Chicago’s Uprising Against ICE, and 80,000 Stolen Phones

Summary

The Headlines – October 15, 2025

Podcast: The Headlines (The New York Times)
Host: Tracy Mumford
Episode Theme:
A sharply escalating confrontation between Chicago residents and federal immigration enforcement; major updates on Trump administration actions during a government shutdown; the hidden dangers in protein supplements; and how organized crime drives London’s exploding phone theft epidemic.

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Chicago’s Uprising Against ICE

Segment Start: [00:34]

Main Points

• Escalating Federal Immigration Crackdown

  • Chicago and South Suburbs have seen an intensified crackdown by federal immigration agents.
  • Enforcement has grown from sporadic arrests to open confrontations with the public.
  • Agents, sometimes masked, are detaining people on city sidewalks, causing panic and outcry.

• Aggressive Tactics by Immigration Agents

  • [01:20] Julie Bosman (Chicago bureau chief, NYT):

    “I've seen a lot of very aggressive tactics from federal agents who have fired tear gas and pepper balls at not just protesters, but at people on city streets who have formed crowds when they see people being arrested.”

  • Notably, ICE agents used tear gas on a crowd without warning, affecting both civilians and police ([01:37]):

    “…even police officers nearby were exposed, with one officer seen rinsing out his eyes with a garden hose.”

• Chicagoans Fight Back

  • [01:54] Residents have increasingly organized in response:

    • Crowds surround agents making arrests.
    • Organize on Facebook, blow whistles, and honk horns to alert others when agents are seen.

    “So things just feel very tense and getting more tense here in Chicago.” — Julie Bosman

  • Residents patrol neighborhoods, aiming to protect their neighbors ([02:30]).

• Political Repercussions

  • A city council member speaks out:

    “Chicagoans are just trying to live their life. We're not going to tolerate unconstitutional authoritarianism.” ([02:30])

  • Originally, federal authorities claimed the ICE operation would last 45 days, but now, there’s no end date in sight.

  • Hundreds of National Guard troops were deployed to “protect federal agents,” but recently, a federal judge blocked the effort, accusing the Trump administration of "misrepresenting the facts."

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Trump Administration & Federal Shutdown

Segment Start: [03:19]

Key Developments

• Congressional Standoff and Government Shutdown

  • Democrats are refusing to fund the government, causing a shutdown now at its two-week mark.
  • Essential workers (like TSA) are working without pay.

• White House Political Pressure

  • Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem demanded airports play a video blaming the shutdown on Democrats.
  • Several airports refused, citing partisanship and potential Hatch Act violations.

• Trump’s Moves Amid Shutdown

  • [04:21] Administration Commentator:

    “Trump is ramping up his efforts to fire federal workers and slash government programs, claiming the shutdown's given him a, quote, unprecedented opportunity for that.”

  • [04:31] Quote:

    “So we are closing up Democrat programs that we think that we disagree with and they're never going to open again.”

• Budget Cuts and “Creative Accounting”

  • Nearly $28 billion frozen or canceled for 200+ projects (transit, renewable energy) in states/cities led by Democrats.
  • Funding kept for politically sensitive areas (military salaries, food assistance for low-income families).

• U.S.–Argentina Relations

  • Trump hosted Argentina’s President Javier Milei and moved forward with a $20 billion bailout.
  • Trump called Milei “his favorite president,” tying the bailout to Milei's party winning elections.
  • Critics claim the bailout mainly benefits U.S. hedge funds and wealthy investors close to Treasury Secretary Scott Besant.

• Presidential Medal of Freedom

  • [06:02] Trump posthumously awarded the medal to Charlie Kirk (conservative activist, Turning Point USA founder) after his assassination.

    “Today we're here to honor and remember a fearless warrior for liberty, beloved leader who galvanized the next generation like nobody I've ever seen before.” — Trump Administration Commentator ([06:02])

  • Kirk’s mobilization of young voters is credited with Republican victories; future medals are planned for Ben Carson and Rudy Giuliani.

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Protein Supplements and Hidden Lead Risks

Segment Start: [06:57]

Report Findings

• Consumer Reports Investigation

  • Tested 23 protein supplement powders/drinks: over two thirds exceeded California’s lead standards.

  • Some products had 10x the legal limit per serving.

  • Health Impact:

    • “There’s no risk of immediate harm… but extended use may be unsafe.”
    • Lead exposure can accumulate in the body and is especially dangerous for children.

  • [Quote from health expert:]

    “Appalled that companies weren't checking their supply chains well enough to avoid these levels of lead.”

  • Heavy metals enter via contaminated water/soil.

  • Supplements are loosely regulated in the U.S.—“Consumers should weigh whether the risk of supplements is worth it.”

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London’s Industrial-Scale Phone Theft Gangs

Segment Start: [08:14]

Key Facts

• Alarming Scale

  • In London, a phone is snatched every 15 minutes; 80,000 phones stolen in the past year.
  • Thefts are highly visible on social media, with warnings and footage spreading.

• Why It Flourished

  • Police budget cuts over ten years: London police stopped investigating “minor” phone thefts with low odds of success.
  • Now, with skyrocketing thefts, police are cracking down and uncovering an industrial operation.

• How the Network Works

  • Three tiers:

    1. Street thieves (on e-bikes, in balaclavas)
    2. Shopkeeper middlemen
    3. Exporters shipping phones overseas (notably China)

  • Police say nearly 40,000 phones exported to China. Many Chinese carriers don’t blacklist stolen devices, creating a black-market pipeline.

  • Foiling Law Enforcement:

    • Arrested ringleaders were caught with phones wrapped in tinfoil to block tracking (“Find my iPhone”).
    • [Memorable detail:]

      “Police later said the men had gone to Costco at one point and bought over a mile and a half worth of tinfoil.”

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the Tension in Chicago ([01:54], Julie Bosman):

  “Regular Chicagoans are really pushing back. They crowd around when agents are making arrests. They organize on Facebook... They try to warn other people.”

• On the scale of National Guard and ICE operations ([02:30]):

  "There now appears to be no set end date." — Tracy Mumford

• On the shutdown’s exploitation for permanent change ([04:21]):

  "Trump is ramping up his efforts to fire federal workers and slash government programs, claiming the shutdown's given him a, quote, unprecedented opportunity for that." — Trump Administration Commentator

• On the stolen phones pipeline ([End segment]):

  “A group... responsible for sending almost 40,000 phones to China... [Ringleaders] had gone to Costco at one point and bought over a mile and a half worth of tinfoil.” — Tracy Mumford

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Episode Flow by Time

• 00:34–03:19: Chicago’s confrontation with ICE
• 03:19–06:48: Trump administration updates, Medal of Freedom, government shutdown effects
• 06:57–08:14: Hidden lead in U.S. protein supplements
• 08:14–End: London’s epidemic of organized phone theft

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This episode covers urgent issues with on-the-ground reporting, first-hand accounts, and insider analysis, maintaining the NYT's signature tone of measured seriousness with sharp, vivid detail.

Transcript

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[Tracy Mumford]

From the New York times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today is Wednesday, October 15th. Here's what we're covering in Chicago and the surrounding south suburbs. He's a citizen. He's a citizen. A crackdown by federal immigration agents has been intensifying. What started with a slow uptick in arrests has escalated rapidly, with agents, sometimes in masks, pulling up to people on sidewalks and detaining them. And the encounters are increasingly turning into open confrontations.

[Julie Bosman]

I've seen a lot of very aggressive tactics from federal agents who have fired tear gas and pepper balls at not just protesters, but at people on city streets who have formed crowds when they see people being arrested.

[Tracy Mumford]

Julie Bosman is the Chicago bureau chief for the Times. She says just yesterday ICE agents used tear gas on a crowd, apparently without warning. The scene was so chaotic that even police officers nearby were exposed, with one officer seen rinsing out his eyes with a garden hose.

[Julie Bosman]

In response to these aggressive tactics from federal agents, I think that regular Chicagoans are really pushing back. They crowd around when Asians are making arrests. They organize on Facebook. They try to warn other people. I've heard a lot of, you know, honking horns when agents are spotted on the street, people blowing whistles when they see immigration agents. So things just feel very tense and getting more tense here in Chicago.

[Tracy Mumford]

Julie says that the residents who have been pushing back and even organizing patrols of their own say they're trying to protect their neighbors and that they feel the city didn't need a surge of federal law enforcement. One city council member said, quote, chicagoans are just trying to live their life. We're not going to tolerate unconstitutional authoritarianism. Federal authorities originally told local officials that they expected the operation in Chicago to last for 45 days as they said they needed to find and arrest undocumented immigrants. There now appears to be no set end date. In the past few weeks, the Trump administration also deployed hundreds of National Guard troops to the Chicago area, saying they were needed to protect federal agents. The effort was recently blocked temporarily by a federal judge who accused the Trump administration of misrepresenting the facts on the ground to justify the deployment. Now three other quick updates on the Trump administration. Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government and because of this, many of our operations are impacted and most of our TSA employees are working without pay. As the government shutdown hits the two week mark, the president and his team are turning up the political pressure on Democrats. Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security, recently asked airports across the country to play a video on TV screens near security checkpoints that blames the shutdown on Democrats. A number of airports, however, have refused to show the video, saying it's overly partisan and potentially even a violation of the Hatch Act, a law intended to limit political activities by federal employees.

[Trump Administration Commentator]

Meanwhile, honestly, can I put it in plain words for you?

[Tracy Mumford]

Trump is ramping up his efforts to fire federal workers and slash government programs, claiming the shutdown's given him a, quote, unprecedented opportunity for that.

[Trump Administration Commentator]

So we are closing up Democrat programs that we think that we disagree with and they're never going to open again.

[Tracy Mumford]

In the past two weeks, the administration has frozen or canceled nearly $28 billion for more than 200 projects, primarily in Democratic led cities and states, everything from subway upgrades in New York to renewable energy projects in California and Washington State. At the same time, the White House has used creative accounting to keep funding flowing to politically sensitive areas that could have otherwise triggered blowb like military salaries and food assistance for low income families.

[Trump Administration Commentator]

Also, he's MAGA all the way. Make Argentina great again.

[Tracy Mumford]

I heard Trump hosted the president of Argentina, Javier Milei, yesterday as the administration says it's moving forward with a controversial $20 billion bailout of the country which has been in financial crisis. Trump has described Milei as his favorite president, saying I love him because he loves Trump. The White House has said the bailout is needed to stabilize Argentina's economy, though Trump also said the money was contingent on Milei's party winning upcoming elections. Critics of the plan, however, including many Democratic lawmakers, say the financial lifeline is effectively a gift to hedge funds and wealthy Americans who've invested heavily in Argentina, including friends of Treasury Secretary Scott Besant. And last update.

[Trump Administration Commentator]

Today we're here to honor and remember a fearless warrior for liberty, beloved leader who galvanized the next generation like nobody I've ever seen before.

[Tracy Mumford]

In the Rose Garden yesterday, Trump posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist who was assassinated last month. Trump called Kirk the founder of the right wing political group Turning Point usa, a martyr for truth and for freedom. Trump and other Republicans have credited Kirk with helping them win office by mobilizing young voters. Kirk is the first person to receive the medal in Trump's second term, though the president has said he also plans to honor Ben Carson, the former housing secretary, and Rudy Giuliani.

[Betterment Announcer]

Foreign.

[Tracy Mumford]

A new report has found that a lot of popular protein supplements think of the powders and drinks that have popped up everywhere these days contain levels of lead that could pose health concerns. Consumer reports tested 23 different products and found that over two thirds of them had more lead per serving than the standard set by the state of California, which has a strict guideline on lead consumption. At least a few products had more than 10 times that amount, according to the report. There's no reason to panic. There's no risk of immediate harm from the products, but extended use may be unsafe. Lead is highly toxic and can accumulate in the body over time. Children are at especially high risk for developing developmental delays or even seizures from lead exposure. Health experts not involved with the testing called the results troubling. One said he was, quote, appalled that companies weren't checking their supply chains well enough to avoid these levels of lead. Heavy metals can enter the production supply in several ways, including through contaminated groundwater or soil. In the US supplements like protein powder are not regulated in the same way that food and drugs are. With that light oversight in mind, one doctor told the Times, consumers should weigh whether the risk of supplements is worth it, since there are other ways to get protein. And finally, it's a major problem. Criminals riding up on e bikes and literally nicking devices out of people's hands. I've just put my phone against my chest. I'm thinking, nah, not me, not a 980am like I'm just. In recent years, London has earned a reputation as one of the phone theft capitals of the world. A mobile phone is snatched every 15 minutes in this part of London alone, social media is flooded with warnings about staying alert. Guys, my phone nearly got stolen today. No, it's actually not funny. Along with surveillance footage of theft after theft on busy streets in broad daylight, the culprits zipping away. Some experts say part of what's made it so common in Britain is the fact that police budgets were slashed in the last decade to the point that police in London said they would stop investigating minor crimes when there was a low chance of catching anyone. Now, though, after 80,000 phones were stolen in the last year alone, police in London are trying to tackle the problem and some of what they've uncovered points not just to small time thieves, but to an industrial level criminal operation. They say there's three tiers to it. The thieves at the bottom wearing balaclavas on e bikes. They then sell the stolen phones to shopkeepers and other middlemen. And at the top of the network are exporters. Police say they found that a lot of the stolen phones are being shipped overseas and have identified a group they say was responsible for sending almost 40,000 phones to China. While many cell networks around the world subscribe to a blacklist that bars devices that have been reported stolen from being used, a lot of China's cell networks don't do that. That opportunity has created a pipeline. When police arrested two men who they say were ringleaders for sending a lot of the phones overseas, they found several phones in their car wrapped in foil. It was an attempt to try and stop people from using the Find my iPhone feature before the thieves could get them out of the country. Police later said the men had gone to Costco at one point and bought over a mile and a half worth of tinfoil. Those are the headlines today on the Daily President Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, was recorded on camera last year accepting $50,000 in cash in an undercover FBI investigation, according to people familiar with the case. The investigation was then closed under Trump, and administration officials have been sidestepping questions about it. My colleague Devlin Barrett walks through what happened. You can listen to that in the New York Times app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.