CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Officials and community leaders opposing a pending federal immigration crackdown in North Carolina’s largest city characterized it Friday as an invasion, and urged Charlotte residents to protest peacefully and record agents’ actions from a distance.

“We are living in the strangest of times,” said Mecklenburg County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell, the granddaughter and wife of immigrants. “A time when a felonious reality TV personality is occupying the White House. Unfortunately, we have seen this movie before, and now they want to film an episode of Shock and Awe show here in our city.”

The gathering comes a day after Sheriff Garry McFadden confirmed that federal officials, whom he declined to identify, told him U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents would start an enforcement operation there by Saturday or early next week. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees CBP, won’t comment on future or potential operations. But the community is preparing for the types of enforcement actions seen in Chicago and other Democratic-led cities.

“We’ve seen what has taken place in other cities across this country when the federal government gets involved,” said state Rep. Jordan Lopez. “We have seen the undisciplined agents pointing weapons at unarmed civilians, the indiscriminate rounding up of civilians who are sleeping in their homes in the middle of their night in Chicago. We have seen the worst of law enforcement.”

Local and state officials say they have received no formal notification from President Donald Trump’s administration about a mission to Charlotte. But local organizations are training volunteers on how to protest and to safely document any attempts to perform a sweep, as well as informing immigrants of their rights.

Héctor Vaca, training and immigrant justice director for the group Action NC, said they’re reacting to an “invasion” and “racist campaign of terror” by the Trump administration.

Trump has defended sending the National Guard and immigration agents into Democratic-run cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and even the nation’s capital, saying the unprecedented operations are needed to fight crime and carry out his mass deportation agenda.

Charlotte is another such Democratic stronghold. A statement of solidarity from several local and state officials estimated the city is home to more than 150,000 foreign-born people. The city’s population is about 40% white, 33% Black, 16% Hispanic and 7% Asian.

The Trump administration has used this summer’s fatal stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a light-rail train in Charlotte as proof that Democratic-led cities fail to protect their residents from violent crime. A man with a lengthy criminal record has been charged with murder in that case.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has clarified that it doesn’t have the authority to enforce federal immigration laws and isn’t involved in planning or carrying out such operations.

Council member-elect JD Mazuera Arias, a Colombian who grew up in the U.S. and became a naturalized citizen in 2021, said he knows what it’s like to fear a knock at the door and pledged that local resources and tax dollars won’t go toward immigration enforcement operations. He said sweeps like those in Chicago have been about “quotas” and “control,” not public safety or rounding up hardened criminals.

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“Our Queen City will not become a staging ground for fear,” said the incoming councilman, who ran to represent East Charlotte, an area with a large immigrant population. “We will not confuse cruelty with safety. And we will not allow the politics of intimidation to define who belongs here.”

Cameron Pruette, executive director of the city’s Freedom Center for Social Justice, urged listeners to shop at immigrant-owned businesses and to “peacefully and prayerfully and with moral clarity take action in this moment.”

“We have seen Border Patrol use helicopters on civilian buildings and not apologize,” he said. “This is about the color of someone’s skin, about where they come from, and about causing fear and division. So, I ask everyone: Take action, stand together, and we will get through this.”

By JACK DURA, Associated Press

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A fatigue crack in the Keystone Pipeline led to an oil spill in North Dakota earlier this year that released thousands of barrels of oil onto farmland, according to the pipeline operator.

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In a quarterly report released Thursday, South Bow said initial findings show, “the failure resulted from a fatigue crack that originated along the pipe’s manufactured long-seam weld.” A fatigue crack develops from stress over time. A mechanical and metallurgical analysis found the pipe and welds met industry standards, the company said.

Spill-related costs total around $55 million, which the company said it expects to recover through insurance early next year. Through September, South Bow had received about $16 million in reimbursements from its insurance policies.

The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration ordered several corrective actions after the spill. The federal government shutdown delayed the release of a third-party “root cause analysis,” South Bow said.

It’s unclear when those findings will come. A South Bow spokesperson said PHMSA is leading that process and “out of respect for the process, we can’t speak for them.”

The spill occurred April 8. An employee at the rural site about 60 miles southwest of Fargo heard a “mechanical bang” and shut down the pipeline within two minutes, a state official has said.

An estimated 3,500 barrels or 147,000 gallons of oil spilled in a field near Fort Ransom, a small town in a forested area with outdoor recreation and scenic views. South Bow sent vacuum trucks and more than 200 workers to aid the cleanup. The pipeline restarted after a six-day shutdown.

State regulators inspected the site several times in the months after the spill, noting in September that “the vegetation is recovering well,” and that it should be checked again in spring 2026, according to an incident report.

Nearly 90% of the spilled oil was recovered, according to the report. Crews removed impacted soil to be disposed of elsewhere.

Local landowner Myron Hammer said South Bow’s cleanup was completed in time for him to plant a soybean crop on the land.

“I’m surprised that they got everything put back in place as quick as they did. It was a big project,” he said.

Roughly 5 acres of land were impacted by the spill, though South Bow utilized 40 acres or more for the entire staging area and access, Hammer said. People and vehicles were on site as recently as Thursday, he said. The area of the spill is in gently rolling farmland.

The company said it has conducted numerous remedial evaluations of the pipeline and found “no injurious issues” so far, with more in-line inspections and integrity digs to come.

The nearly 2,700-mile Keystone Pipeline transports crude oil from Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas. The pipeline moved an average 580,000 barrels per day from January through September of this year, South Bow said.

CHICAGO (AP) — Authorities arrested 21 protesters Friday outside a Chicago-area federal immigration facility that activists say functions as a de facto detention center and is plagued by inhumane conditions.

The Cook County Sheriff’s Office said the arrests were made by midday, and that it was working on verifying identities and potential charges.

Just moments before the clash, demonstrators were singing and chanting. Around 10 a.m., a large group, knowing they were going to be arrested, allegedly crossed the protest barrier and attempted to walk up toward the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.

Some protesters carried signs reading, “God’s Love Knows No Borders” and “God Demands Freedom.” Some of them prayed. The crowd numbered about 300 before it began to disperse.

The officers included Illinois State Police and Cook County sheriffs’ police.

The facility in Broadview, Illinois, has been the site of frequent protests, particularly on Fridays, against a federal immigration crackdown dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz.” It has led to more than 3,200 arrests in the Chicago metropolitan area since September of people suspecting of violating immigration laws.

The aggressive tactics used by agents from Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have repeatedly come under fire through legal challenges as well as street protests.

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By SEUNG MIN KIM and MICHELLE L. PRICE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s not an official state visit, but the White House is preparing to host Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman next week with the pomp and circumstance that is typical of one.

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The crown prince’s day at the White House next Tuesday will begin with an arrival ceremony on the sweeping South Lawn and a subsequent greeting on the South Portico, according to a senior White House official.

Then Trump will host him in the Oval Office for a bilateral meeting, followed by a signing and lunch in the Cabinet Room where the U.S. and Saudi Arabia will formalize multiple economic and defense agreements, said the official, granted anonymity to discuss the administration’s planning.

Later in the evening, the White House will hold an East Room dinner hosted and planned by first lady Melania Trump.

His visit is billed as an official working visit because Prince Mohammed is not technically a head of state, the official said.

On Wednesday, dozens of CEOs are expected to attend a meeting of the U.S.-Saudi Business Council at the Kennedy Center, the fine arts facility that is now led and managed by Trump loyalists. Though the U.S. president’s attendance is not yet confirmed for the business meeting, he is likely to attend, the senior White House official said.

Trump’s relationship with the Gulf nations has been a top foreign policy priority for the president in his second term. His first major trip abroad was a tour of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, where Trump was welcomed with an exceptionally rare Air Force One escort by royal Saudi Air Force F-15s and a state dinner at a UNESCO heritage site.

“I really believe we like each other a lot,” Trump said as he met with Prince Mohammed in the royal palace in Riyadh. Later, Trump described Prince Mohammed as an “incredible man” and “my friend.”

It also marks the first trip to the United States by the crown prince since the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018 during Trump’s first term. U.S. intelligence agencies have said Prince Mohammed likely directed the killing, resulting in sanctions against several Saudi officials. He denies his involvement, and both the Trump and Biden administrations have worked to mend ties with Saudi Arabia since.