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A newborn baby in New Mexico died from a Listeria infection likely tied to the mother drinking raw milk while pregnant, according to state health officials.

The New Mexico Department of Health issued a warning Tuesday urging people to avoid consuming raw dairy products following the newborn’s death. Health officials believe the "most likely" source of infection was the mother drinking unpasteurized milk during pregnancy.

While investigators said they could not determine the exact cause, they said the "tragic death underscores the serious risks raw dairy poses to pregnant women, young children, elderly New Mexicans and anyone with a weakened immune system."

Raw milk has seen a surge in popularity amid the Make America Healthy Again movement led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

FIVE DEATHS REPORTED AMID BACTERIAL INFECTION OUTBREAK IN MAJOR CITY

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a regulation decades ago prohibiting the interstate sale of raw milk, but the drink is not federally banned, leaving individual states to decide whether it's safe for human consumption.

"Individuals who are pregnant should only consume pasteurized milk products to help prevent illnesses and deaths in newborns," Dr. Chad Smelser, deputy state epidemiologist for the New Mexico Department of Health said in a statement.

Raw milk has not been pasteurized — a process that heats milk to remove disease-causing germs.

DEADLY BACTERIAL OUTBREAK INFECTS DOZENS IN CITY NEIGHBORHOOD AS OFFICIALS SOUND ALARM

Consuming food or beverages made from raw milk can expose people to Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, E. coli, Listeria, Brucella and Salmonella, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Listeria is the third leading cause of death from foodborne illness in the U.S., infecting about 1,250 people and causing roughly 172 deaths each year, according to the CDC.

The CDC notes that certain groups of people, including children under the age of 5, adults over 65, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems, have a higher risk of serious illness.

"New Mexico’s dairy producers work hard to provide safe, wholesome products and pasteurization is a vital part of that process," Jeff M. Witte, New Mexico secretary of agriculture, said in a statement. "Consumers, particularly those at higher risk, are encouraged to choose pasteurized dairy products to reduce the risk of serious foodborne illness."

Last August, an outbreak of E. coli and Campylobacter linked to raw milk from a Florida farm sickened 21 people, including six children.

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Our broken immigration system is a stain on both major political parties and leaders, who have instead burdened us with massive debt, the world’s most expensive healthcare and medicines, an uninspired, second-tier public education system and policies that actually incentivize illegal crossings of our borders.

Ronald Reagan would be appalled at both parties, and George Washington would say he warned us as we find ourselves at yet another disconcerting moment in American history.

Today’s crisis is one of our own making: a battle over immigration enforcement in Minnesota — a low-crime state estimated to be home to just 100,000 undocumented people, about half the national average per capita and nowhere close to the millions residing in sunny Texas and Florida. Needless to say, it’s not a stretch to believe Operation Metro Surge is a campaign of provocation and retribution rather than resolution. It’s also not a stretch to contend that common-sense Americans (myself included) believe the porous southern border enabled by former President Biden was as absurd and unreasonable as attempting to deport 14 million undocumented people as current President Donald Trump is endeavoring to accomplish at this very moment.

TIM WALZ ACCUSES TRUMP OF 'ORGANIZED BRUTALITY' IN IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN, SAYS ICE TACTICS ARE 'UN-AMERICAN'

While we should all celebrate the removal of undocumented criminals from our streets, the misguided and mismanaged effort in Minneapolis will be remembered as one of the most horrifying abuses of American law and decency in my lifetime. It killed two American citizens in cold blood and trampled on the civil rights of countless others, including multiple off-duty police officers in the Twin Cities who were accosted by roving, masked, ID-less, armed ICE agents because they were brown, or black, or spoke with an accent. But the operation did accomplish something that had seemed impossible just a month ago: a progressive left unified with gun-rights advocates, libertarians, police chiefs, rule-of-law Republicans and even a Republican senator retiring at the end of his term and liberated to speak the truth.

While the America to which Ronald Reagan aspired seems like a distant dream, I believe the better angels of America’s massive majority recognize the horrifying consequences posed by incompetent leadership and moral breaks in our national fabric.

Some on the left view Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as an occupying force — an agency to be resisted at every turn. Others on the right see local pushback as undermining lawful immigration enforcement and local public safety.

But to the massive majority, this binary is a false choice.

JONATHAN TURLEY: DEMOCRAT POLITICIANS ARE RISKING LIVES WITH RECKLESS ANTI-ICE RHETORIC

The executive branch has constitutional authority to enforce immigration law, and that mandate doesn’t magically disappear because state or local officials object. That’s why some level of cooperation — even if reluctant — makes sense. It prevents chaotic clashes between different authorities, allows shared information and oversight, and ensures enforcement actions are transparent. Refusing to cooperate entirely only heightens tensions and leaves communities less protected and more polarized.

Yes, cooperation must be thoughtful, conditional and rooted in respect for civil liberties. It should not be blind support for every tactic an agency employs. But neither should it be principled obstruction that fuels distrust and diminishes accountability.

Democrats and Republicans alike should want cooperation where it reinforces constitutional order, protects public safety and ensures due process. That’s not capitulation — it’s common sense governance.

DAVID MARCUS: SPURNING TRUMP MEANS MAYOR JACOB FREY OWNS MINNEAPOLIS MESS

Let’s be clear: the fallout from this operation has been horrifying. People have died. Families have been torn apart. Young children have been detained. These are real harms that demand accountability and reform — not spin and not deflection.

At the same time, dismissing all enforcement as illegitimate invites lawlessness and undermines the very framework of the rule of law, due process and judicial review that protects civil liberties in our country. We don’t want an abdication of enforcement authority, rather a reimagined approach that respects constitutional due process and civil rights.

This is where local cooperation can actually be a force for reform. When state and city officials engage with federal agents, they can help ensure enforcement measures are proportionate, targeted and transparent — rather than arbitrary and alienating.

BIDEN SPEAKS OUT AGAINST IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN IN MINNESOTA, SAYS IT GOES AGAINST AMERICAN VALUES

But we’ll keep finding ourselves in this destructive battle until we address the root causes once and for all. And there is more common ground on immigration policy than many recognize. I believe:

1. Most of us want a lawful, orderly immigration system that attracts and welcomes high potential contributors while offering reasonable refuge to the oppressed.

2. Most of us want the quick removal of undocumented, convicted criminals, and the application of due process, human dignity and judicial review before the deportation of others.

WHY TRUMP SENDING TOM HOMAN TO MINNESOTA IS A STROKE OF ABSOLUTE GENIUS

3. Most of us want honesty and accountability from federal, state, and local agencies charged with enforcing our laws and protesters who exercise their rights peacefully.

4. Most of us want to fix the broken system with majority support for: Changing our asylum laws, which currently require asylum seekers, legitimate or not, to physically set foot in the United States. That means our law essentially requires an illegal border crossing to legally apply for asylum. Why not require applications to be filed at one of our consulates or embassies around the world before crossing our border?

Devising a pathway to citizenship for those contributing to America, who confess to illegally crossing our borders, who pay a fine to the US Treasury, and who fulfill citizenship education.

SEN RUBEN GALLEGO: I WON'T FUND A ROGUE ICE THAT SHOOTS FIRST AND CALLS IT LAW ENFORCEMENT

Raising the physical bar for illegal immigration and lowering the administrative bar for legal immigration. We should be recruiting the world’s best and brightest while remaining a place of refuge for the oppressed.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION

In the meantime, we must come to some resolution on the leadership and tactics of ICE and uncooperative sanctuary states and cities. Minnesota leaders have rightly voiced their concerns about the violence and societal disruptions tied to these enforcement actions. These voices matter and should be part of the national conversation on reform.

But full resistance — refusing any cooperation — risks turning legitimate grievance into fruitless confrontation. That’s why cities and states should engage with enforcement agencies strategically to make immigration enforcement more just instead of creating battlegrounds that magnify mistrust.

Conflict always presents the possibility for collaboration. The current crisis shouldn’t be an end point, rather a turning point — one where Americans of all political stripes prioritize reforms and enforcement that’s lawful, humane, transparent and accountable.

It’s surely the agenda Ronald Reagan would have fought for, and one we’d be foolish not to embrace as a great nation of immigrants.

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A judge on Tuesday issued an order to temporarily restrict federal officers from using tear gas at protests outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building in Portland, which comes after agents deployed gas at a crowd of demonstrators, including young children, despite the mayor describing the assembly as peaceful.

U.S. District Judge Michael Simon in Oregon instructed federal officers not to use chemical or projectile munitions on people who pose no imminent threat of physical harm or who are only trespassing or refusing dispersal orders.

The judge also prohibited federal officers from shooting at a person's head, neck or torso "unless the officer is legally justified in using deadly force against that person."

Simon wrote in his order that the nation "is now at a crossroads."

PORTLAND MAYOR DEMANDS ICE LEAVE CITY AFTER FEDERAL AGENTS USE TEAR GAS ON PROTESTERS: 'SICKENING DECISIONS'

"In a well-functioning constitutional democratic republic, free speech, courageous newsgathering, and nonviolent protest are all permitted, respected, and even celebrated," he wrote. "In helping our nation find its constitutional compass, an impartial and independent judiciary operating under the rule of law has a responsibility that it may not shirk."

The temporary restraining order will remain in effect for 14 days, Simon said.

The ruling comes after a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon on behalf of protesters and freelance journalists covering demonstrations at the ICE building.

The complaint argues that federal officers’ use of chemical munitions and excessive force represents retaliation against protesters, which violates their First Amendment rights.

The Department of Homeland Security contends that the federal officers have "followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public, and federal property."

"HS is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters," DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.

Tensions between anti-ICE demonstrators and federal officers have intensified in recent weeks in cities across the country, particularly after the shooting deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in separate incidents last month in Minneapolis.

A federal appeals court last month suspended an earlier decision that banned federal officers from using tear gas or pepper spray against peaceful protesters in Minnesota who are not obstructing law enforcement operations. An appeals court also reversed a ruling from a judge in Chicago that barred federal agents from using certain riot control weapons, including tear gas and pepper balls, unless needed to prevent an immediate threat.

The lawsuit in Oregon describes instances where federal officers used chemical or "less-lethal" munitions against the plaintiffs, which includes a protester known for wearing a chicken costume, a married couple in their 80s and two freelance journalists.

"Defendants must be enjoined from gassing, shooting, hitting and arresting peaceful Portlanders and journalists willing to document federal abuses as if they are enemy combatants," the complaint reads.

The owner and residents of the affordable housing complex across the street from the ICE building have also filed a lawsuit, seeking to restrict federal officers’ use of tear gas because residents have been repeatedly exposed in the past year.

CBP/BORDER PATROL AGENTS PLACED ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE AFTER DEADLY CONFRONTATION WITH ALEX PRETTI

On Saturday, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson demanded ICE leave his city after federal officers deployed tear gas at a crowd of demonstrators outside the agency's facility. The mayor characterized the protests as peaceful, as federal officers also used pepper balls, flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets against the demonstrators.

"Federal forces deployed heavy waves of chemical munitions, impacting a peaceful daytime protest where the vast majority of those present violated no laws, made no threat, and posed no danger to federal forces," he said in a statement on Saturday.

"To those who continue to work for ICE: Resign. To those who control this facility: Leave. Through your use of violence and the trampling of the Constitution, you have lost all legitimacy and replaced it with shame. To those who continue to make these sickening decisions, go home, look in a mirror, and ask yourselves why you have gassed children. Ask yourselves why you continue to work for an agency responsible for murders on American streets. No one is forcing you to lie to yourself, even as your bosses continue to lie to the American people," the mayor continued.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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New York and New Jersey sued the Trump administration Tuesday for cutting off $16 billion in federal funding for a new rail tunnel project under the Hudson River connecting the two states.

The federal government is accused of "illegally withholding" funding committed to the Gateway project and the two states are seeking emergency relief to force the release of funds frozen by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). 

With construction already underway, the states are seeking a quick ruling because the project could be forced to shut down as early as Friday, potentially eliminating thousands of jobs and saddling the states with significant new operating costs.

The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, comes after the Trump administration froze billions of dollars during the government shutdown last fall tied to the project, as well as funding for the extension of New York City’s Second Avenue Subway.

TRUMP ADMIN SEEKING TO PULL FUNDING FROM LOCAL GOVERNMENTS SLAPPED WITH JUDGE'S PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

"Donald Trump's revenge tour on New York threatens to derail one of the most vital infrastructure projects this nation has built in generations, putting thousands of union jobs and billions of dollars in economic benefits in jeopardy and threatening the commutes of 200,000 riders," New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement.

She said New York "will fight this illegal effort by the Trump Administration to steal the funding the federal government committed to get the Gateway Tunnel built with everything we've got."

"My message to Donald Trump and Sean Duffy is simple: we'll see you in court."

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and the Department of Transportation for comment.

DEMOCRAT AGS SUE TRUMP FOR 'UNCONSCIONABLE' FREEZE ON $6.8B IN K-12 SPENDING

The large-scale project would create new tunnels and rehabilitate an existing Hudson River rail crossing connecting northern New Jersey and New York City.

The overhaul is considered necessary because the existing rail tunnels are more than 115 years old and suffered severe damage from saltwater flooding during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The tunnels carry about 70,000 New Jersey commuters daily, and Amtrak has warned that failure of one tunnel could cut rail traffic into New York City by up to 75%.

The project has been under construction for more than a year, but the Trump administration put a hold on federal funding in September, citing the government shutdown — a move the two states argue is "jeopardizing the economic future of the Northeast region."

ZOHRAN MAMDANI VOWS TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST TRUMP'S THREAT TO WITHHOLD FEDERAL FUNDING FOR NYC

"Every time the Trump Administration gets involved, costs go up and working people suffer. The illegal attack on the Gateway Tunnel is yet another example," New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said in a statement. "New Jersey will not back down from this fight. If this project stops, 1,000 workers will immediately lose their jobs and hundreds of thousands of commuters will lose the chance at finally having reliable train service that makes their lives easier."

New York Attorney General Letitia James added in a statement posted on X that stopping the Gateway project "would cost thousands of good-paying jobs and put one of the country’s most heavily used transit corridors at risk."

Jennifer Davenport, New Jersey's acting attorney general, delivered a blunt message to the Trump administration.

DUFFY THREATENS TO YANK NEW YORK FEDERAL FUNDS OVER ILLEGALLY ISSUED COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSES

"Our promise to our residents is clear: we will protect them from attacks on their rights and on their pocketbooks, whatever the source," she said.

"The President’s decision to freeze funding for the Hudson Tunnel Project jeopardizes safe and reliable infrastructure and puts thousands of jobs at risk," she added. "The Federal Government has left us no choice: we must challenge this illegal action in court, and demand emergency relief that will protect us from these unlawful harms."

A separate lawsuit over tunnel funding was filed Monday against the federal government by the Gateway Development Commission, which oversees the project.

Fox News Digital's Michael Dorgan and The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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Domestic governance and politics continue even as the world waits for President Trump’s decision on how to best defang the reckless and bloodthirsty regime that holds the Iranian population captive. No one not in the rooms with the president and his inner-most circle of advisers knows what are the options before President Trump or what our intelligence and military say and how our regional allies actually feel. It is "wilderness of mirrors" time on all things Iran.

The president’s resolute actions against Iran and Venezuela in 2025 ought to have earned him enormous credibility on national security decision unlike Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, who knew only how to retreat. President 45-47 is not the retreating type. He could, of course, disappoint and do nothing about the despots terrorizing Iranians, thereby forfeiting some, if not all, of that accumulated credit from the past year. But no one can render that judgment yet although partisans on the left are eager to class him with the 44th and 46th presidents as appeasers. We have no idea how this crisis will resolve, and likely won’t for weeks, if not months.

In the meantime, the ongoing negotiations over the appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have gifted President Trump an unprecedented opportunity to turn the deep divisions over illegal immigration into a consensus-building breakthrough, one that will put his second term into the history books without equal in post World War II history. A domestic "Nixon-to-China" moment stands before him.

Hard-left Democrats are demanding their congressional members push for the effective neutering of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by requiring judicial warrants prior to the detention of immigrants in the country without permission—either because they crossed the border illegally as "got-aways," entered with the consent of the Biden administration as asylum or refugee seekers, or overstayed a visa.

GO BIG, THEN GO SMART: TRUMP, ICE AND THE LAW. HOW TO SKIP THE LEFT’S PR TRAP

The Democrats denied that the border could be closed but Trump has shown it can be and has been. Rather than recognize how badly Team Biden broke the immigration system, now the left now wants to deny ICE the long-standing procedures by which illegal immigrants are deported. The Republicans can never agree to this. If the Democrats shutter DHS for six months by denying the entire department funding, it will be an issue for November.

Voters, however, do not like the dragnet approach to illegal immigrants. They are fueled in their discontent by legacy media misrepresenting every case involving a sympathy-evoking migrant and by the tragedies in Minnesota.

It is pretty easy to see what super-majorities want: the rapid deportation of criminals and violent immigrants — including those not yet convicted but arrested for suspected criminal behavior. Easy to see but very difficult to execute.

DEMOCRATS CAN RUN, BUT THEY CAN'T HIDE: AN IMMIGRATION RECKONING IS NEXT IN 2028

Voters are not generally in favor of deporting hardworking migrants who came here and found work. A very loud but small slice of the right wants deportation of 100% of people in the country illegally, but that policy will boomerang in November.

America is a welcoming country, especially for the law-abiding and hard-working. Now is the moment to continue to demonstrate resolve at the border, focus on who must be deported and, crucially, compassion for specific categories of illegal immigrants determined to build a legitimate life here.

President Trump should go on the offensive with the immigration equivalent of The First Step Act success from his first term. The president can demand right now that the final appropriations bill taking shape for DHS to maintain the current deportation process —including administrative warrants for detention— while fully funding the Department of Homeland Security, with some additional sections of new law.

THE SUPREME COURT IS GOING TO GIVE PRESIDENT TRUMP A MAJOR OPENING ON IMMIGRATION

He should flip the messaging script and demand of the Congress that this appropriations bill regularize all "Dreamers" —illegal immigrants brought to the country as minors— as well as other discrete categories of illegal immigrants, such as those who can present a record of work and tax returns for ten years with no arrests, and all illegal immigrants over the age of 50 who do not have an arrest on their records. Immunity from deportation by categories, based on common sense, makes the operational workload of DHS smaller while reducing the political cost of unpopular deportations of low-skilled but dedicated labor that hardly anyone objects to when they are on the receiving end of the services provided by those migrants.

All the Dreamers —which is an "80-20" common sense issue— and other categories of illegal immigrants who should be "regularized," should receive a five year "blue card," a status renewable every five years provided the holder does not violate the criminal law.

The compromise President Trump puts forward should also articulate that there is no path to citizenship for anyone who entered the country illegally and thus the right to vote will never be theirs. This is a bedrock principle as important as the wall along the border: No one should be able to break the law and thereby gain the right to citizenship. Residency on terms of good behavior, yes, but voting and entitlements: No. A hard no.

TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN SPARKS BIPARTISAN CALL FOR ASYLUM FIXES, PROTECTION FOR LONGTIME MIGRANTS

"Regularization" should not be "amnesty" of the sort President Ronald Reagan delivered in 1986 which proved to be a disaster. A grant of regularization to an individual should explicitly bar that individual from qualifying another person outside the country for favorable status in any application for immigration benefits.

Democrats have unwittingly placed illegal immigrants front and center as the only issue presently impeding the ordinary operations of the government. President Trump should take the spotlight the Democrats have created on DHS funding and turn it on to a demand that cannot be rejected. Trump needs to make the Democrats an offer they cannot refuse.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION

Most Americans are not eager to eject Dreamers or illegal immigrants who have been here for decades working to build their families and the country. Most Americans are also not sympathetic to the millions who rushed the border during the collapse of border controls during the Biden years.

By taking large numbers of illegal immigrants who arrived long before Biden off the target list for deportation, ICE can focus on the actual problem, which is, in the minds of most Americans, violent and usually criminally violent young men as well as illegal immigrants who arrived in the past five years and immediately imposed enormous costs on the social safety net.

President Trump has proven himself completely capable of managing international crises and legislative achievement at the same time. Even as the crisis continues to unfold in Iran, he should demand that Congress do more than fund the Department of Homeland Security. He should also make the bill providing the funds a first step towards a rational set of rules for the tens of millions of people in the country without any right to be here.

By providing "regularization" for a few million of the tens of millions of illegal immigrants in the country, President Trump will again underscore that he is the president who stands for "common sense." He’s the president who sealed the border. He can also be the one to finally settle the issue of the Dreamers and long-settled immigrants who have been here for decades and decades working and building lives.

Hugh Hewitt is a Fox News contributor and host of "The Hugh Hewitt Show" heard weekday afternoons from 3 PM to 6 PM ET on the Salem Radio Network, and simulcast on Salem News Channel. Hugh drives Americans home on the East Coast and to lunch on the West Coast on over 400 affiliates nationwide, and on all the streaming platforms where SNC can be seen. He is a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel’s news roundtable, hosted by Bret Baier weekdays at 6pm ET. A son of Ohio and a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, Hewitt has been a Professor of Law at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law since 1996 where he teaches Constitutional Law. Hewitt launched his eponymous radio show from Los Angeles in 1990. Hewitt has frequently appeared on every major national news television network, hosted television shows for PBS and MSNBC, written for every major American paper, has authored a dozen books and moderated a score of Republican candidate debates, most recently the November 2023 Republican presidential debate in Miami and four Republican presidential debates in the 2015-16 cycle. Hewitt focuses his radio show and his column on the Constitution, national security, American politics and the Cleveland Browns and Guardians. Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump over his 40 years in broadcasting. This column previews the lead story that will drive his radio/ TV show today.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM HUGH HEWITT

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The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division announced on Monday that it was launching an investigation after a Catholic school in Long Beach, California, was broken into and vandalized.

"The @CivilRights will open an investigation into this awful crime," Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said on X.

The Holy Innocents Catholic School was desecrated after its assembly hall, chapel and classrooms were broken into, school officials said.

Statues were smashed, images of Mary and other religious figures were destroyed and a photograph of the pope was knocked to the floor, images of the destruction show.

DRIVER RAMS CAR REPEATEDLY INTO DOORS OF NYC JEWISH SITE, SUSPECT DETAINED

The vandalism also includes defecation on school grounds, as well as partially consumed food and drinks left behind, allowing authorities to conduct DNA tests as they search for suspects, according to Fox 11.

Local police and the FBI have been contacted about the incident.

Investigators said the church suffered an estimated $100,000 in damages from the break-in, Fox 11 reported.

MISSISSIPPI SYNAGOGUE ARSON SUSPECT'S DAD TURNS HIM IN AFTER LAUGHING CONFESSION, FBI SAYS

"Statues smashed. Images of Our Lady destroyed. The tabernacle thrown to the floor. This is one of the worst cases of vandalism the local bishop has ever seen. Hatred of Christ only destroys hearts. Pray for this school," Lila Rose, president of pro-life group Live Action, wrote on X.

Members of the church said they were heartbroken after learning about the desecration.

"There are crucifixes. There are statues of the Blessed Mother. The tabernacle itself was taken and thrown on the floor and the Sacred House is there. That, to me, is more traumatizing than anything else. It's not just the material things. It's the heart behind the things," Holy Innocents school principal Cyril Cruz told Fox 11, adding that "evil is out there, so we need to pray."

A GoFundMe launched to support the school has raised nearly $60,000 as of Tuesday morning.

"What appears to have been multiple perpetrators smashed statues and ruined images of our Lady, other statues as well, and threw the tabernacle down … Bishop Mark Trudeau said that it is the worst case of vandalism that he's ever seen in the region," the fundraiser reads.

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Congress is a very superstitious place. Only on Capitol Hill would temporal markers like Groundhog Day and Friday the 13th hold legislative resonance.

The partial government shutdown will continue until at least Tuesday. This impacts 78% of the federal government after Democrats scuttled a multi-bill spending plan last week over concerns about ICE.

The charge now for the House of Representatives is to align with a revised Senate-passed plan from Friday. This bill would fund the Pentagon, HUD, transportation programs and a host of agencies through September 30. But it would only operate DHS temporarily as Democrats demand reforms to ICE.

Many House Democrats balked at the plan supported by many Senate Democrats on Friday. That contributed to uncertainty about whether the House can reopen the government this week. First, House Democrats argued they weren’t a party to the deal cut by many Senate Democrats to partly fund the government and only apply a Band-Aid to DHS funding.

DEMOCRAT WHO BROKE WITH PARTY SAYS HIS DHS FUNDING VOTE A 'MISTAKE' AFTER 2ND MINNEAPOLIS ICE SHOOTING

House Democrats seethed — not so privately – last March when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and other Democrats agreed to help Republicans avoid a shutdown. So last Thursday, I asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) if he and Schumer were in sync this time.

"First of all, that question is, so March of 2025," Jeffries chided.

He then ran through a litany of examples of House and Senate Democrats aligning, ranging from health care to the fall government shutdown. Jeffries then answered the question.

"Yes. Short answer. We are on the same page," said Jeffries.

And then added a caveat — which is so February 2026.

"Now with respect to what emerges from the Senate, as is always the case, we will evaluate whatever bill comes over to us on its merits," said Jeffries.

Some Democrats were fine with the funding deal. Moderate Democrats didn’t want to continue the government shutdown. It’s bad politics back home. Others embraced earmarks they secured in the funding package. Yet progressives argued they couldn’t support any funding bill until they saw concrete plans to reform ICE. That’s to say nothing of some on the left wanting to defund ICE.

"I will be voting no on this funding package. I refuse to send another cent to (White House Adviser) Stephen Miller or (Homeland Security Secretary) Kristi Noem," said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee.

But Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, planned to vote yes. The bill funds most of the government for the rest of the fiscal year. And it buys time to get a deal on ICE.

"If we do not do that, we will not be able to bring the kinds of pressure that is necessary to make sure that ICE does not continue to terrorize our communities," said DeLauro.

So there may be the votes to pass the bill. But the real problem may be on a test vote, known as the rule.

The House must approve the rule first to determine how it will handle a bill on the floor. If the House adopts the rule, it can debate and vote on the bill. If the vote on the rule fails, the gig is up.

Some Republicans may oppose the rule. And Democrats made clear they would not assist on the procedural measure which is customarily carried by the majority party.

"Republicans have a responsibility to move the rule," said Jeffries. "If they have some massive mandate, then go pass your rule."

House Republicans feel the pressure.

HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS DRAWS LINE ON DHS, ICE FUNDING AS MINNEAPOLIS UNREST FUELS SHUTDOWN RISK

"We always work until the midnight hour to get the votes. You never start the process with everyone on board," said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA).

It’s about the math.

The Republican majority shrank Monday after the House swore-in Rep. Christian Menefee (D-TX). He won a special election in Texas over the weekend. The GOP majority now holds a 218-214 advantage. In other words, Republican can lose one vote and still pass a bill on their own if every Member casts a ballot.

"Does his election make your job a little tougher tomorrow?" I asked House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) as he met with Menefee for the ceremonial swearing-in.

"We have a one vote margin now. So what could go wrong? That's fine. We're happy for him. And, I hope the first vote is not to shut the government down. That's not a good way to start," said Johnson.

"Are you going to make the job a little harder on the Republican side tomorrow?" I queried Menefee.

"I just got elected on Saturday and just jumped off the plane to get here. So my first job is to figure out what the bathroom is," said Menefee.

I followed up.

"Does that mean a no vote tomorrow?"

"It means I've got to consider the issues very thoughtfully and cast a vote that matches my values," deflected Menefee.

"Good answer!" exclaimed an ecstatic Johnson.

So everything hinges on the rule vote. If the House crosses that procedural hurdle, it can probably pass the bill and end the shutdown. If not, there’s trouble.

President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he hoped there was a bipartisan solution to what he termed a "long, pointless and destructive shutdown."

Perhaps it’s only appropriate that everyone was talking about ending a government shutdown on Groundhog Day. Especially after the record-breaking 43-day shutdown last autumn.

By the way, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow. He forecast six more weeks of winter. After all of these funding fights, when is someone going to ask Phil for his prognostication about the shutdown?

But forget Groundhog Day. What everyone should really focus on is Friday the 13th. As in a week from Friday. If the House aligns with the Senate and ends the partial government shutdown, lawmakers only have until 11:59:59 pm et on Friday the 13th to fund DHS. Otherwise, DHS remains broke. Again. That means FEMA has issues. TSA agents aren’t getting paid. You name it.

SENATE DEMOCRATS THREATEN SHUTDOWN BY BLOCKING DHS FUNDING AFTER MINNESOTA ICE SHOOTING

It’s hard to address issues with ICE in such a tight timeframe.

"Republicans need to take a good look at what's happening around the country and realize too that it's time to rein in ICE's abuses," said Schumer.

Some Republicans agree.

"We should have been focusing on criminals and gang members and people with active deportation orders. I don't think we should have been focusing on people that have been here for a long time, grandmothers, et cetera, that happen to be in a neighborhood when you're doing an enforcement action," said Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) on Fox Business. "I think that that was a mistake and I think it's coming back to haunt us right now."

So there’s bipartisan agreement on addressing ICE. But those reforms must make it through both the House and Senate by Friday the 13th.

Only Congress could create a nightmare like this.

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