally, I hate spoilers.  This time, I want to know how the story ends.

I want to know whether all the people whose only mistake was coming to the U.S. and assuming we’d treat them fairly will be released. I want to know whether we’re going to keep imprisoning children. I want to know whether everyone will be able to talk to their lawyers and families.

I want to know whether all the people involved in these horrors will face justice, from the people who committed two-thirds of murders in Minneapolis this year to the man arrested for a DUI to the leadership who approves and excuses their actions to everyone who’s been violating so much of the Bill of Rights that you start to wonder whether the Constitution matters any more.

I want to know whether ICE and DHS will be taken apart, since the bad apples have spoiled the barrel from top to bottom.

I want to know whether the rest of the country is going to forget that what’s happening here isn’t supposed to be normal. I want to know whether this will be over before the midterm elections and what happens if it’s not.

I want to know whether all our neighbors will be able to go about their lives without fearing being snatched off the street by masked thugs. I want to know how long everyone supporting our community will have to keep going.

I want to know when this will all be over. I want to know whether it will ever be over, or if we’ve gone too far down the road to an authoritarian police state to turn back.

I want to know whether anyone else is going to die.

But I don’t know.

I can’t control the news or the people who are unloading their hatred on the Twin Cities and Minnesota. All I can do is complain to my elected officials and help my neighbors where I can. So, I’m going to do that.  And maybe that will make the ending a little better.

Rachel Reddick, St. Paul

 

In the nature of double jeopardy

I have learned of the detention of former Hmong and Vietnamese refugees by ICE at Freeborn County Detention Center with the intention of deporting them to Southeast Asia when acceptance of the governments of Laos and Vietnam can be obtained. The reason for the detention of these persons is that they were arrested and completed criminal penalties for offenses a considerable time in the past. These offenses occurred more than 10 years ago in the cases I learned about. To arrest and process them again, now by de-naturalizing the men and deporting them, has the nature of double jeopardy.

These men have rehabilitated their lives. They have established families and are raising children. Some have grandchildren. This plan of deporting them is a great injustice to both them and their families. We who know the importance of fathers in a family can recognize the generational impact these unreasonably punitive and vengeful actions will have. I call upon Minnesota state and federal elected officials to negotiate their release.

Richard W. Podvin, Roseville

 

Take a breath, everybody

I would like to ask that all people in the Twin Cities and Minnesota, including ICE agents, stop, take a breath and look deep inside ourselves for the kindness and grace that is there to extend to each other.

If ICE agents could see that they have some compassion for the people they are arresting, the arrest would go so much easier. And perhaps they would realize when an arrest is really needed.

If those of us watching can realize that agents are under a lot of pressure and may be triggered by things that are not comfortable for them, we could stand farther away and chant nonviolent words. While what ICE is doing is not comfortable for most of the rest of us, we can take care to resist and protest nonviolently as trained. Violence begets violence — let’s stay away from violence, whether physical or verbal. Let’s recognize compassion.

This is an ugly and un-American time in our city and country, but we all, including ICE agents, have the capability of composing ourselves to be the best people that we can be in a very difficult time.

Julie Borgerding July, St. Paul

 

The America we can take pride in is still alive

Some of Minnesota’s finest took to frozen streets in sub-zero temperatures and wicked windchills to stand up for human decency, to stand up for those without a voice and against the injustice of lives senselessly lost. They protested inhumane and lawless actions of armed government forces, faces hidden, the cruelty altogether un-American at its core. Despite video evidence to the contrary, the administration’s spokespersons looked us right in the eye and lied. They actually thought we’d accept whatever they said without question. Not here, not this time.

.Minnesota showed this administration they picked the wrong state to invade.Donald Trump could see Operation Metro Surge was a failure that even he couldn’t spin as a success. Changes had to be made.

Could Congress take a lesson from Minnesota? Probably too much to ask but it is possible to challenge Trump’s regime and survive his wrath. Minnesotans gave the entire country hope. It showed the America we can take pride in is still alive. We should be extremely proud of our state, peaceful protesters and their supporters.

Thomas L. Lenczowski, Mendota Heights

 

Bravo for your courage and ability to stay peaceful

Dear St. Paul, I could not be more proud of how you have handled the ongoing turmoil caused by the ICE agents who descended upon your city. Despite the bitter cold and snow there, you were (and still are) marching, protesting, lighting candles, looking out for your neighbors and crossing the Mighty Mississippi to lend support to your Twin City, Minneapolis.

Bravo for your courage and for your ability to stay peaceful! I am sending you warm and peaceful winds from Los Angeles to Saint Paul, now and always.

Robi Inserra, Los Angeles. The writer was born and raised in St. Paul

‘Help’

So let’s see if I have this right: Donald Trump has now decided that he will not “help” “Democratic cities unless we basically beg for it. Well we here in Minnesota are thrilled with that news because we didn’t ask for your help to begin with. Now maybe you can pull all of your poorly trained agents out of our state before they kill more innocent people.

Trump also wants to “guard, and very powerfully so” all federal buildings. Let’s hope he does a better job of that than he did on January 6, 2021.

Cathy Ferrazzo, Mahtomedi

 

They were winning on fraud, and then came ICE

Thousands of us who are centrists, humanists and moderates should say “thank you” to Republicans. Why? With the outrage about the military invasion of Minneapolis, Republicans have handed us victory in the mid-terms. They were out ahead, investigating the huge fraud in Minnesota. Suddenly, their leader decided to stop that and escalate pressure against the people and the government of the State of Minnesota for personal reasons of revenge. Let us all help keep our invasion front and center in the eyes and hearts of our nation and let us focus on saving our sinking ship of democracy.

Nancy Lanthier Carroll, Roseville

 

American enough

People who believe the priority function of government is to enforce obedience are fundamentally un-American. They simultaneously assert a right to decide who is American enough.

M.Warner, Minneapolis

 

It depends, apparently

Gun-rights and Second Amendment advocates have consistently said that American citizens require the unequivocal right to bear arms to protect themselves from the tyrannical overreach of an overzealous federal government. By that logic, when Alex Pretti, a law-abiding gun owner, was pepper-sprayed and beaten on the ground by masked federal ICE and Border Patrol agents in his own community for coming to the aid of a woman being assaulted by such agents, he could have drawn his weapon and legally shot all six of his assailants in self-defense. Instead, the agents disarmed him of his gun then pumped 10 bullets into his body claiming he posed a threat for just having a gun.

Republican Cabinet-level officials immediately insisted that Alex Pretti was a domestic terrorist “brandishing” his weapon with the intent of assassinating as many federal agents as he could, and the President of the United States is still saying he shouldn’t have even had a gun, implying that is what got him killed!. Of course, clear video footage shows him only brandishing a cell phone and helping a woman in distress; asking if she was OK. I certainly don’t remember such rhetoric from Republicans when Kyle Rittenhouse stalked the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, actually “brandishing” his assault rifle and eventually killing two people. In fact, he was a labeled a gun-rights hero and acquitted of murder. And on January 6th our cowardly President said he didn’t care if his supporters who stormed the Capitol and assaulted Capitol police carried guns because they weren’t going to shoot him.

So, let’s get this straight; do Americans have the right to bear arms or not? The answer is, it depends. Apparently even carrying a gun while liberal can get you labeled as a domestic terrorist. And if you’re a legal firearm owner and don’t brandish or fire your gun, you still can’t even have a gun and you can be shot if you’re a liberal protester coming to the aid of a woman whose been shoved to the ground by federal agents. But you can “brandish” a semi-automatic assault rifle if you’re a conservative Republican at a protest, or you’re storming the Capitol but don’t intend to kill the President; everyone else is fair game. The hypocrisy has been astounding. Which way is it going to be folks, can’t have it both ways.

Greg Kvaal, Mendota Heights

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5 Feb 2026

One-pot recipe brings together pork chops, apples and warm cabbage slaw

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Protein-rich, savory dishes like pan-sauteed pork chops are classic cold-weather food because they don’t just fill your belly with something incredibly satisfying — they also fill your kitchen with wonderful, comforting aromas.

They’re especially flavorful when topped with apples and shallots simmered in butter and perfumed with fresh sage.

This recipe comes together in a flash — less than 20 minutes — making it a perfect dish for busy school nights or after a long day in front of the computer.

For a complete meal, the chops are served with another winter classic, a warm green cabbage slaw.

For the juiciest chops, allow them to come up to room temperature for around 20 minutes after seasoning with salt and pepper. Also be sure to cook them to a proper internal temperature of 145 degrees.

To shred cabbage by hand (mandolins are super scary!), cut the head in half from top to bottom and remove the core. Place the cabbage cut-side down on the cutting board and make a series of parallel vertical cuts; spacing depends on how finely sliced you want the slaw. Repeat with other half head.

I cooked the apples with the (well-washed) skin on, but you can peel them for a smoother texture.

One-pot Pork Chops with Apples and Slaw

INGREDIENTS

For slaw:

1 small head green cabbage, sliced thin or shredded

1 tablespoon butter or extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon celery seed

For pork chops:

4 3-ounce pork center cut pork chops

Salt and pepper

3 tablespoons butter, divided

1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 Granny Smith or other tart apple, cored and sliced into wedges

1 small shallot, minced (about 2 tablespoons)

1 cup chicken broth or stock

1 tablespoon cornstarch or flour

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

DIRECTIONS

Prepare slaw. Heat butter or oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.

Add cabbage and toss with tongs to coat. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until cabbage starts to slightly wilt.

Reduce heat to medium, add 1 tablespoon water, cover with lid and cook for 1 minute.

Uncover skillet and add celery seed. Continue to toss and cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until cabbage is softened and slightly translucent.

Season to taste with salt and pepper, cover and set aside while you prepare pork chops.

Pat pork chops dry with paper towels and season well with salt and pepper.

Add 1 tablespoon butter to a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When sizzling, add chops and chopped sage and cook for 2 minutes per side, or until lightly browned with a nice sear.

Remove chops to a plate and set aside while you cook apples.

Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the pan and add the apples. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes, or until the apples are lightly browned.

Add chopped shallot and cook until soft and aromatic, about 2 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together broth, cornstarch and mustard in a medium bowl. Pour into skillet with the apples and bring to a simmer.

Return chops to skillet, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 3 minutes. Turn chops and cook until sauce is slightly thickened and chops register 145 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.

Transfer chops to a platter or divide among 4 plates. Top with apples and sauce, and serve with warm cabbage slaw.

Serves 4.

— adapted from “Eat What You Love Quick & Easy” by Marlene Koch

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5 Feb 2026

No public sign of a response to Savannah Guthrie’s message to her mother’s kidnapper

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By SEJAL GOVINDARAO and JACQUES BILLEAUD, Associated Press

TUCSON, Ariz. — There was no public sign early Thursday of a response to NBC “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s message to her 84-year-old mother’s kidnapper.

This image provided by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, shows a missing person alert for Nancy Guthrie. (Pima County Sheriff’s Department via AP)

In a recorded video posted on social media Wednesday, Guthrie said her family is ready to talk but wants proof that Nancy Guthrie, who authorities believe was taken from her home in Arizona against her will, is still alive. Guthrie said her family has heard media reports about a ransom letter.

“We are ready to talk. However, we live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated,” Savannah Guthrie said while reading from a prepared statement. “We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen. Please reach out to us.”

She was last seen around 9:45 p.m. Saturday, when she was dropped off at home by family after having dinner with them, the sheriff’s department said. She was reported missing midday Sunday after she didn’t appear at a church.

Law enforcement officers are present outside the home of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “Today” host Savannah Guthrie, near Tucson, Ariz., Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Sejal Govindarao)

The family posted the message after police conducted a search in and around Nancy Guthrie’s home for several hours Wednesday.

Kevin Adger, a spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, said investigators had been at the home earlier in the week for a couple of days and then turned it back over to the family with the understanding they could go back if they needed to.

“This is a follow-up investigation,” he said in reference to officials returning Wednesday.

Adger said the sheriff’s department was not commenting on the video released by the family.

Multiple media organizations reported receiving purported ransom notes Tuesday that they handed over to investigators. The sheriff’s department had said it was taking the notes and other tips seriously but declined to comment further.

The family’s message for Nancy Guthrie

Savannah Guthrie was at times emotional during the recording, with her voice cracking. She smiled and looked into the camera when addressing her mother directly, saying that the family was praying for her and that people were looking for her.

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“Mommy, if you are hearing this, you are a strong woman. You are God’s precious daughter,” she said.

Savannah Guthrie described her mother as a “kind, faithful, loyal, fiercely loving woman of goodness and light” and said she was funny, spunky and clever.

“Talk to her and you’ll see,” she said.

Guthrie was flanked by her sister Annie and her brother Camron who both also spoke. Annie called their mother their beacon and said they need her.

“Mamma, If you’re listening, we need you to come home. We miss you,” Annie Guthrie said.

No suspect identified

Authorities on Wednesday offered no detailed update on their search and their next news conference was scheduled for Thursday. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos’ office said detectives still were speaking with anyone who had contact with Nancy Guthrie last weekend but that no suspect or person of interest had been identified.

Nanos suggested there was video from some cameras, though he didn’t elaborate, adding: “That’s all been submitted and we’re doing our best with the companies that own those cameras or built those cameras.”

There were signs of forced entry at the home in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood. Guthrie has limited mobility, and officials do not believe she left on her own. A sheriff’s dispatcher talking to deputies during a search Sunday indicated that she has high blood pressure, a pacemaker and heart issues, according to audio from broadcastify.com.

Jim Mason, longtime commander of a search-and-rescue posse in Maricopa County, isn’t involved in the search for Guthrie but said desert terrain can make looking for missing people difficult. He said it can be hard to peer into areas that are dense with mesquite trees, cholla cactus and other desert brush.

“Some of it is so thick you can’t drive through it,” Mason said.

Supporters around the country

A couple hundred people attended an evening vigil for Nancy Guthrie at a Tucson church where they heard prayers and placed lit candles on an altar. A priest prayed for God to comfort Guthrie and to bring her home to those she loves.

Afterward, Jeremy Thacker had tears in his eyes as he described the heartbreak and helplessness he was experiencing over Guthrie’s disappearance. He worked with Savannah Guthrie at a local news station and they shared losing their fathers at a young age. His own sister was kidnapped when he was young.

Thacker said he knew Nancy Guthrie to be sharp, grounded and earnest.

“We’re all holding our breath,” Thacker said.

For a fourth day Thursday, “Today” opened with Guthrie’s disappearance, playing the family’s video message in its entirety, but Savannah Guthrie was not at the anchor’s desk. NBC Sports said Tuesday that she will not be covering the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics “as she focuses on being with her family during this difficult time.”

The “Today” host grew up in Tucson, graduated from the University of Arizona and previously worked as a reporter and anchor at Tucson television station KVOA. Her parents settled in Tucson in the 1970s when she was a young child. The youngest of three siblings, she credits her mom with holding their family together after her father died of a heart attack at 49, when Savannah was just 16.

Billeaud reported from Phoenix. Associated Press writers Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu, Hallie Golden in Seattle, Michael Hill in Albany, New York, Darlene Superville in Washington and Julie Walker in New York contributed.