Fake ICE agents on the rise and the status of a U.S.-Iran peace deal: Morning Rundown

In today’s newsletter: A Noticias Telemundo investigation finds a marked increase in cases of people posing as federal agents. Iran warns an agreement to end the war with the U.S. is not imminent. And the race to prevent a massive explosion from a chemical tank in California.

Fake ICE agents terrorize immigrants amid Trump’s crackdown

In January of last year, a group of armed assailants entered a house shared by immigrants in North Carolina. A hooded man kicked down a bedroom door shouting “ICE! ICE!” one immigrant recalled.

“I raised my hands, and he asked, ‘Where’s the money?’ That’s when I realized it was a robbery. It wasn’t ICE,” the Mexican immigrant, who didn’t share his name, said.

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The incident is part of a growing trend of people impersonating immigration agents. Although neither the federal government nor local authorities publish specific records on such crimes, an analysis by Noticias Telemundo, based on court records, police reports and news articles, suggests that the number has increased over the past year.

The investigation documented at least 31 impersonation cases in 2025 alone. Recorded incidents appear to be growing more violent, and include intimidation, robbery and sexual assault, as well as so-called “immigration operations” carried out by armed vigilantes.

Here’s what else Noticias Telemundo learned.

Staff Pick: Inside a school district’s ‘tech-free’ experiment

Parents around the country are pressuring schools to cut back on screen time in class, presenting a tough question: What does that look like in 2026? I recently visited a rural district in North Carolina that experimented with going tech-free for two days a week. Several eighth graders told me they liked that it got them talking to classmates more, and they had fewer headaches from staring at screens. I also exclusively obtained survey results on how the trial went. While there were some big benefits and a lot of support from teachers, the survey revealed practical limits and hiccups that come with a big disruption like this.

Iran says no deal ‘imminent’ after Trump raises then lowers hopes

Iran has warned that an agreement to end the war with the U.S. was not imminent, after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a deal with Tehran was still possible Monday. President Donald Trump was “not in a hurry” and won’t rush into “a bad deal,” Rubio said on an official visit to the Indian capital New Delhi.

“We’re either going to have a good agreement or we’re going to have to deal with it another way,” Rubio said. “We’d prefer to have a good agreement.”

The U.S. has a “pretty solid thing on the table,” Rubio added. “As I said, we thought we might have some news last night, maybe today.”

The U.S. will give diplomacy every chance to succeed “before we explore the alternatives,” he said, without elaborating.

Iranian officials were less optimistic Monday.

“It’s true that we have reached conclusions on many issues under discussion, but no one can claim that this means an imminent agreement is about to be signed,” said Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei.

Meanwhile, as the U.S. wages war on Iran, it is burning through stockpiles of advanced weapons. Replacing them will require a powerful metal, tungsten, whose production and refining is dominated by China. It is leading the U.S. to desperately search for it elsewhere.

▶️ Tune in to Here’s the Scoop’s special Supreme Court Edition, where Senior Legal Correspondent Laura Jarrett goes deep on major cases.

Potential crack on California chemical tank may ease pressure as crews race to prevent explosion

A potential crack may be releasing pressure inside a toxic chemical tank in Southern California, officials said yesterday, a development they hope could help avert a devastating vapor explosion.

Interim Orange County Fire Chief TJ McGovern told NBC News that crews are looking to confirm the development, which could mean that the potential of a boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE) is “off the table.”

“There’s still a potential for explosion,” he said, but not a BLEVE, which he described as “very, very dangerous, much worse than an explosion.”

Shelters in Orange County are filling up with frantic locals as 50,000 people are under evacuation orders, while crews have been dumping water on the tank in an effort to cool its internal temperature.

Read more about the threat of disaster here.

Jewish Democrats grapple with a changing party and Israel’s entrenched leadership

At the recent Jewish Democratic Council of America Leadership Summit in Washington, prominent pro-Israel Democrats said there’s room to disagree with Benjamin Netanyahu’s government without turning on the nation.

A dramatic shift in how Democratic voters feel about Israel has shaped primaries so far. But some in the party warn that legitimate criticism of Israel has meant turning a blind eye when some criticism veers into antisemitism, repelling Jewish voters.

“You can be a patriot and be a lover of country and simultaneously believe that those governing it are wrongheaded. That is how I feel about America — that is simultaneously, in many senses, how I feel about Israel,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told NBC News.

“I am concerned when free speech dovetails into antisemitism and hate,” he added.

Here’s what else came up during the conference.

Pope Leo warns AI is fueling conflict, urges world to ‘slow’ advances

Pope Leo XIV called for stronger regulation and a slower pace of AI advances in his first encyclical, a sweeping and eagerly anticipated manifesto.

The American-born pope warned that AI should not be “concentrated in the hands of only a few people.” He called for “disarming AI,” which “does not mean rejecting technology, but preventing it from dominating humanity.” Leo said that “merely regulating it is insufficient.”

In another first, Leo also apologized for the role the Holy See itself played in legitimizing slavery and for having failed to condemn it for centuries.

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- Pope Leo XIV called for stronger regulation and a slower pace of AI advances in his first encyclical, a sweeping and eagerly anticipated manifesto. In another first, Leo also apologized for the role the Holy See itself played in legitimizing slavery and for having failed to condemn it for centuries.

- A woman paragliding over the Austrian Alps survived a horrifying midair collision after a small plane flew through her glider.

- At least 19 people were injured in a stampede at an annual motorcycle rally in South Carolina, according to local officials.

- NASCAR legend Kyle Busch was honored at weekend races from Indianapolis to Charlotte Motor Speedway after his death.

Thanks for reading today’s Morning Rundown. Today’s newsletter was curated for you by Kayla Hayempour. If you’re a fan, please send a link to your family and friends. They can sign up here.