MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A man sprayed an unknown substance on U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar before being tackled to the ground Tuesday during a town hall she was hosting in Minneapolis, where tensions over federal immigration enforcement have come to a head after agents fatally shot an intensive care nurse and a mother of three this month.

A man wearing a black jacket was tackled to the ground after spraying an unknown substance on U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar at a town hall she was hosting in Minneapolis on Tuesday.

The audience cheered as the man, who was wearing a black jacket, was pinned down and his arms were tied behind his back. In video of the incident, someone in the crowd can be heard saying, “Oh my god, he sprayed something on her.” Omar continued the town hall after the man was ushered out of the room.

“I need a napkin,” Omar was heard to say.

Just before that Omar called for the abolishment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign. “ICE cannot be reformed,” she said.

Minneapolis police did not immediately respond to a phone call and email message seeking information on the incident and whether anyone was arrested.

The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday night.

President Donald Trump has frequently criticized the congresswoman and has stepped up verbal attacks on her in recent months as he turned his focus on Minneapolis.

During a Cabinet meeting in December, he called her “garbage” and added that “her friends are garbage.”

Hours earlier on Tuesday, the president criticized Omar as he spoke to a crowd in Iowa, saying his administration would only let in immigrants who “can show that they love our country.”

“They have to be proud, not like Ilhan Omar,” he said, drawing loud boos at the mention of her name.

He added: “She comes from a country that’s a disaster. So probably, it’s considered, I think — it’s not even a country.”

Fellow U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, R-S.C., denounced the assault on Omar.

“I am deeply disturbed to learn that Rep. Ilhan Omar was attacked at a town hall today” Mace said via the social platform X. “Regardless of how vehemently I disagree with her rhetoric — and I do — no elected official should face physical attacks. This is not who we are.”

The attack came days after a man was arrested in Utah for allegedly punching U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Democrat from Florida, in the face during the Sundance Film Festival and saying Trump was going to deport him.

Mary Divine contributed to this report.

By LISA MASCARO

WASHINGTON (AP) — A groundswell of voices have come to the same conclusion: Kristi Noem must go.

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From Democratic Party leaders to the nation’s leading advocacy organizations to even the most centrist lawmakers in Congress, the calls are mounting for the Homeland Security secretary to step aside after the shooting deaths in Minneapolis of two people who protested deportation policy. At a defining moment in her tenure, few Republicans are rising to Noem’s defense.

“The country is disgusted by what the Department of Homeland Security has done,” top House Democratic Reps. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Pete Aguilar of California said in a joint statement.

“Kristi Noem should be fired immediately,” the Democrats said, “or we will commence impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives.”

Republicans and Democrats call for Noem to step down

What started as sharp criticism of the Homeland Security secretary, and a longshot move by Democratic lawmakers signing onto impeachment legislation in the Republican-controlled House, has morphed into an inflection point for Noem, who has been the high-profile face of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement regime.

Noem’s brash leadership style and remarks in the aftermath of the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good — in which she suggested Pretti “attacked” officers and portrayed the events leading up to Good’s shooting an “act of domestic terrorism” — have been seen as doing irreparable damage, as events on the ground disputed her account. Her alliance with Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino, who was recalled from the Minnesota operation Monday as border czar Tom Homan took the lead, has left her isolated on Capitol Hill.

“What she’s done in Minnesota should be disqualifying. She should be out of a job,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.

“I think the President needs to look at who he has in place as a secretary of Homeland Security,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. “It probably is time for her to step down.”

Trump stands by Noem and praises her work

President Donald Trump defended Noem on Wednesday at multiple junctures, strongly indicating her job does not appear to be in immediate jeopardy.

Asked by reporters as he left the White House on Tuesday for a trip to Iowa whether Noem is going to step down, Trump had a one-word answer: “No.”

Pressed later during an interview on Fox News if he had confidence in Noem, the president said, “I do.”

“Who closed up the border? She did,” Trump said, “with Tom Homan, with the whole group. I mean, they’ve closed up the border. The border is a tremendous success.”

As Democrats in Congress threaten to shut down the government as they demand restrictions on Trump’s mass deportation agenda, Noem’s future at the department faces serious questions and concerns.

The Republican leadership of the House and Senate committees that oversee Homeland Security have demanded that department officials appear before their panels to answer for the operations that have stunned the nation with their sheer force — including images of children, including a 5-year-old, being plucked from families.

“Obviously this is an inflection point and an opportunity to evaluate and to really assess the policies and procedures and how they are being implemented and put into practice,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, where Noem had been the state’s House representative and governor before joining the administration.

Asked about his own confidence in Noem’s leadership, Thune said, “That’s the president’s judgment call to make.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem listens as President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters during a meeting with the White House task force on the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called Noem a “liar” and said she must be fired.

The fight over funding

Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that DHS enforces the laws from Congress, and if lawmakers don’t like those laws, they should change them.

“Too many politicians would rather defend criminals and attack the men and women who are enforcing our laws,” McLaughlin said. “It’s time they focus on protecting the American people, the work this Department is doing every day under Secretary Noem’s leadership.”

The ability of Congress to restrict Homeland Security funding is limited, in large part because the GOP majority already essentially doubled department funding under Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts law.

Instead, Democrats are seeking to impose restraints on Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations as part of a routine annual funding package for Homeland, Defense, Health and other departments. Without action this week, those agencies would head toward a shutdown.

To be sure, Homeland Security still has strong defenders in the Congress.

The conservative House Freedom Caucus said Tuesday in a letter to Trump that he should invoke the Insurrection Act, if needed, to quell protests. The group said it would be “ready to take all steps necessary” to keep funds flowing for Trump’s immigration enforcement and removal operations.

On the job for a year, Noem has clashed at times with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, as Republicans and Democrats have sought greater oversight and accounting of the department’s spending and operations.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during the House Committee on Homeland Security on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Noem has kept a low profile since the Saturday press conference following Pretti’s death, though she appeared Sunday on Fox News. She doubled down in that interview on criticism of Minnesota officials, but also expressed compassion for Pretti’s family.

“It grieves me to think about what his family is going through but it also grieves me what’s happening to these law enforcement officers every day out in the streets with the violence they face,” she said.

Once rare, impeachments now more common

Impeachment, once a far-flung tool brandished against administration officials, has become increasingly commonplace.

Two years ago, the Republican-led House impeached another Homeland Security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, in protest over the then-Biden administration’s border security and immigration policies that allowed millions of immigrants and asylum seekers to enter the U.S. The Senate dismissed the charges.

On Tuesday, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said if the Republican chairman of the panel, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, does not launch an impeachment probe, he would.

Raskin said he would work with the top Democrats on the Homeland Security and Oversight committees to immediately launch an impeachment inquiry related to the Minnesota deaths and other “lawlessness and corruption that may involve treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”

More than 160 House Democrats have signed on to an impeachment resolution from Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill.

Associated Press writers Rebecca Santana, Kevin Freking and Joey Cappelletti contributed to this story.

By ALI SWENSON

NEW YORK (AP) — Drugs that treat Type 2 diabetes, HIV and arthritis are among 15 new medications chosen for a Medicare drug price negotiation program that allows the federal government to haggle directly with drug manufacturers, the Trump administration said Tuesday.

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The drugs selected include some of the medications on which Medicare spends the most money. That means the deals negotiated this year have the potential to deliver significant savings to taxpayers when they go into effect in 2028.

“For too long, seniors and taxpayers have paid the price for skyrocketing prescription drug costs,” Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said in a statement Tuesday. “Under President Trump’s leadership, CMS is taking strong action to target the most expensive drugs in Medicare, negotiate fair prices, and make sure the system works for patients — not special interests.”

The federal government had until Feb. 1 to announce its list of 15 drugs. The negotiations take place under a 2022 law that allows Medicare to haggle over the price it pays on the most popular and expensive prescription drugs used by older Americans.

The government already has negotiated prices for 25 prescription drugs covered by Medicare, including the massively popular GLP-1 weight-loss and diabetes drugs Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy. This year’s negotiations mark the third round of the program and would mean a total of 40 drugs with lower prices for Medicare enrollees.

This year also marks the first time drugs payable under Medicare Part B are eligible for inclusion in the program. Medicare Part B drugs are outpatient prescriptions, such as medications infused or injected at a doctor’s office. Retail prescription drugs covered under Medicare Part D are also eligible, as they were in past years.

The newly announced drugs up for negotiation include the popular Type 2 diabetes drug Trulicity and an HIV medication called Biktarvy. The neurotoxin Botox, frequently used to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, will also have its price negotiated, but only for Medicare-covered uses, such as treating migraines or overactive bladders.

Among the other drugs selected are treatments for psoriasis, ulcerative colitis, chronic lung disease, depression and various cancers.

Over the past year, some 1.8 million Medicare Part B or Part D enrollees used the 15 drugs, according to the Trump administration. They accounted for about 6% in total Part B and Part D spending, CMS said.

CMS also stated that one Type 2 diabetes drug, whose price was previously negotiated under the program, Tradjenta, will undergo renegotiation.

AARP CEO Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan called Tuesday’s announcement a “significant step forward.”

“Older Americans across the political spectrum consistently say that lowering drug prices is a top priority, and we thank the Administration for protecting Medicare’s ability to meet that need,” she said in a statement.

The leading trade association for pharmaceutical companies, meanwhile, criticized the law that put the program into effect, the Inflation Reduction Act, and argued policymakers wanting to lower costs should instead rein in insurers and third-party pharmacy benefit managers.

“The IRA continues to show why government price setting is the wrong approach for Americans,” PhRMA Executive Vice President of Policy and Research Elizabeth Carpenter said in a statement.

CMS in November announced negotiated drug prices for 15 drugs that would go into effect in 2027. Reduced prices for the first 10 drugs negotiated by the Biden administration in 2024 went into effect at the start of this year.

The full list of new medications that will be negotiated this year under the program includes: Anoro Ellipta, Biktarvy, Botox and Botox Cosmetic, Cimzia, Cosentyx, Entyvio, Erleada, Kisqali, Lenvima, Orencia, Rexulti, Trulicity, Verzenio, Xeljanz and Xeljanz XR and Xolair.

By JESSE BEDAYN

A NASA research plane malfunctioned and had to touch down in Texas without landing gear on Tuesday, sliding across the runway on its belly and sending plumes of flame behind it, a video posted to social media showed.

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The crew landed the plane at Ellington Airport, southeast of Houston, and are “all safe at this time,” NASA said in a post on X. The federal space agency added that there was “mechanical issue” that will be investigated.

The aircraft with its distinct thin fuselage is the NASA WB-57. The plane with two crew seats is capable of flying for about 6 1/2 hours at high altitudes — beyond 63,000 feet.

Video shows the plane slowly descending toward the runway, then touching down with a jolt, its wings bouncing as yellow fire and white smoke bursts from beneath it. It steadily slides down the track, the flames bursting and disappearing in a cloud of smoke. The aircraft begins to slow before the video ends.

Local news footage from KHOU 11 shows the plane at a stop, the cockpit hatch open, fire trucks flashing nearby and emergency responders working around the black nose of the aircraft.

The NASA WB-57 has flown research missions since the 1970s and continues to be an asset for the scientific community, according to the agency’s website.